London open: Stocks edge lower as investors eye Jackson Hole symposium

(Sharecast News) - London stocks edged lower in early trade on Monday following a slump on Wall Street at the end of last week and a mostly downbeat session in Asia, as investors eyed this week's Jackson Hole symposium. At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 7,530.75.

Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: "European markets have started the week on a softer tone following a sharp decline for the tech-heavy Nasdaq on Friday stateside amid concerns about tighter Fed policy.

"Investors await the Jackson Hole Symposium this week as Fed Chair Jerome Powell gets set to share his insights into the US economy. Overnight the People's Bank of China cut its one-year benchmark lending rate with the one-year loan prime rate now at 3.65%."

In equity markets, Cineworld was under the cosh again after it confirmed it is considering filing for bankruptcy in the US as it looks to access near-term liquidity. Shares in the company - which owns Regal Cinemas in the US - tanked on Friday following a press report that it was preparing to file for bankruptcy within weeks after struggling to rebuild attendance from pandemic lows.

Wizz Air flew lower as it said chief financial officer Jourik Hooghe has decided to step down to pursue opportunities outside of the company. He will be succeeded by Ian Malin, who will join the airline on 1 October.

Elsewhere, Vodafone ticked a touch higher after announcing it was planning to sell its Hungary business to 4iG and Corvinus, a Hungarian state holding company, for €1.8bn. Vodafone's shared services business in Hungary - VOIS - is not included in the transaction perimeter and it will continue to provide services to Vodafone's other operating companies, the company said.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,530.75 -0.26% FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,838.60 -0.25% techMARK (TASX) 4,335.06 -0.15%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Airtel Africa (AAF) 143.60p 1.56% Unite Group (UTG) 1,138.00p 1.16% Harbour Energy (HBR) 401.00p 0.91% Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 2,760.00p 0.73% Glencore (GLEN) 490.25p 0.64% Standard Chartered (STAN) 585.60p 0.48% AstraZeneca (AZN) 11,300.00p 0.44% Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 220.30p 0.36% Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 1,473.50p 0.31% Entain (ENT) 1,323.00p 0.30%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Kingfisher (KGF) 235.10p -2.00% Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 626.20p -1.32% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 111.22p -1.19% Abrdn (ABDN) 156.70p -1.14% BP (BP.) 443.70p -0.92% Shell (SHEL) 2,229.50p -0.85% Aveva Group (AVV) 2,267.00p -0.83% Prudential (PRU) 951.00p -0.81% Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 11,095.00p -0.80% Croda International (CRDA) 7,154.00p -0.80%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 473.60p 5.62% ASOS (ASC) 787.00p 2.88% Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 263.60p 2.65% Helios Towers (HTWS) 139.50p 1.82% Liontrust Asset Management (LIO) 985.00p 1.65% Ruffer Investment Company Ltd Red PTG Pref Shares (RICA) 300.00p 1.35% Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 125.30p 1.29% AVI Global Trust (AGT) 194.00p 1.25% RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 1,945.00p 1.20% Savills (SVS) 1,006.00p 1.16%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 470.20p -3.96% Hammerson (HMSO) 25.37p -3.28% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,261.00p -2.92% Countryside Partnerships (CSP) 260.60p -2.91% TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 1,742.00p -2.68% TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 157.40p -2.36% Tullow Oil (TLW) 48.58p -2.17% Pennon Group (PNN) 981.00p -1.75% Travis Perkins (TPK) 882.40p -1.72% Ferrexpo (FXPO) 140.50p -1.68%