FTSE 100 shares managed to close higher on Tuesday and hold onto the 7,000 mark – just.
The blue-chip ticker ended up 0.8%, or 52 points, at 7,000.06 in what looked like a photo finish.
Clothes retailers framed the FTSE 100 – literally – as the top riser was Next Plc (LON:NXT) and the biggest faller was Burberry (LON:BRBY).
Next shares rose 5.3% to 4,744p after Deutsche Bank brokers offered up an upbeat note and kept at “buy” with a target price of 5950p.
The vibes also touched Marks & Spencer (LON:MKS) whose shares were third-placed top riser at up 4.3% to 333.7p.
But for Burberry at the other end, down 7.2% to 1403p. Burberry's like-for-like sales improved in the second quarter after overseas tourists lapped up sterling cut price goods, but wholesale revenues cast a shadow on the results.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 index ended up 1.1% at 17,994. It took many weeks for the ticker to rise above 18,000 following the Brexit vote in June, but on Tuesday it only briefly managed it intraday.
Restaurant Group (LON:RTN) was the top gainer, up 8.8% to 384.6p after its directors bought chunks another investors queued up to be served too.
Second-top riser among mid-caps was Domino's Pizza Group (LON:DOM) up 6.5% to 340p after its US base had good news to share around the table too.
The world’s biggest pizza delivery chain saw its shares jump more than 7% to hit a fresh all time high of $163.73 after the company delivered a scorching set of third quarter results.
Like-for-like sales in the US jumped 13% in the three months to September 11 as lower fuel prices, popularity among Millennials and improved menu offerings kept the company’s tills ringing.
Smaller stocks had a rougher ride. The FTSE AIM 100 Index ended down 0.4% at 3,950 and the FTSE AIM All-Share Index down 0.4% at 823.
Across London’s market, the top riser Cambria Africa (LON:CMB) up 164% to 1.65p after improved full-year earnings, while the top faller was Kefi Minerals (LON:KEFI) down 16% to 0.395p after the company said it was considering a variety of financing proposals for the Tulu Kapi gold project in Ethiopia while awaiting news of a new Saudi Arabian policy.
Some 38% of stocks in London gained while only 26% lost.
Late session
The FTSE 100 remained above 7,000, but off its high for the session. Oil and metals prices, and a smidgeon of decent economic news out of US, helped buoy sentiment, but retailers featured front and centre.
In a good news, bad news day for the sector, Burberry (LON:BRBY) fell more than 7% after its lacklustre update on trading failed to wow the market.
It was the same for ASOS PLC (LON:ASC), although it was more a case of profit-taking for the online group, whose stock has soared 45% in the year to date.
A positive market write-up by Deutsche Bank propelled Next (LON:NXT) to the top of the risers’ list, to be closely followed by Marks & Spencer (LON:MKS).
In the grocery sector, Tesco (LON:TSCO) was in demand after making market share gains for the first time for the first time in five years.
“Sales growth has been strongest among family shoppers, while improved trading from its larger supermarket and Extra stores has supported this month’s gains,” said Fraser McKevitt of Kantar Worldpanel.
3.50pm...Oil report
Oversupply in the oil market looked to be moderating as OPEC producers reined back output, traders said, citing this for a rise in the price of barrel of crude above US$50.
Brent advanced 46 cents to US$52 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate rose 53 cents to US$50.47.
OPEC is meeting at the end of next month to agree on cuts of 1mln barrels of oil per day.
3.30pm...Gold report
The weaker dollar was behind a rise in the gold price, which advanced US$5.32 to US$1,258 in mid-afternoon trade.
The London Bullion Market Association at its annual meeting suggested the price of the yellow metal could go even higher as it forecast a rebound to US$1,347.
FTSE 100 diggers Randgold Resources (LON:RRL) and Fresnillo (LON:FRES) received a bump, rising 2% and 1% respectively.
