London open: Stocks edge lower as travel & leisure sector hit
(Sharecast News) - London equity markets nudged lower in early trade on Monday, with travel and leisure stocks under the cosh as the prospect of tighter border restrictions and a prolonged lockdown weighed on sentiment.
At 0850 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.2% at 6,681.91.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "The UK markets are reflecting the tone of its officials. The government has struck an unusually pessimistic tone over the last few days. Learning from past mistakes, ministers have refused to make promises about when the UK will come out of its current lockdown, including refusing to commit to schools opening post-Easter.
"Monday is very much an outlier in terms of action this week. Tuesday sees the latest UK jobs report, Wednesday has the first Federal Reserve meeting not only of 2021, but the Biden administration, and Thursday gives investors a first look at the USA's fourth quarter GDP performance.
"And that's not to mention a stacked US earnings calendar, including Microsoft on Tuesday, and Tesla, Facebook and Apple on Wednesday, the latter of which is potentially set for its first ever $100 billion-plus quarter."
In equity markets, travel and leisure stocks bore the brunt of the selling, with British Airways owner IAG, engine maker Rolls-Royce, Premier Inn owner Whitbread, InterContinental Hotels, budget airline easyJet, travel company TUI, Wizz Air, Upper Crust Owner SPP, cruise operator Carnival and Cineworld all lower.
On the upside, Russian steelmaker Evraz was the standout gainer on the FTSE 100 after an upgrade to 'overweight' from 'neutral' at JPMorgan Cazenove.
TI Fluid Systems was also on the front foot after it said it was paying a first quarter interim dividend of 6.74 euro cents a share, but not a final payout for 2020 as it forecast adjusted EBIT margin to be "slightly better than expected". The group said it expected to report revenue of approximately €2.8bn for the year to December 31. On a constant currency basis, it guided for 2020 revenue performance to be in line with the decline in global light vehicle production.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,681.91 -0.20%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,564.40 -0.16%
techMARK (TASX) 4,180.36 0.26%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Evraz (EVR) 537.80p 4.43%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 583.40p 1.60%
Croda International (CRDA) 6,522.00p 1.53%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,298.00p 1.49%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 249.50p 1.42%
Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 704.60p 1.32%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 2,690.00p 1.32%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 2,725.00p 1.30%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,438.00p 1.25%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 525.80p 1.23%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 139.05p -8.28%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 95.92p -6.83%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,033.00p -2.82%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,356.50p -2.72%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,639.00p -2.28%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,720.00p -2.24%
Informa (INF) 504.60p -2.17%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 621.40p -2.03%
British Land Company (BLND) 431.40p -1.95%
BP (BP.) 285.15p -1.67%
FTSE 250 - Risers
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 246.50p 4.78%
BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust (BRSC) 1,708.00p 4.15%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,980.00p 2.80%
Henderson Smaller Companies Inv Trust (HSL) 1,044.00p 2.76%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 321.00p 2.75%
Alternative Credit Investments (ACI) 888.00p 2.54%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 122.35p 2.38%
BMO Global Smaller Companies (BGSC) 147.80p 2.35%
Law Debenture Corp. (LWDB) 656.00p 2.34%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 397.50p 2.05%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
easyJet (EZJ) 726.60p -6.92%
Hammerson (HMSO) 19.42p -4.57%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 336.00p -4.55%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 4,090.00p -4.39%
SSP Group (SSPG) 320.60p -4.07%
Carnival (CCL) 1,221.00p -3.67%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 63.70p -3.63%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 270.00p -3.40%
Energean (ENOG) 860.00p -3.12%
National Express Group (NEX) 249.20p -2.73%
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