17.30 (CLOSE): Supermarkets helped the FTSE 100 Index shake off morose sentiment on Wall Street and edge into positive territory today.
Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Tesco led the way in the top flight as it closed 14.9 points up at 6855.8 at the end of a week when it had looked poised to mount an assault on its all-time closing high of 6930.2 in December 1999.
The index had been down earlier after the previous session saw New York’s Dow Jones Industrial Average suffer its worst day in five weeks, following lower earnings from Wal-Mart and mixed economic updates.
Boost: Sainsbury’s, Morrison and Tesco were among the big risers today.
New York’s torpor had spread across the Atlantic to see the FTSE 100 close lower at the end of Thursday’s session.
But markets were quieter for the final day of the week, with Germany’s Dax slightly down and France’s Cac 40 a little ahead. The Dow Jones was flat at the time of the close in London.
The pound strengthened as it shook off attempts by Bank of England governor Mark Carney earlier in the week to dampen expectations of an early interest rate rise. Sterling was at 1.68 US dollars and 1.23 euros.
In equities, Britain’s grocers enjoyed a second day of gains on the back of figures showing Wal-Mart’s UK supermarket group Asda narrowly returned to sales growth.
The update cheered investors in a sector where the major players are being squeezed by discounters Aldi and Lidl, driving Sainsbury’s to the top flight risers’ board as it climbed more than 4 per cent, or 14.9p, to 347.7p
Morrisons was up 7.7p to 212.9p and Tesco rose 7.9p to 310.4p.
Airline and travel stocks again endured a tricky session on concerns about the strength of demand from UK consumers during a World Cup summer.
An update from Germany’s TUI, which owns a stake in Thomson and First Choice business TUI Travel, failed to boost spirits, despite the company reporting a smaller loss for the most recent quarter.
Low-cost airline easyJet was down 34p to 1516p, as the stock lost some of its recent froth. British Airways owner International Airlines Group was off 7.4p to 358.3p.
TUI Travel was down nearly 4 per cent or 16.1p to 407.7p while FTSE 250 Index listed Thomas Cook fell 3.4p to 152.7p, adding to the 13 per cent plunge in the previous session following its latest trading update.
AstraZeneca was another notable riser in the top flight, although the improvement of 97p to 4823.5p still left its shares well short of the £50 a share on the table from US rival Pfizer.
Meanwhile, shares in Carphone Warehouse and Dixons Retail Group remained under pressure after nosediving in the wake of their merger deal. Carphone was 11.3p lower at 290p and Dixons, which owns PC World and Currys, fell by 1.7p to 44p.
The biggest FTSE 100 risers were Sainsbury’s, up 14.9p to 347.7p, Morrisons up 7.7p to 212.9p, Tesco up 7.9p to 310.4p and Reckitt Benckiser up 110p to 5070p.
The biggest FTSE 100 fallers were Coca-Cola HBC, down 66p to 1381p, Tui Travel down 16.1p to 407.7p, Barratt Developments down 13.5p to 344.3p and Schroders down 96p to 2501p.
15.45: The FTSE-100 index is up 1.81 at 6842.70.
12:15:
The FTSE 100 has lost earlier gains and is now 19 points down, or 0.26 per cent, at 6,821 after Wall Street weakness spread to London.
The Dow Jones had its worst day in five weeks following lower earnings from Wal-Mart and mixed news about the economy as figures showed America’s industrial production fell in April.
The Wall Street sell-off interrupted the progress of the FTSE 100 Index, which lost some of its recent gains to finish 37.6 points lower yesterday.
No gains: London shares were dragged down by weak trading on Wall Street
It was down by another 20.1 points at 6820.7 amid quiet trading today, with investors increasingly concerned about whether recent gains can be justified.
Airline and travel stocks again endured a tricky session on concerns about the strength of demand from UK consumers during a World Cup summer.
An update from Germany’s TUI, which owns a stake in Thomson and First Choice business TUI Travel, failed to boost spirits, despite the company reporting a smaller loss for the most recent quarter.
Low-cost airline easyJet was one of the biggest fallers in the top flight, down 71.5p to 1478.5p, as the stock loses some of its recent froth. British Airways rival International Airlines Group was off 13.45p to 352.3p.
TUI Travel was down 3 per cent or 14.8p to 409p although FTSE 250 Index listed Thomas Cook bucked the trend with a rise of 2.1p to 158.2p.
There was better news for supermarket stocks as they rallied for a second consecutive session, helped by steady sales figures from Asda. Morrisons topped the risers board with a gain of 3 per cent or 6.75p to 211.95p, Sainsbury’s added 6.6p to 339.4p and Tesco improved 5.1p to 307.75p.
AstraZeneca was another notable riser in the top flight, although the improvement of 67.5p to 4793.5p still left its shares well short of the £50 a share on the table from US rival Pfizer.
Meanwhile, shares in Carphone Warehouse and Dixons Retail Group remained under pressure after nosediving in the wake of their merger deal. Carphone was 3 per cent or 11.5p lower at 289.7p and Dixons, which owns PC World and Currys, fell 1.3p to 44.4p.
The slump, which reflects concerns about the risk and cost of integrating the two companies, means the deal is now worth £3.3billion, rather than the £3.7billion on Thursday morning.
On the list: Morrisons is up on rumours of a buyout bid
9:20: Traders are hoping the Footsie is ready to make another tilt at finally reaching a new record high as the market opened up this morning.
By 9.20am the FTSE 100 had eased back to stand almost flat, up just 0.96 points at 6,841.85, with supermarkets enjoying a rare morning in the sun.
Morrisons shares were up 3.8 per cent, rising 7.85p to 213.05p, as rumours continued of a potential buyout for the struggling supermarket.
Shares had risen 4.5 per cent yesterday on talk that a US-led private equity consortium could launch a £6.4billion bid with a bid at up to 275p per share.
Morrisons’ property empire remains a big attraction, as it owns about 90 per cent of its shops, warehouses and offices, as well as abbatoirs. That property could be worth £10bn while the supermarket’s current market cap is just under £5billion.
Sainsbury’s was also up 2.5 per cent, with shares rising 8.6p to 341.4p, with traders still keen to talk up its takeover prospects long after the Qatari failed bid seven years ago. That was worth 600p a share and the Qatar Investment Authority has retained a 26 per cent stake in the retailer, which has managed to be the one relatively bright light among the big supermarket guns recently.
Tesco shares were up 0.9 per cent, or 2.7p to 305.25p, having managed to climb back above 300p this week.
Investors who believe the supermarkets have been oversold are being offered some juicy dividend yields to tempt them in thanks to depressed share prices.
Morrisons’ yields 6.6 per cent, Sainsbury’s yields 5.3 per cent and Tesco yields 5 per cent.
AstraZeneca was also among the FTSE 100 top risers this morning, up 1.3 per cent, with a 60.75p rise to 4,787.25p.
The price was up on speculation of a bigger bid from US drugs giant Pfizer.
Other risers included Admiral, up 1 per cent, or 14.5p to 1,430.5p and BAE, up 1 per cent, or 4.35p to 420.85p and Diageo, up 0.8 per cent, or 15.25p to 1,924.75p.
Among the losers were TUI Travel, down 3.34 per cent, Sports Direct down 2.74 per cent and Barratt Developments down 2.45 per cent.