London open: Stocks edge lower in quiet trade; Plus500 rallies

(Sharecast News) - London stocks edged lower in early trade on Monday, with little in the way of corporate or macro news to move markets. At 0845 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.2% at 8,298.41.

Patrick Munnelly at Tickmill Group said: "This week's financial market movements will be influenced by speeches made by international central bank representatives at the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, flash PMIs for the world's largest economies, and China's monthly loan prime rate setting.

"The Jackson Hole event, which has historically been used to lay the groundwork for future policy, is scheduled for August 22-24. On Friday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell will give a speech about the prospects for the economy. Powell may hint at an impending relaxation but is unlikely to support the lingering expectations of significant rate cuts, given that US inflation is down but remains sticky and the labour market is deteriorating.

"On Wednesday, the minutes of the Federal Reserve's July 30-31 meeting, which paved the way for rate cuts are expected. The main data releases are the weekly unemployment claims, the flash S&P Global PMIs for August, and the existing and new home sales for July.

"The sole noteworthy release on the UK calendar is the flash August PMIs. Governor Andrew Bailey of the Bank of England will speak at Jackson Hole on Friday, and he might offer some policy hints after positive inflation statistics in September stoked speculation about rate cuts."

In equity markets, Plus500 rallied after it said FY2024 results were set to be ahead of current market expectations for revenue and EBITDA of $697.8m and $314.6m, respectively.

On the downside, defence firm BAE Systems was the biggest loser on the FTSE 100 following reports that Germany plans to cut military aid to Ukraine. Rolls-Royce also lost ground.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,298.41 -0.16% FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,055.49 0.03% techMARK (TASX) 4,888.29 -0.25%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Frasers Group (FRAS) 869.00p 2.42% Smith (DS) (SMDS) 473.00p 1.98% Fresnillo (FRES) 540.50p 1.60% Glencore (GLEN) 409.40p 1.37% Burberry Group (BRBY) 694.80p 1.19% Barratt Developments (BDEV) 541.40p 1.05% Prudential (PRU) 663.80p 0.97% Admiral Group (ADM) 2,988.00p 0.95% Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,782.50p 0.85% easyJet (EZJ) 439.90p 0.85%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

BAE Systems (BA.) 1,323.00p -2.00% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 493.30p -1.54% Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,612.00p -1.15% Rentokil Initial (RTO) 483.10p -0.70% Diploma (DPLM) 4,258.00p -0.65% Relx plc (REL) 3,510.00p -0.62% InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 7,420.00p -0.62% Melrose Industries (MRO) 501.60p -0.56% AstraZeneca (AZN) 12,974.00p -0.55% BP (BP.) 438.90p -0.53%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 2,548.00p 4.77% Elementis (ELM) 166.00p 3.75% Redrow (RDW) 779.00p 2.43% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,290.00p 2.30% Auction Technology Group (ATG) 454.00p 2.25% Dr. Martens (DOCS) 72.00p 2.13% Hochschild Mining (HOC) 182.80p 2.12% Indivior (INDV) 971.50p 2.10% Future (FUTR) 1,060.00p 1.73% International Workplace Group (IWG) 171.50p 1.72%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 293.60p -3.80% Kier Group (KIE) 150.60p -2.46% FirstGroup (FGP) 158.00p -2.23% IntegraFin Holding (IHP) 377.50p -2.20% Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 94.95p -2.01% Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 367.00p -2.00% Trustpilot Group (TRST) 193.00p -1.63% Ithaca Energy (ITH) 128.10p -1.61% Chemring Group (CHG) 403.00p -1.59% OSB Group (OSB) 381.60p -1.34%