London open: Stocks nudge up ahead of Nvidia earnings

(Sharecast News) - London stocks nudged higher in early trade on Wednesday following a positive close on Wall Street, as investors eyed results from US chip maker Nvidia. At 0820 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 8,356.95.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Investors are to some extent in wait-and-see mood ahead of the hotly anticipated results from tech superstar Nvidia, due out later.

"The chip giant is again expected to demonstrate that it's firing on all cylinders, with another round of blockbuster numbers expected, fuelled by accelerating demand for its AI focused computing platforms. But a lot will also be riding on the outlook and guidance from the firm, with some uncertainty swirling about just how long it will be before rapacious appetite for its products is sated."

In equity markets, GSK gained as it said the Delaware Supreme Court would review a previous decision allowing expert evidence in the Zantac litigation - an important step in the company's defence against claims that the drug causes cancer.

Wood Group rose as it agreed the sale of two businesses - EthosEnergy and CEC Controls - for around $165m as part of its programme to dispose of non-core businesses.

Frasers Group ticked higher after saying it had taken a 14.65% stake in Accent Group, a retail and distribution business in the performance and lifestyle market in Australia and New Zealand.

On the downside, Prudential lost ground even as it said it was on track to hit its medium-term profit targets after a solid first half, and announced an acceleration in sales momentum since the period-end.

New business profit totalled $1.47bn in the six months to 30 June, which was 8% higher than last year when excluding the effect of interest rate and other economic impacts.

While this was down from the "exceptional" growth of 47% in the last financial year, the group reiterated its target of achieving a compound annual growth rate for new business profit of 15-20% by 2027.

Precious metals miner Hochschild slumped. The company reiterated its output guidance despite operations at its newly opened Mara Rosa mine running slowly, as it swung into profit for the first half on the back of rising commodity prices, lower costs and a reduction in impairment charges.

In broker note action, Direct Line was upgraded to 'buy' at Citi, while B&Q owner Kingfisher was cut to 'neutral'.

Watches of Switzerland was downgraded to 'neutral' by BNP Paribas Exane.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,356.95 0.14% FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,164.30 0.01% techMARK (TASX) 4,905.26 0.51%

FTSE 100 - Risers

GSK (GSK) 1,649.50p 1.95% Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,786.00p 1.60% Frasers Group (FRAS) 869.00p 1.34% Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,523.00p 0.96% Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,016.00p 0.95% Melrose Industries (MRO) 479.90p 0.80% F&C Investment Trust (FCIT) 1,034.00p 0.78% Halma (HLMA) 2,557.00p 0.75% Persimmon (PSN) 1,643.50p 0.70% Sage Group (SGE) 1,012.00p 0.70%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Kingfisher (KGF) 280.90p -2.06% Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,763.00p -1.06% Anglo American (AAL) 2,256.50p -0.99% Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,602.00p -0.94% Tesco (TSCO) 349.60p -0.60% Glencore (GLEN) 408.50p -0.49% easyJet (EZJ) 477.10p -0.36% Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 15,865.00p -0.35% Legal & General Group (LGEN) 224.00p -0.31% Shell (SHEL) 2,717.50p -0.28%

FTSE 250 - Risers

XPS Pensions Group (XPS) 322.00p 4.89% Ninety One (N91) 173.50p 4.71% PureTech Health (PRTC) 172.00p 4.24% Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 982.00p 3.64% Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 190.40p 1.98% Mitie Group (MTO) 126.00p 1.94% Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 100.60p 1.41% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,352.00p 1.12% Close Brothers Group (CBG) 508.50p 1.09% Energean (ENOG) 967.50p 0.94%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 287.20p -4.58% Hochschild Mining (HOC) 189.00p -2.58% Rathbones Group (RAT) 1,826.00p -2.56% FirstGroup (FGP) 155.00p -2.52% JTC (JTC) 1,040.00p -2.07% Dr. Martens (DOCS) 72.50p -2.03% Pennon Group (PNN) 583.50p -1.85% Vesuvius (VSVS) 408.50p -1.57% Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 403.60p -1.42% International Distribution Services (IDS) 338.20p -1.28%