London midday: Stocks rise as broker notes lend a hand; US PCE eyed

(Sharecast News) - London stocks had edged further into the black by midday on Friday, with broker notes helping to lift the top-flight index, as investors eyed the release of US CPE figures. The FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 8,256.92.

The US PCE release for April was due at 1330 BST.

Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets, said: "Today will see a big focus on the Fed's favoured core PCE inflation metric, with markets likely to take on a somewhat subdued tone until we get greater clarity on this key data point. Currently standing at 2.8%, there is a hope that the core PCE price index will drop back down to 2.7%.

"While the steady pathway of disinflation has taken this metric down from 4.8% to 2.8% in the space of a year, there are still considerable questions over what it would take for the Fed to start cutting interest rates."

On home shores, data from the Bank of England showed the amount of credit given to consumers halved in April, while mortgage approvals fell as buyers held out for a potential cut to interest rates later this summer.

Net consumer credit rose by just £0.73bn last month, well below the £1.42bn extended to consumers in March, which was revised down from £1.58bn.

This was considerably below the £1.50bn expected by economists and was likely a result of higher borrowing costs.

Net borrowing through credit cards dropped to just £0.19bn from £0.66bn the month before, while other forms of credit like car finance and personal loans declined to £0.54bn from £0.76bn previously.

Individuals' borrowing of mortgage debt increased to £2.4bn from £0.5bn the month before. However, net mortgage approvals for house purchases - a closely watched indicator of future borrowing - fell to 61,100 in April from 61,300 in March, while net approvals for remortgaging fell to 29,900 from 33,500.

Investors were also mulling the latest figures from Nationwide, which showed that house prices returned to growth in May after two months of declines.

House prices were up 0.4% on the month following a drop of 0.4% in April and 0.2% in March. Economists had expected house prices to tick up 0.1% on the month.

On the year, prices rose 1.3% in May following a 0.6% jump in April and a 1.6% increase in March.

The average price of a home now stands at £264,249, up from £261,962.

Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner said: "The market appears to be showing signs of resilience in the face of ongoing affordability pressures following the rise in longer term interest rates in recent months."

Elsewhere, industry research showed that UK retail footfall eased in May despite the bank holiday weekends and improving weather.

According to the latest BRC-Sensormatic IQ footfall monitor, total footfall slipped 3.6% in May, although that was an improvement on April's 7.2% slump.

All types of shopping destinations saw fewer visitors during the month. Footfall decreased by 2.7% on high streets, by 2.3% in retail parks and by 4.5% in shopping centres.

In equity markets, National Grid jumped to the top of the FTSE 100 after Jefferies reiterated its 'buy' rating on the energy infrastructure firm.

British Gas owner Centrica was also a high riser after an upgrade to 'outperform' from 'sector perform' at RBC Capital Markets.

Whitbread advanced after JPMorgan Cazenove reiterated its 'overweight' rating on the Premier Inn owner. It said Whitbread continues to be one of its key convictions and sees the recent pullback - the shares are down 20% year-to-date - as "an opportunity to revisit the story".

On the downside, JD Sports Fashion tumbled after it reported lower-than-expected annual profits as it continued to invest in its store estate. Profits before tax and adjusting items of £917.2m were down 7.5%, against forecasts of £920m. Organic sales were up 9%.

Associated British Foods fell after UBS sold 10.3m shares in the Primark owner in a placing on behalf of its biggest shareholder, Howard Investments Limited.

Shares in Flutter Entertainment nosedived as the gambling outfit said finance chief Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson would leave the company with immediate effect as it shifted its listing to the US.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,256.92 0.31% FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,678.11 0.04% techMARK (TASX) 4,802.86 0.05%

FTSE 100 - Risers

National Grid (NG.) 876.60p 3.99% Centrica (CNA) 143.80p 3.34% Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 4,212.00p 2.83% Whitbread (WTB) 2,987.00p 2.68% SSE (SSE) 1,743.00p 1.57% GSK (GSK) 1,751.50p 1.24% Beazley (BEZ) 689.50p 1.10% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 171.95p 1.00% BAE Systems (BA.) 1,386.50p 0.98% London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 9,178.00p 0.90%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 123.10p -8.00% Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,562.00p -3.68% Ocado Group (OCDO) 369.40p -3.68% Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 14,605.00p -2.47% St James's Place (STJ) 494.00p -2.37% Airtel Africa (AAF) 121.30p -2.02% Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,036.50p -1.66% Rightmove (RMV) 532.20p -1.63% Melrose Industries (MRO) 610.00p -1.55% Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 812.80p -1.48%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 143.30p 3.39% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,270.00p 3.37% PZ Cussons (PZC) 112.40p 3.12% Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 225.00p 3.12% Dr. Martens (DOCS) 86.40p 2.86% W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 71.80p 2.57% Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 3,570.00p 1.85% ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT) 1,236.00p 1.81% Playtech (PTEC) 479.50p 1.80% Babcock International Group (BAB) 563.50p 1.71%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Foresight Group Holdings Limited NPV (FSG) 469.00p -2.29% Close Brothers Group (CBG) 473.80p -2.07% Genuit Group (GEN) 451.00p -2.06% Auction Technology Group (ATG) 540.00p -2.00% Inchcape (INCH) 801.00p -1.90% Wood Group (John) (WG.) 183.60p -1.87% Essentra (ESNT) 164.60p -1.79% Rathbones Group (RAT) 1,736.00p -1.70% Marshalls (MSLH) 319.50p -1.69% Mobico Group (MCG) 53.95p -1.46%