London got a bit of a lift from European Central Bank (ECB) governor Mario Draghi today.
The decision by the ECB to leave interest rates unchanged was widely expected, and it was the comments at the press conference after the decision was announced that heartened the bulls/
“With 'emerging markets' – read: China – commodity prices and inflation leading a line of reasons for a more accommodative stance, Draghi made it clear there is an appetite among the committee to push the boat out,” said Josh Mahony of spread betting firm IG, who added that December remains the most likely time for the ECB to ramp-up its securities repo campaign.
The FTSE 100, after a sluggish morning, roused itself to climb 28 points, or 0.4%, to 6.376.
The rise would have been greater still but for Wickes owner Travis Perkins (LON:TPK) and Footsie constituent dropping 113p to 1,850p after unveiling lower-than-expected summer trading and a profit warning.
Chief executive John Carter said: "Given the recent market weakness we now expect full-year EBITA growth at the lower end of market expectations."
After yesterday's profit warning publishing powerhouse Pearson (LON:PSON), down 5% at 948.6p, remained under the cosh.
In contrast, the London Stock Exchange Group (LON:LSE) went into bat for the Footsie, rising 57p to 2,494p, after it said the third quarter was another period of growth.
Total income from continuing operations was up 11% year-on-year.
Among the mid-caps, Ladbrokes (LON:LAD) got off to a flying start on the back of encouraging results, and finished the day up 8.5% at 109.7p.
The bookie, which is merging with rival Coral, ticked reported improved staking trends in its UK betting shops driven by football and racing.
In contrast, SIG (LON:SHI) lost a fifth of its value after a profit warning. Like-for-like (LFL) sales declined by 0.9%, with Mainland Europe's recovery stalling, as LFL sales fell 2.3%.
In a busy energy sector, Falcon Oil & Gas (LON:FOG) starred, rising 23.3% to 6.625p, after the company revealed a significant step forward with its shale gas project in Australia.
Europa Oil & Gas (LON:EOG) gained 11.1% at 3.75p after the companies involved in the Wressle oil discovery said they were fast-tracking the development of the onshore field in Lincolnshire following the completion of an extended well test.
88 Energy (LON:88E) advanced 4.8% to 0.765p after it said the start of drilling at its Icewine well in Alaska was imminent.
MID-SESSION WRAP
London blue-chips trod water on Thursday following a downbeat US session and ahead of the European Central Bank's (ECB) latest interest rate decision.
The FTSE 100 Index was 7 points down at 6,340 in lunchtime trading, but Germany's Dax rose 32 points and France's Cac-40 lost two points.
US stocks were down at last night’s close. Healthcare stocks weighed with a 20% loss for Valeant Pharma following a short-selling attack by research firm Citron.
Analysts said they expected the ECB to hold rates while possibly extending the Eurozone's quantitative easing programme.
Market analyst at London foreign exchange group OANDA, Craig Erlam, said: "While it would be understandable if the ECB pulled the trigger at today’s meeting, the market is not expecting anything just yet."
UK retail sales picked up in September after a few months of subdued growth.
ING Bank economist James Knightley said the numbers increased the likelihood of more members of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee voting for an interest rate hike next month.
He said ING expected a rise in the first half of 2016, but added: "We doubt the BoE will want to move ahead of the Federal Reserve given the implications for sterling, exports and manufacturing."
On the markets, Wickes owner Travis Perkins (LON:TPK) dropped 109p to 1854p after unveiling lower-than-expected summer trading and a profit warning.
Chief executive John Carter said: "Given the recent market weakness we now expect full-year EBITA growth at the lower end of market expectations."
Baby goods retailer Mothercare (LON:MTC) rose 14.25p to 237.25p on news of higher UK and international sales.
Bookmaker Ladbrokes (LON:LAD), which is merging with rival Coral, ticked up 6.4p to 107.5p after reporting improved staking trends in its UK betting shops driven by football and racing.
Debenhams (LON:DEB) lifted 4.9p to 86.05p after the department store chain as the UK department store chain unveiled higher annual sales and profits, although it said chief executive Michael Sharp was planning to step down next year.
Elsewhere, 88 Energy (LON:88E) sparked 3.4% to 0.76p after it said the start of drilling at its Icewine well in Alaska was imminent.
Sound Energy (LON:SOU) pared gains to stand 0.12p off at 16.62p on news that it had now signed heads of terms for its proposed acquisition of a 25% stake in the Sidi Moktar Licences in Morocco from Maghreb Petroleum Exploration.
