London’s blue chips continued to face pressure on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 coming off its lows but still trading more than 20 points lower to 8,691in the first hour of trading.
Imperial Brands PLC, AstraZeneca PLC, BP PLC and BAE Systems PLC topped the early fallers, while Centrica sat firmly ahead among the risers.
Shares in the British Gas owner were up almost 9.0% just after the open, after it unveiled a new £500 million buyback and upped its dividend.
Lloyds Banking Group PLC also headed higher, gaining 2.0% following results, where it said profit dropped a fifth last year and set aside extra for a motor finance probe.
Greatland Gold PLC was among the junior market’s winners, jumping 9.2% after flagging “exceptional” first underground drilling results from the West Dome project.