London open: Stocks drop, pound at 14-month low

(Sharecast News) - London stocks fell in early trade on Monday as bond yields rose again, but oil majors gained in tandem with oil prices. At 0830 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 8,226.21,while sterling dropped to a 14-month low against the dollar, trading down 0.4% at 1.2156.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "UK markets were unsurprisingly subject to skittish investor sentiment in early trade. Bucking the trend were the oil majors after the announcement of further US sanctions against Russia, which lifted the price of 'black gold' overnight, feeding through to gains of around 1.5% for both BP and Shell.

"Nonetheless, the general attitude was circumspect, especially with regards to an uncertain outlook for the UK economy which has already wiped 4.3% from the more domestically focused FTSE 250 in the month of January.

"In contrast to other indices, the FTSE100 has posted a marginal gain of 0.6% so far this year, although this is more likely to have been underpinned by the weakness of sterling as opposed to any flights to the UK as an investment destination."

In equity markets, Ladbrokes owner Entain surged to the top of the FTSE 100 as it reiterated its guidance for FY24 EBITDA. The shares were hit last week after rival Flutter Entertainment downgraded its US guidance due to unfavourable sports results.

Flutter was also a high riser.

Richard Hunter said Entain had been expected to be hit by a series of consumer-friendly sports results over recent weeks.

Oxford Nanopore was in the black after a well-received full-year trading update.

GSK traded a little lower as it announced the acquisition of US-based biopharmaceutical company IDRx for up to $1.15bn. IDRx specialises in developing treatments for gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST). GSK will pay $1bn upfront with the potential for a further milestone payment of $150m.

Fintech group Plus500 lost ground despite saying that results for 2024 had beaten market forecasts, driven by a solid end to the year with customer numbers surging 45% over the final quarter.

PageGroup tumbled as the recruitment firm said annual operating profit would be at the lower end of consensus expectations after fourth-quarter earnings fell 17% as market conditions worsened in Europe, with companies low-balling offers to potential job candidates.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,226.21 -0.27% FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,742.13 0.04% techMARK (TASX) 4,565.80 -0.25%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Entain (ENT) 681.40p 9.16% Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 20,960.00p 2.39% Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) 2,068.00p 2.07% Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 111.20p 1.69% Rentokil Initial (RTO) 383.00p 1.40% BP (BP.) 431.00p 1.39% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 97.94p 1.35% Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 255.20p 1.27% Shell (SHEL) 2,657.00p 1.22% Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 53.34p 0.87%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

M&G (MNG) 185.55p -3.64% Pearson (PSON) 1,264.50p -2.17% Smith (DS) (SMDS) 560.00p -1.75% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 311.00p -1.55% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 571.40p -1.48% Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 4,877.00p -1.47% Relx plc (REL) 3,759.00p -1.36% 3i Group (III) 3,547.00p -1.31% Ashtead Group (AHT) 4,839.00p -1.24% Spirax Group (SPX) 6,430.00p -1.23%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 142.00p 8.40% IntegraFin Holding (IHP) 329.00p 3.13% Discoverie Group (DSCV) 671.00p 2.91% ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT) 1,286.00p 1.74% CMC Markets (CMCX) 236.00p 1.72% Harbour Energy (HBR) 272.00p 1.61% Bellway (BWY) 2,216.00p 1.56% Energean (ENOG) 1,024.00p 1.49% B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 320.60p 1.46% Ithaca Energy (ITH) 131.60p 1.39%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Pagegroup (PAGE) 297.20p -4.56% Premier Foods (PFD) 172.00p -2.71% VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 456.50p -2.46% Genuit Group (GEN) 342.00p -2.01% Deliveroo Class (ROO) 125.90p -1.79% JTC (JTC) 920.00p -1.50% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,212.00p -1.38% Fidelity Emerging Markets Limited Ptg NPV (FEML) 684.00p -1.30% Indivior (INDV) 960.00p -1.23% Hill and Smith (HILS) 1,770.00p -1.23%