1.30pm...index claws back losses
The FTSE 100 has now clawed back all of yesterday’s losses, helped by expectations of a strong start on Wall Street. The Footsie was up 66 points at 7,013, pretty much back where it ended last week. Spread betting quotes points to the S&P 500 opening 11 points higher at 2,138 when trading starts at 2.30pm. Back home, UK consumer price inflation rose to a 22-month high of 1.0% in September, a slightly higher rate than economists were expecting. The 0.4 percentage points increase from August was the biggest single month increase since June 2014 and pundits were not slow to blame the weakened pound, though higher petrol prices also played their part. “Consumer price inflation was actually prevented from climbing higher still in September by a dip in food prices, but that looks certain to imminently come to an abrupt end and turn around as a factor,” suggested Howard Archer, the crystal ball-gazer at IHS Markit. “Consumer price inflation now looks highly likely to move above the Bank of England’s 2.0% target rate during the early months of 2017 and we suspect it will get as high as 3.3% in late-2017/early-2018,” Dr Archer predicted. On the corporate front, Diamondcorp Plc (LON:DCP) was the best performing stock after it said it was prepared to listen to offers as part of a review of strategic options. Last week the South African diamond miner said it needed to raise £500,000 immediately after it was forced to shut down operations at the Lace mine following a fire in a dump truck. Today it said mining at the mine had now resumed and the financial impact of the four days lost had been minimised by a rescheduling of programme maintenance. The shares shot up 40% on the news. Conversely, shares in Chaarat Gold Holdings Ltd (LON:CGH) surged 8.6% as it rejected a potential offer for the company. It will press on with its bankable feasibility study for the Tulkubash Heap Leach Project after rejecting an offer for its gold deposit in the Kyrgyz Republic. The deal was pitched at a 30% premium to the AIM-listed company’s current market price. Read Chaarat rejects bid approach Read Diamondcorp willing to listen to offers alongside funding talks
8.30am ... FTSE 100 back above 7,000
The FTSE 100 woke in fine fettle and made it back over the 7,000 mark in early trade with latest US industrial production allaying fears over the health of the world’s largest economy. The index of blue-chip shares added 53.10 points to trade at 7,000.65 at 8.30am. Precious metal miners Fresnillo (LON:FRES) and Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) led the charge, with the price of gold seemingly having bottomed out. Burberry (LON:BRBY) took a bit of flack as it fell 7% after what can best be described as a lacklustre first half trading update. The up-market retailer dragged fellow fashionista ASOS (LON:ASC) with it, although AIM’s largest company had an altogether more positive tale to tell. Pearson (LON:PSON) looked set to endure another day of downgrades after its rather poor update Monday. The shares were friendless and off 4% in the first half hour of trade.
6.09am.... London shares set to rebound
London’s leading shares are set to bounce back a little after the Footsie suffered a 66 point fall yesterday. The top-share index is set to open some 19 points firmer at 6,967, despite losses on Wall Street last night. The Dow Jones average shed 52 points at 18,086 and the broader-based S&P 500 fell six points to 2,127, as output data fuelled expectations of a December rate hike. US September industrial production figures, although stable, suggested that the August downturn was just a dip and won’t therefore upset the Fed’s strategy, which US pundits reckon means a December rate hike. Asian markets seemed to take the opposite view, with traders betting that a rise will not take place before the end of the year. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong raced ahead, advancing 202 points to 23,240, while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was 17 points higher at 16,917. In the UK, inflation figures for September might garner more attention than they have done for quite some time, as the collapse in the value of sterling in the wake of the EU referendum vote has raised the prospect of it returning to haunt the economy. The annual consumer price index inflation rate is set to rise from 0.6% in August to 0.8% or 0.9% in September, which will not alarm anyone who remembers the seventies or eighties. The retail price inflation rate is predicted to rise from 1.8% to 2%. On the corporate front, results from fashion firm Burberry Group PLC (LON:BRBY) will indicate whether the stock is regaining some of its glamour. The interim management statement will cover the second quarter of the luxury goods firm’s financial year. In the first quarter, the retail arm’s like-for-like sales were down 3%, so the company has some ground to recover. Results are set to be weighted more to the second half this year, and that weighting may be even more pronounced if sterling remains sin the forex dog-house. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, will be looking out for a progress report on chief executive Christopher Bailey’s strategic push into the handbag market, which he believes is an area of weakness.
Around the markets
Sterling: US$1.2227, up 0.44 cents Gold for December delivery: US$1,259.40 an ounce, up US$2.80 Oil: WTI for November delivery - US$50.22 a barrel, up 8 cents; Brent crude for December delivery - US$51.79 a barrel, up 27 cents
Headlines
- Climate change court order raises heat on ExxonMobil – The Times
- Pound sterling falls to six-year low against the euro – The Independent
- Investment in UK commercial property sinks after Brexit vote – The Financial Times
- Staples stores at risk as rescue deal nears – The Daily Telegraph
- Another high street name could join BHS on scrap heap, says Kantar – The Guardian
- Market jitters hit two of London’s listings –Daily Express