London open: FTSE falls ahead of busy week

(Sharecast News) - London stocks fell in early trade on Monday as investors eyed a busy week that includes rate announcements from the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, and earnings from more than half the 'Magnificent 7'. At 0840 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.4% at 8,469.17.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "There's a lot riding on this week's earnings reports for big tech, with updates due from Meta, Microsoft, Apple and Tesla. There's a lot of upside already sewn into expectations, which leaves plenty of room for disappointment. The S&P 500 is set to start the week with a case of the jitters, as investors assess the threat from Chinese AI startups.

"The small Chinese research and engineering firm DeepSeek's AI Chatbot has proved so popular it jumped into the top spot on US iOS App, usurping Open AI's ChatGPT. DeepSeek threatens to spook big tech and has already sent shivers through Silicon Valley by releasing details about how to build large language models more cheaply using low-cost Chinese chips. While they don't offer the cutting-edge tech of Nvidia's graphics processing units, the efficacy of the budget version and the willingness of DeepSeek to share its know-how may start to chip away at Nvidia's dominance. DeepSeek has access to deep wells of Chinese data and has deep pockets. It's funded by hedge fund manager Liang Wenfeng and is believed to be on the hunt for the best AI talent.

"While Nvidia's latest chips are still far superior in terms of performance, with cheaper rivals making progress, there is likely to be a knock-on effect globally, with competing US and Chinese spheres of AI influence set to emerge."

In UK equity markets, miners retreated after weak Chinese manufacturing data, with Anglo American, Glencore and Antofagasta all weaker.

Dr Martens edged lower even as the iconic boot maker backed its full-year guidance and reported an uptick in revenue thanks to a solid performance from the ecommerce segment.

On the upside, British American Tobacco was the standout gainer on the FTSE 100 after an upgrade to 'buy' at UBS.

WH Smith rallied as it confirmed it was looking at potential strategic options for its high street stores, including a possible sale of the "profitable and cash-generative" unit.

The company said it had become a "focused global travel retailer" over the past decade. Its travel business now has more than 1,200 stores across 32 countries, providing three-quarters of group revenue and 85% of trading profit.

Diversified Energy advanced as it announced the acquisition of Maverick Natural Resources for $1.28bn. It said the deal would strengthen its position in multiple basins, including the Permian and Western Anadarko.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,469.17 -0.39% FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,406.57 -0.54% techMARK (TASX) 4,712.08 0.00%

FTSE 100 - Risers

British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,133.00p 4.16% Airtel Africa (AAF) 129.50p 2.78% Convatec Group (CTEC) 245.80p 2.67% Vodafone Group (VOD) 68.36p 2.03% Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,677.00p 1.83% Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 257.20p 1.74% GSK (GSK) 1,380.00p 1.73% British Land Company (BLND) 361.00p 1.63% Tesco (TSCO) 365.40p 1.50% SSE (SSE) 1,582.50p 1.41%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Anglo American (AAL) 2,383.00p -6.01% Halma (HLMA) 2,792.00p -4.12% Fresnillo (FRES) 657.50p -4.08% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 582.60p -3.80% Glencore (GLEN) 363.30p -3.22% Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,698.50p -3.19% Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,025.50p -3.16% Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,270.00p -2.44% Diploma (DPLM) 4,366.00p -2.33% The Sage Group (SGE) 1,301.00p -2.18%

FTSE 250 - Risers

WH Smith (SMWH) 1,219.00p 6.18% Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 1,306.00p 2.59% Spirent Communications (SPT) 186.20p 2.31% Pennon Group (PNN) 516.00p 2.28% Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,200.00p 1.85% Ocado Group (OCDO) 308.20p 1.68% Rathbones Group (RAT) 1,704.00p 1.67% CMC Markets (CMCX) 224.00p 1.36% Hammerson (HMSO) 278.40p 1.31% Templeton Emerging Markets Inv Trust (TEM) 170.60p 1.19%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 425.00p -4.49% Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 366.00p -4.31% Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 638.75p -3.88% Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 348.80p -3.70% Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 255.00p -3.59% Edinburgh Worldwide Inv Trust (EWI) 184.40p -3.46% Harbour Energy (HBR) 246.00p -3.19% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,404.00p -2.70% Hochschild Mining (HOC) 175.20p -2.56% BlackRock Greater Europe Inv Trust (BRGE) 587.00p -2.49%