London open: Stocks steady amid corporate deluge
Sharecast
Published Apr 27, 2023 10:00
London open: Stocks steady amid corporate deluge
Sharecast - At 0855 BST, the FTSE 100 was flat at 7,852.05, as market participants eyed the release of US GDP and initial jobless claims later in the day.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The FTSE 100 has opened lower, amid uncertainty about the trajectory for the US economy and the knock-on effect worldwide, particularly with banking woes causing so much concern."
In equity markets, Barclays (LON:BARC) was the top performer on the FTSE 100 after saying it was on track to meet full-year guidance, as it posted a 16% jump in pre-tax profits driven by growth across all its businesses. The bank said group income rose 11% to £7.2bn, with pre-tax profit coming in at £2.6bn, generating a group return on tangible equity of 15% and earnings per share of 11.3p.
Matt Britzman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Barclays has posted a very solid first quarter, comfortably beating market consensus on profit amidst a turbulent tie for the broader banking sector."
"It's still early doors for the major UK banks reporting cycle, but signs look promising that issues over the pond aren't leaking into the wider ecosystem. Credit card defaults in the UK remain below pre-pandemic levels, highlighting the UK consumers' resilience despite mounting costs."
"There are some signs of strain in the US, where credit card balances are building. That benefits Barclays, especially in a higher rate environment, but the flip side is higher default rates. It's nothing to get too worried about for now, credit impairments were comfortably within target range, but worth keeping an eye on."
Elsewhere, consumer goods giant Unilever (LON:ULVR) gained as it said that underlying sales growth in the first quarter accelerated to 10.5%, versus analysts’ expectations of 7.5%.
AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) rallied after first-quarter results beat estimates, while London Stock Exchange Group (LON:LSEG), Lancashire Holdings (LON:LRE), and Inchcape (LON:INCH) also rose after Q1 updates.
On the downside, St. James’s Place (LON:SJP), Weir (LON:WEIR), Schroders (LON:SDR), WPP (LON:WPP), and Capricorn Energy (LON:CNE) all fell after updates.
Get The App
Howden Joinery (LON:HWDN) was also in the red after an update, along with Molten Ventures (LON:GROW), while J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) nudged lower as it lifted guidance for the current fiscal year after posting a fall in 2022/23 profits.
Legal & General (LON:LGEN), Rightmove (LON:RMV), Relx (LON:REL), and Derwent London (LON:DLN) all lost ground as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.
Read more on Sharecast.com
Written By: Sharecast
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.