London open: Imperial Brands leads gains after results

(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Tuesday, with Imperial Brands leading the gains after well-received results. At 0845 GMT, the FTSE 100 was 0.3% higher at 8,133.50.

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "UK markets have a spring in their step with the FTSE 100 up 0.3% in early trading, building on a good session yesterday that saw the UK's largest stocks outperform most major European peers.

"Broader European markets have also had a positive open as investors look ahead to inflation figures for October and comments from the European Central Bank for any insights into the monetary policy outlook.

"After last week's whirlwind of activity, US markets took a breather yesterday evening with a more subdued session. While the market's tendency to rebound remained intact, investor caution lingered as they weighed the implications of Trump appointees and potential tariff policies. With homebuilder sentiment hitting a 7-month high and major earnings from Wal-Mart and Nvidia on the horizon, yesterday's measured tone reflected a market waiting for more direction."

In UK equity markets, Imperial Brands shot to the top of the FTSE 100 after it posted a 4.5% rise in full-year adjusted operating profit as revenues from new products such as vapes and nicotine pouches surged by more than a quarter.

Bodycote gained as it said full-year operating profit was set to be in line with market expectations as it hailed a "resilient performance in challenging end markets".

Vesuvius was also on the front foot as it said trading profit for the 2024 financial year was set to be slightly below 2023 levels on a constant currency basis, maintaining a return on sales margin of around 10.2%.

In broker note action, Sainsbury's was boosted by an initiation at 'outperform' by RBC Capital Markets, while United Utilities was in the black after an upgrade to 'outperform' by BNPP Exane.

On the downside, Informa fell even as it reaffirmed its recently upgraded full-year guidance and said strong forward bookings were providing momentum into 2025.

Diploma and Big Yellow also lost ground after results.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,133.50 0.30% FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,437.06 0.20% techMARK (TASX) 4,616.20 0.30%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,458.00p 2.37% BT Group (BT.A) 147.85p 2.14% DCC (CDI) (DCC) 5,690.00p 1.70% Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 4,217.00p 1.64% British Land Company (BLND) 379.00p 1.50% Croda International (CRDA) 3,510.00p 1.39% Convatec Group (CTEC) 242.80p 1.34% United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,106.50p 1.33% Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 248.00p 1.22% Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,841.00p 1.21%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Diploma (DPLM) 4,378.00p -3.48% Informa (INF) 839.80p -1.80% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 240.30p -1.76% Melrose Industries (MRO) 517.60p -1.71% easyJet (EZJ) 520.80p -0.69% Diageo (DGE) 2,345.50p -0.64% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 535.80p -0.63% Ashtead Group (AHT) 6,174.00p -0.61% InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 9,456.00p -0.61% B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 346.40p -0.43%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Bodycote (BOY) 608.00p 5.74% Vesuvius (VSVS) 389.00p 5.28% Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 344.60p 4.68% Just Group (JUST) 142.40p 3.79% Indivior (INDV) 796.00p 3.51% AJ Bell (AJB) 474.00p 3.49% Wood Group (John) (WG.) 54.20p 2.75% Centamin (DI) (CEY) 149.50p 2.61% Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 82.90p 2.35% Petershill Partners (PHLL) 246.00p 2.07%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Big Yellow Group (BYG) 1,096.00p -5.03% Senior (SNR) 140.60p -4.74% Ninety One (N91) 153.90p -4.71% W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 82.60p -3.95% Burberry Group (BRBY) 873.20p -3.54% RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 3,035.00p -1.78% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,337.00p -1.62% Renishaw (RSW) 3,130.00p -1.42% SThree (STEM) 340.00p -1.16% Murray International Trust (MYI) 251.00p -0.99%