The FTSE 100 made a flat start as investors digested the higher-than-expected US inflation read yesterday.
London’s blue-chip index was steady in early dealings, supported by retailers having a good morning.
Housing stocks got a boost as the RICS House Price Survey, which measures the gap between the number of respondents seeing rises and falls in house prices, improved for the seventh consecutive month.
Darktrace PLC (LSE:DARK) was also well up as the cyber security group said it returned to year-on-year recurring revenue growth in its past quarter. As a result, a raft of annual targets were upgraded, lifting the shares by almost 8%.
AstraZeneca meanwhile increased its annual dividend by 7%, bringing it up to $3.10 (£2.5) per share. The increase comes on the day of the pharma giant’s AGM, when shareholders will vote on an increase to the bosses’ pay, an issue where opinion is split despite Astra being one of London’s biggest companies.