FTSE Follows U.S. Markets Lower, Ahead Of Bevy Of BoE Speakers -

FTSE Follows U.S. Markets Lower, Ahead Of Bevy Of BoE Speakers

Oct 21, 2024Jeremy ParkinsonFinance, No picture0

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Britain’s main stock index opened largely unchanged on Monday as increases in commodity-related stocks were counterbalanced by declines in utility companies, while investors await insights from Bank of England officials this week. Heading into the close, the blue-chip benchmark is trading moderately lower as sentiment soured Stateside ahead of major earnings releases later this week.The oil and gas sector rose 1.3%, with major players BP and Shell gaining 1.9% and 1.1% respectively. Precious metal miners advanced 1.8% as gold prices hit a record high amid U.S. election uncertainties. Industrial metal miners rose 0.3% due to lending rate cuts in China and expectations of further stimulus, while the utilities sector fell 0.6%. Investors await speeches from key Bank of England officials this week, following September’s consumer price index figures that revealed Britain’s inflation had dipped below the BoE’s 2% target. Attention will be on the officials’ comments regarding the trajectory of interest rate cuts. Additionally, the release of the UK’s flash PMI figures for October and consumer confidence data are anticipated to provide further insights into the country’s inflation landscape.In single stock stories Cerillion PLC, a provider of billing, charging and customer relationship management software solutions, expects its fiscal year adjusted profit before tax to be “comfortably ahead” of the consensus market forecast of 17.9 million pounds. The company’s revenue for the year ended September 30 is expected to be around 43.8 million pounds. Shares of Cerillion PLC have risen as much as 4.4% and are up 12.7% year-to-date.In broker updates Intertek Group’s shares decline 2.1%. RBC downgrades the stock to “sector perform” from “outperform” and cuts the price target to 5,000 pence from 5,200 pence, citing macro and geopolitical risks across key markets for the testing, inspection, and certification industry. RBC believes Intertek’s valuation multiple is unlikely to expand much further over the next 12 months. The stock is up around 18% year-to-date despite the session’s losses.Shares of UK homebuilder Barratt Redrow rise 1.78% to 496.8p. Morgan Stanley upgrades the stock to “overweight” from “equalweight” and raises the price target to 600p from 579p, implying an ~21% upside. The brokerage says upcoming policy changes will aid volume recovery, though it will take time, and the company is well-placed to benefit from housebuilding planning reforms given its broad portfolio and geographic exposures. Barratt bought smaller rival Redrow in a deal valued at 2.52 billion pounds in February. The broader UK housebuilders index is also up 0.9%. Nine of 15 brokerages rate the stock “buy” or higher, and 6 “hold”, with a median price target of 560p. The company had fallen ~12% year-to-date as of Friday’s close.
Technical & Trade ViewFTSE Bias: Bullish Above Bearish below 8225