London open: Stocks nudge lower as investors keep an eye on bond yields

(Sharecast News) - London stocks nudged lower in early trade on Tuesday as investors kept an eye on UK bond yields and ahead of the release of the latest US inflation reading.

At 0840 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 8,215.79.

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "UK markets opened broadly flat this morning, feeling continued pressure from rising UK bond yields (gilts) and shifting rate expectations as investors grappled with persistent inflation concerns.

"The yield on the UK 10-year gilt climbed to 4.9%, its highest since July 2008, as traders once again pared back expectations for Bank of England rate cuts in 2025. With inflation data looming and markets anticipating steady annual inflation at 2.6%, but a slight dip in the core rate to 3.4%, the focus remains on how stubborn price pressures will influence monetary policy and broader economic sentiment."

There are no major UK data points due, but the US producer price index for December is scheduled for release at 1330 GMT.

In equity markets, JD Sports tumbled as it downgraded its full-year profit forecast, posting a drop in revenue for November and December in challenging markets.

The group now expects full-year pre-tax profit of between �915m and �935m, down from previous guidance of �955m to �1.035bn.

BP was in the red as the energy major said it now expects to report lower upstream production for the fourth quarter, while tax charges and foreign exchange losses for the full year will be greater than previously expected.

British American Tobacco retreated on news that Reinet Investments SCA is offering to sell its 2% stake in the company in a placing.

Crest Nicholson lost ground as the housebuilder delayed the publication of its 2024 results and said it expects the total fire remediation provision at the year-end to be about �245m to �255m, compared to �145m at the half year.

On the upside, Persimmon jumped as the housebuilder said full-year underlying pre-tax profit was set to be around the upper end of market expectations as completions were ahead of market forecasts.

Barratt Redrow and Taylor Wimpey also gained.

Ocado surged as Ocado Retail delivered a strong finish to its financial year, with sales growth accelerating in the fourth quarter as weekly orders reached a milestone of 500,000 for the first time.

The company, which is the grocery joint venture between Ocado Group and Marks & Spencer, reported retail revenues of �715.8m for the 13 weeks to 1 December, up 17.5% year-on-year and a pick-up from the 15.5% growth seen in the third quarter. That was followed by a record performance over the key Christmas trading period, Ocado Retail said.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,215.79 -0.10%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,821.38 0.52%

techMARK (TASX) 4,564.67 0.33%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Persimmon (PSN) 1,109.50p 5.07%

Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 408.30p 2.67%

Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 110.90p 2.35%

Glencore (GLEN) 371.50p 2.07%

Convatec Group (CTEC) 231.40p 2.03%

Informa (INF) 800.80p 1.78%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,719.50p 1.69%

Anglo American (AAL) 2,489.50p 1.51%

Airtel Africa (AAF) 117.80p 1.46%

Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,953.00p 1.39%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 86.58p -10.09%

British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,849.00p -2.86%

BP (BP.) 420.45p -2.49%

Centrica (CNA) 133.50p -1.73%

Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) 2,038.00p -1.64%

Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,547.00p -1.24%

Games Workshop Group (GAW) 13,110.00p -0.91%

Next (NXT) 9,282.00p -0.73%

Shell (SHEL) 2,644.50p -0.69%

GSK (GSK) 1,322.00p -0.68%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 302.00p 11.85%

IntegraFin Holding (IHP) 342.00p 6.38%

Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 349.80p 4.73%

Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 149.20p 4.56%

W.A.G Payment Solutions (WPS) 82.80p 3.50%

AO World (AO.) 101.80p 3.35%

Me Group International (MEGP) 194.60p 2.96%

Apax Global Alpha Limited (APAX) 144.00p 2.86%

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,234.00p 2.66%

Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,005.00p 2.51%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Trustpilot Group (TRST) 263.50p -2.04%

Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 3,480.00p -1.97%

Dr. Martens (DOCS) 65.00p -1.66%

Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 78.70p -1.50%

Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 154.10p -1.47%

Man Group (EMG) 202.40p -1.46%

Abrdn (ABDN) 132.80p -1.01%

Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 1,354.00p -0.95%

Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 590.00p -0.84%

BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 487.00p -0.61%