Falcon Oil & Gas (LON:FOG) gushed 11.6% to 6p after the company revealed a significant step forward with its shale gas project in Australia.
Europa Oil & Gas (LON:EOG) lifted 3.7% to 3.5p after the companies involved in the Wressle oil discovery said they were fast-tracking the development of the onshore field in Lincolnshire following the completion of an extended well test.
Providence Resources (LON:PVR) reversed 7.3% to 19p on news of a potential 15% increase in the rate of tax on future oil and gas production in Ireland, according to reports. Providence is working to attract a partner for the undeveloped Barryroe field.
LONDON OPEN
London shares were slightly in the red on Thursday ahead of key economic news in Europe and after US shares fell.
The FTSE 100 Index was 6 points down at 6,342 in early trading while Germany's Dax rose 22 points and France's Cac-40 added eight points.
Analysts said they expected the European Central Bank to hold rates while possibly extending the eurozone's quantitative easing programme.
Market analyst at London foreign exchange group OANDA, Craig Erlam, said: "ECB president Mario Draghi is likely to play his usual role today of talking up the risks to the eurozone economy and highlighting the broad range of policy tools available to the central bank, should it wish to use them."
UK retail sales picked up in September after a few months of subdued growth. But Dennis de Jong at foreign exchange trader UFX.com said: "Despite the positive news, it won’t be all plain sailing for Chancellor George Osborne and co. as recent data revealed that more Brits believe the economy will get worse rather than improve in the next 12 months."
US stocks were down at last night’s close. Healthcare stocks weighed on the broader market with big losses for Valeant Pharma following a short-selling attack by research firm Citron.
On the markets, Wickes owner Travis Perkins (LON:TPK) dropped 136p to 1,827p after unveiling lower-than-expected summer trading and a profit warning.
Chief executive John Carter said: "Given the recent market weakness we now expect full-year EBITA growth at the lower end of market expectations."
Baby goods retailer Mothercare (LON:MTC) rose 9p to 232p on news of higher UK and international sales.
Bookmaker Ladbrokes (LON:LAD), which is merging with rival Coral, ticked up 4.9p to 106p after reporting improved staking trends in its UK betting shops driven by football and racing.
Debenhams (LON:DEB) lifted 3p to 84.15p after the department store chain as the UK department store chain unveiled higher annual sales and profits, although it said chief executive Michael Sharp was planning to step down next year.
Elsewhere, 88 Energy (LON:88E) sparked 5.5% to 0.77p after it said the start of drilling at its Icewine well in Alaska was imminent.
Sunrise Resources (LON:SRES) hit high grades of silver in all of its first three drill holes at its Bay State silver project in Nevada, boosting its shares by 14% to 0.28p.
Sound Energy (LON:SOU) powered up 0.25p to 17p on news that it had now signed heads of terms for its proposed acquisition of a 25% stake in the Sidi Moktar Licences in Morocco from Maghreb Petroleum Exploration.
MARKET PREVIEW
London’s blue-chips are expected to start Thursday on the back foot, following key indices in New York and Asia.
Last night the Dow Jones closed some 48 points, 0.28%, lower at 17,168 while the S&P 500 was down 0.58% at 2,018 and the Nasdaq fell 0.84% to 4,840.
Short-selling pushed Valeant Pharmaceuticals, an acquisitive group which impressed the Street with financials earlier in the week, down sharply on Wednesday – and having pared the worst of the losses it ended up 19% lower for the day.
US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton dealt something of a further blow to the sector as she scrutinised a number of proposed healthcare and insurance mergers.
As crude oil took another leg down, with WTI turning back to US$45, so Wall Street’s oil and gas stocks felt more pressure.
There was, however, a shiny (red) distraction as Ferrari made a premium debut – up nearly 6% on its first trading following its spin out from Fiat, ending its first session at US$55 per share.
Online auction group eBay was a key highlight in after-hours trading, as its quarterly financial results impressed.
Later, in Asia, however, the bearish mood continued.
Japan’s Nikkei was down 95 points, about 0.5%, at 18,458 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 220 points, 0.95%, to 22,769.
The Shanghai Composite index, meanwhile, lost 0.5% to stand at 3,302.
Australia’s ASX 200, however, was among the few benchmarks seeing positive territory – it rose 0.3% to trade at 5,263.
Spread-betting firm IG predicts London’s blue-chips will start in the red, as it calls the FTSE 100 about 20 points lower at 6,324 to 6,329.