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London open: Stocks nudge up; quiet trade expected amid US holiday
London stocks nudged up in early trade on Monday following a mostly positive session in Asia, but trade was expected to be quieter than usual with US markets closed for Martin Luther King day.
At 0825 GMT, the FTSE 100 was 0.1% firmer at 7,632.93.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said UK markets remained “undecided in opening trade in the absence of any major news and with the likelihood of a lighter trading day given the closure of Wall Street later”.
Investors mulled the latest data from Rightmove, which showed that average UK house prices rose 1.3% last month – the largest jump in three years amid signs the market was starting to ease.
The rise for homes put on the market between December and January was also more than double the average increase for this time of year, Rightmove added.
“For now the data at the start of 2024 points to building momentum, and reasons for growing market optimism,” said Tim Bannister, director of property science at Rightmove.
The number of agreed sales was 20% higher in the first week of January compared to the same period last year, with buyer demand up 5%. The number of homes coming to the market rose by 15%.
“More new sellers are now entering the market, and with more confident pricing. While the increased level of buyer activity that we’re also seeing may justify some of this increased pricing confidence from sellers, it’s important that sellers who are keen to find a buyer don’t get carried away with New Year enthusiasm when setting their price expectations,” Bannister said.
“Elevated mortgage rates and the wider cost-of-living squeeze are still limiting buyers’ spending power.”
In equity markets, Sainsburys gained as Citi upped its price target on the shares to 310p from 295p.
Bakkavor surged as it announced a board change after hedge fund Baupost sold its stake in the food manufacturing group to private equity firm LongRange Capital.
On the downside, recruitment specialist PageGroup lost ground after it said 2023 full-year operating profit was set to be slightly below previous guidance as fourth-quarter profits fell amid a global hiring slowdown.
Housebuilder Crest Nicholson was also in the red as it delivered a profit warning as a result of higher-than-expected costs and announced an additional one-off charge from a legal claim.
The group said that adjusted pre-tax profit for 2023 is now expected to be £41m, lower than the £45-50m range given in November.
Top 10 FTSE 100 Risers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Flutter Entertainment Plc | +2.35% | +300.00 | 13,090.00 |
| 2 |  |
Admiral Group Plc | +1.36% | +35.00 | 2,617.00 |
| 3 |  |
Centrica Plc | +0.83% | +1.25 | 151.25 |
| 4 |  |
Itv Plc | +0.70% | +0.42 | 60.22 |
| 5 |  |
Rightmove Plc | +0.67% | +3.80 | 566.80 |
| 6 |  |
Tesco Plc | +0.67% | +2.00 | 298.90 |
| 7 |  |
Aviva Plc | +0.65% | +2.80 | 430.80 |
| 8 |  |
Associated British Foods Plc | +0.62% | +14.00 | 2,279.00 |
| 9 |  |
Wpp Plc | +0.60% | +4.40 | 733.20 |
| 10 |  |
Legal & General Group Plc | +0.56% | +1.40 | 252.70 |
Top 10 FTSE 100 Fallers
| Sponsored by Plus500 |
|
| # | Name | Change Pct | Change | Cur Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Ocado Group Plc | -3.37% | -22.00 | 630.20 |
| 2 |  |
Hsbc Holdings Plc | -2.61% | -15.90 | 594.20 |
| 3 |  |
Burberry Group Plc | -2.53% | -32.50 | 1,253.00 |
| 4 |  |
Lloyds Banking Group Plc | -2.18% | -0.98 | 44.00 |
| 5 |  |
Tui Ag | -1.81% | -10.00 | 544.00 |
| 6 |  |
Fresnillo Plc | -1.31% | -7.00 | 526.40 |
| 7 |  |
Kingfisher Plc | -1.28% | -2.80 | 215.70 |
| 8 |  |
Bhp Group Limited | -1.19% | -29.50 | 2,455.50 |
| 9 |  |
Standard Chartered Plc | -1.01% | -6.20 | 607.40 |
| 10 |  |
Prudential Plc | -0.95% | -7.80 | 815.40 |
Monday newspaper round-up: House prices, gas network, Scottish power
UK house prices are on track to beat forecasts of a decline in 2024, a leading estate agent has said, as a mortgage pricing war and expectations of Bank of England interest rate cuts rekindle the property market. After a year of sustained price falls in 2023, the global property consultancy Knight Frank said it was updating its forecast for UK house prices to rise by 3% in 2024, up from an earlier estimate of a 4% drop. – Guardian
The world’s five richest men have more than doubled their fortunes to $869bn (£681.5bn) since 2020, while the world’s poorest 60% – almost 5 billion people – have lost money. The details come in a report by Oxfam as the world’s richest people gather from Monday in Davos, Switzerland, for the annual World Economic Forum meeting of political leaders, corporate executives and the super-rich. – Guardian
Britain’s sprawling gas network is still reliant on a fleet of ageing aircraft engines, some stripped from 1960s RAF Lightning fighter jets, it has emerged. Jon Butterworth, chief executive of National Gas, said many of the engines that drive gas through the system date back decades, some to the Cold War, and now need millions of pounds spent on replacing them. – Telegraph
The billionaire Tory donor Alan Howard shared a £268m pay out from his hedge fund last year as bets on interest rates reaped dividends for the company. The pay out by Brevan Howard Asset Management was more than three times the £82m shared a year earlier, company filings showed and the biggest since 2019 when £440m was paid out to partners. – Telegraph
Scottish Power will spend a record amount on upgrading ageing electricity transmission lines that will allow more renewable energy to be transported south of the border from Scotland. The ten-year investment plan is the first in an expected wave of spending set to be announced this year by the three big operators of Britain’s power lines, seen as vital if the country is to meet a target of net-zero emissions by 2050. – The Times
