London midday: Stocks maintain gains ahead of Fed minutes

(Sharecast News) - London equity markets were still in the black by midday on Wednesday, underpinned by solid performances from the likes of SSE and Pets at Home, as investors eyed the latest minutes from the US Federal Reserve. The FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 7,530.18, having opened higher after stocks on Wall Street closed off their lows.

Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The feel good factor from earlier in the week has fizzed away but there is still some element of relief washing through the financial markets that the crutch of cheap money isn't going to be withdrawn quite so quickly.

"Jerome Powell, chair of the US Federal Reserve, soothed fears about ultra-aggressive monetary policy, indicating expectations of 0.75% rate hikes in the months to come were some way off the mark. That helped lift the Dow Jones at the end of the session and has steadied overall market sentiment, with the Hang Seng in Hong Kong up slightly, the Nikkei down marginally and the FTSE 100 set to open in positive territory.

"However, Mr Powell's comments hinting that policymakers would be more measured is also an indication of concerns about weakness in the global economy. Transatlantic worries are still hovering about looming recessions hitting corporate and consumer spending. Tech stocks continued their tumble on the Nasdaq with Snap's dramatic fall, pulling down big names like Amazon, Alphabet and Meta."

In equity markets, SSE was the standout gainer on the FTSE 100 after it posted a 23% increase in full-year pre-tax profit. The shares fell sharply on Tuesday on reports that Chancellor Rishi Sunak had ordered a plan for a windfall tax on electricity generators.

Imperial Brands was a high riser after an upgrade to 'buy' at Goldman Sachs. Peer British American Tobacco also pushed higher.

Volution rallied after saying it continued to perform strongly through the second half, with third-quarter revenue growth of 17.6% at constant currency.

Pets at Home advanced after it reported an above-forecast jump in annual profits, driven by strong demand across the pet care market. The company also said remained on course to meet current year profit forecasts.

IT services provider Softcat gained as it said annual operating profit would be slightly ahead of expectations after a strong third quarter.

On the downside, Ocado slumped after Ocado Retail, its 50/50 joint venture with M&S, cut guidance. It now expects sales growth in FY22 will be in the low single digits rather than the 10% it had guided to previously.

Darktrace fell after JPMorgan reiterated its 'underweight' rating on shares of the cybersecurity firm and slashed the price target to 320p from 400p, saying reputational risk had muddied the investment case further.

Marks & Spencer ticked lower as it reported a rise in annual earnings, boosted by a strong performance in food, but warned that growing headwinds could curtail profits in the current year.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,530.18 0.61% FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,903.79 0.27% techMARK (TASX) 4,403.88 -0.09%

FTSE 100 - Risers

SSE (SSE) 1,875.00p 6.17% Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,849.00p 3.59% British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,587.00p 2.82% Airtel Africa (AAF) 156.50p 2.56% Anglo American (AAL) 3,713.00p 2.44% Vodafone Group (VOD) 131.86p 2.34% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 81.87p 2.24% Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,658.00p 2.11% WPP (WPP) 893.80p 2.08% Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 564.00p 1.92%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 730.20p -4.55% RS Group (RS1) 880.50p -3.03% Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,542.50p -2.19% Royal Mail (RMG) 308.80p -1.56% Prudential (PRU) 993.20p -1.52% Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 3,432.00p -1.21% Severn Trent (SVT) 3,111.00p -1.18% Entain (ENT) 1,350.50p -1.06% Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 229.90p -1.03% Harbour Energy (HBR) 422.50p -0.91%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Pets at Home Group (PETS) 309.40p 10.19% Volution Group (FAN) 381.50p 7.31% SSP Group (SSPG) 260.20p 6.64% Drax Group (DRX) 739.00p 5.57% Mediclinic International (MDC) 373.20p 5.13% Trainline (TRN) 307.80p 4.20% Centrica (CNA) 86.62p 4.16% Softcat (SCT) 1,391.00p 3.19% PureTech Health (PRTC) 176.00p 2.80% Man Group (EMG) 248.90p 2.43%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,100.00p -4.11% Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 151.50p -3.93% Chrysalis Investments Limited NPV (CHRY) 119.00p -3.72% Network International Holdings (NETW) 210.40p -3.66% Cranswick (CWK) 3,024.00p -3.51% Spectris (SXS) 2,939.00p -3.42% Trustpilot Group (TRST) 99.60p -3.11% AJ Bell (AJB) 249.80p -2.95% Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 608.80p -2.87% Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 468.50p -2.80%