London close: FTSE 100 continues grind higher towards 8,000 points

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were mixed on Thursday but the top-flight index continued to grind higher as investors sifted through corporate news, with Standard Chartered surging ahead on deal speculation. The FTSE 100 was up 0.33% at 7,911.15, but the second-tier index drifted lower by 0.13% to 20,277.34.

"It's been another positive day for the FTSE100 and another record high, with the 8,000-level continuing to act as a magnet for investor sentiment, and a market that seems to just want to go higher," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.

"We have seen the early morning momentum fade in a similar fashion to yesterday's price action, which does suggest an element of caution, but we are still putting in higher lows."

RICS said in its latest survey that the net balance for house prices softened to -47 from -42 in December. A balance measures the difference between the percentage of surveyors seeing rises and those reporting falls.

New buyer enquiries also fell, with a net balance of -47 compared to -40 a month previously, the ninth successive negative reading. The new instructions balance came in at -14.

RICS said the market was still adjusting to the higher borrowing costs, after mortgage rates rocketed in the autumn in response to the government's disastrous mini-budget.

Surveyors did not forecast any short-term improvement. The near-term price expectations measure was -66, while sales were expected to continuing falling in the coming three months, with a balance of -49, although that was a marginal uptick on December's -54.

Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at RICS, said: "Although some respondents noted a little more interest in the housing market as the new year got underway, the overall tone of the feedback still remains subdued, which is not altogether surprising given the jump in mortgage rates since the autumn.

"Prices, meanwhile, are now beginning to reflect the shift in balance between demand and supply.

"However, it is questionable how much downside to pricing there is likely to be, given that recent macro-forecasts from the Bank of England and others are now envisaging a less harsh economic environment this year."

In equity markets, Standard Chartered was the top performer on the FTSE 100 following a report that First Abu Dhabi Bank is pressing ahead with a potential offer for the bank.

According to Bloomberg, under the code name Silver-Foxtrot, officials at the Abu Dhabi bank are working under the radar on a possible bid once a cooling off period required by UK takeover rules elapses. Sources told Bloomberg that FAB is exploring an all-cash bid of in the range of $30bn to $35bn.

Consumer goods giant Unilever ticked a little higher after it reported better-than-expected sales growth, boosted by higher prices.

On the downside, Watches of Switzerland tumbled as the retailer's third-quarter revenues missed expectations.

Ladbrokes owner Entain slid after rumours of a possible takeover were quashed. Susannah Streeter at Hargreaves Lansdown said: "Speculation that MGM might be ready to make a move were shut down by the company during an analyst call.

"BetMGM, Entain's joint venture with US-based MGM, has been a shining light for the group that's expected to start turning a profit over the second half of 2023 and that's partly why the rumour mills have been whirring."

AstraZeneca pushed higher after it reported full-year earnings in line with expectations and said it expects 2023 core profits to grow by high-single to low-double digits.

British American Tobacco lost ground as it posted a slight increase in full-year revenues thanks to volume growth and price increases in its New Category unit, but said the macroeconomic outlook was expected to remain challenging.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,911.15 0.33% FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,277.34 -0.13% techMARK (TASX) 4,556.14 0.06%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Standard Chartered (STAN) 767.60p 11.44% BP (BP.) 545.70p 2.34% Burberry Group (BRBY) 2,440.00p 1.37% St James's Place (STJ) 1,266.50p 1.12% DCC (CDI) (DCC) 4,663.00p 1.08% Abrdn (ABDN) 215.60p 1.08% Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,640.00p 1.08% Legal & General Group (LGEN) 256.00p 1.07% Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 916.80p 1.01% Barratt Developments (BDEV) 472.60p 1.00%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Entain (ENT) 1,348.00p -14.00% Glencore (GLEN) 526.60p -3.71% BT Group (BT.A) 133.90p -3.11% British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,018.00p -2.36% Fresnillo (FRES) 801.60p -2.29% Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,924.00p -2.24% Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,152.50p -2.04% Compass Group (CPG) 1,856.00p -1.69% SEGRO (SGRO) 847.20p -1.58% Experian (EXPN) 2,980.00p -1.36%

FTSE 250 - Risers

NB Private Equity Partners Ltd. (NBPE) 1,610.00p 5.23% Just Group (JUST) 86.75p 4.77% Darktrace (DARK) 255.40p 4.74% Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 151.80p 3.55% Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 121.20p 3.42% SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 93.40p 3.20% Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 182.50p 2.96% Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 166.00p 2.66% Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 249.00p 2.47% CMC Markets (CMCX) 245.50p 2.29%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 895.00p -11.03% Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 186.20p -3.52% UK Commercial Property Reit Limited (UKCM) 54.50p -3.37% Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust (ASL) 1,370.00p -3.25% Currys (CURY) 72.75p -2.94% Target Healthcare Reit Ltd (THRL) 80.50p -2.90% Future (FUTR) 1,459.00p -2.80% Centamin (DI) (CEY) 102.45p -2.75% Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 107.80p -2.71% CLS Holdings (CLI) 158.00p -2.35%