London open: Stocks fall on hawkish Powell; Admiral slumps on results

(Sharecast News) - London stocks fell in early trade on Wednesday, taking their cue from a downbeat session on Wall Street after a hawkish testimony from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell. At 0850 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.2% at 7,901.04, as investors waded through a raft of corporate news.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The global stock sell-off is continuing with investors jolted by the realisation that the work of the Federal Reserve in trying to tame wild inflation in the US far from over.

"In his testimony before Congress, the Fed chair Jerome Powell indicated that hotter than expected readings of the labour market, business activity and core prices in January show that inflation is proving much stronger than policymakers anticipated when they last met to decide monetary policy.

"Three fresh rate rises in March, May and June now look likely and the chances of a steeper 0.5% hike later this month are increasing if the February jobs snapshot and consumer price data doesn't show significant signs of cooling. As borrowing costs are set to shoot up yet again, it'll pile more pressure on consumers and companies.

"It's adding to worries that the US economy won't fall like a feather into a mild downturn but slam into a recession."

In equity markets, Admiral slumped after the insurer cut its full-year dividend as it said profits fell in a "challenging" market.

Legal & General lost ground despite lifting its dividend and posting a jump in full-year operating profit.

Tullow Oil was also weaker despite saying that annual profits almost doubled as it cashed in on higher oil and gas prices sparked by the war in Ukraine.

On the upside, Hiscox rallied as it said full-year pre-tax profit fell to $44.7m from $190.8m, versus expectations for a loss of $69.2m.

Quilter gained as the wealth manager reported a better-than-expected full-year profit and said investor sentiment was expected to recover this year.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,901.04 -0.23% FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,849.99 -0.53% techMARK (TASX) 4,654.58 -0.27%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Haleon (HLN) 324.00p 1.23% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 154.64p 0.95% Kingfisher (KGF) 289.10p 0.94% Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,081.00p 0.75% BAE Systems (BA.) 918.00p 0.72% Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,174.00p 0.65% British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,154.00p 0.56% Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,015.00p 0.50% BP (BP.) 561.10p 0.47% HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 626.80p 0.40%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Admiral Group (ADM) 1,983.50p -5.00% Schroders (SDR) 470.10p -3.07% Legal & General Group (LGEN) 260.50p -1.99% St James's Place (STJ) 1,254.00p -1.84% Abrdn (ABDN) 228.30p -1.81% Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 817.60p -1.78% Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 14,015.00p -1.65% Unite Group (UTG) 951.50p -1.55% Croda International (CRDA) 6,376.00p -1.45% Frasers Group (FRAS) 773.00p -1.40%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Just Group (JUST) 95.15p 4.56% Quilter (QLT) 93.02p 4.42% Clarkson (CKN) 3,290.00p 3.13% C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 151.20p 2.44% TP Icap Group (TCAP) 198.30p 1.90% Spirent Communications (SPT) 183.90p 1.88% Pets at Home Group (PETS) 392.00p 1.82% Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 569.00p 1.79% Ruffer Investment Company Ltd Red PTG Pref Shares (RICA) 308.00p 1.32% Babcock International Group (BAB) 319.60p 0.88%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Tullow Oil (TLW) 32.80p -4.26% IP Group (IPO) 59.00p -4.22% Hill and Smith (HILS) 1,360.00p -3.82% Investec (INVP) 507.00p -2.91% Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 577.50p -2.78% Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 144.80p -2.75% Urban Logistics Reit (SHED) 140.00p -2.44% ASOS (ASC) 911.00p -2.41% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,928.00p -2.30% Keller Group (KLR) 740.00p -2.25%