(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened mostly higher on Wednesday ahead of the UK government's 'spring statement' at midday, while BP and Reckitt Benckiser top-and-tailed the FTSE 100 on contrasting broker recommendations.
The FTSE 100 index was up 24.84 points, or 0.3%, at 7,501.56 early Wednesday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 2.47 points at 21,115.07. The AIM All-Share index was down 2.14 points, or 0.2%, at 1,035.44.
The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.5% at 745.91. The Cboe 250 was up 0.1% at 18,647.74. The Cboe Small Companies was down 0.3% at 15,069.31.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 stock index in Paris was up 0.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 0.1% higher.
In the FTSE 100, BP was the best performer, up 3.0%, after Morgan Stanley raised the oil major to 'overweight' from 'equal-weight'.
Diageo was up 1.5% after Keppler Cheuvreux upgraded the distiller and brewer to 'buy' from 'hold'.
Halma was up 1.0%. The hazard detection and life protection firm said it expects annual adjusted pretax profit to be in line with forecasts.
Halma said it has made good progress so far in the second half of the financial year ending March 31. It said it continues to benefit from a diverse portfolio and long-term growth drivers.
Halma anticipates adjusted pretax profit for the year to be in line with market consensus expectations. Further, it expects to deliver a sequential improvement in revenue in the second half of the year and substantial revenue growth in the year as a whole.
Reckitt Benckiser was the worst large-cap performer in London, down 3.0%, after Jefferies downgraded the household goods maker to 'underperform' from 'hold'.
In the FTSE 250, Watches of Switzerland was the best performer, up 2.3%, after Societe Generale started coverage on the Rolex dealer with a 'buy' rating.
Elsewhere in London, Pendragon was down 5.5%, even as the car dealer reported positive annual results.
For 2021, it posted a pretax profit of GBP61.5 million, swinging from a GBP24.7 million loss in 2020, on revenue of GBP3.45 billion, up 18% from GBP2.92 billion in 2020. Pendragon said it delivered record underlying pretax profit of GBP83.0 million, multiplied from GBP8.2 million in 2020.
Pendragon declared no dividend for 2021 but cut its net debt in half. It said underlying profit in January and February are ahead of the same months last year, despite continued supply chain constraints.
In Asia on Wednesday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 3.0%. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended up 0.3%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong gained 1.3%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.5%.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3261 early Wednesday, up from USD1.3255 at the London equities close Tuesday, ahead of the UK spring statement at around 1230 GMT.
The UK annual inflation figure hit its highest level since March 1992 as the country grapples with a cost of living crisis, data from the Office for National Statistics showed on Wednesday.
On an annual basis, the UK consumer price index rose by 6.2% in February, accelerating sharply from a 5.5% rise in January. The reading was higher than the market forecast, cited by FXStreet, of 5.9%.
"UK inflation is set to peak a little above 8% in April as higher petrol prices combine with the dramatic increase in the electricity/gas price cap. The situation later this year is looking less worrisome than it was a few weeks ago given the pullback in gas prices, but inflation is still likely to end the year above 6%," said analysts at ING.
The annual inflation rate remains well above the Bank of England's 2.0% target, as UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak faces increasing pressure to take action over the country's cost of living squeeze.
The chancellor will present the latest updates from the Office for Budget Responsibility on the state of the UK economy and public finances as part of the spring statement later on Wednesday. He is set to unveil new plans to help struggling households as he is set to vow to "stand by" British families amid the deepening cost of living crisis.
Sunak will be forced to address a crisis at home - with Labour dubbing him the "high-tax chancellor" and the Federation of Small Businesses urging him to provide more help. It has been suggested Sunak may look to ease the burden on the taxpayer by cutting fuel duty and raising the income threshold at which people begin to pay national insurance.
The euro stood at USD1.1025 early Wednesday in London, firm on USD1.1014. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY121.03, higher against JPY120.55 late Tuesday in London.
Brent oil was quoted at USD116.41 a barrel Wednesday morning, up from USD115.05 a barrel late Tuesday. Gold stood at USD1,919.80 an ounce, slightly lower against USD1,922.93.
In the economic calendar, eurozone consumer confidence is at 1500 GMT.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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