London open: Stocks tick higher as miners, Unilever advance

(Sharecast News) - London stocks nudged up in early trade on Tuesday, with miners on the front foot, and Unilever boosted by well-received second-quarter results.

At 0840 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 7,684.88.

Investors were eyeing the start of the US Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting, as well as results from across the pond from the likes of Microsoft and Alphabet.

In UK equity markets, heavily-weighted mining stocks were the top performers, with Anglo American, Rio Tinto, Antofagasta and Glencore all up as base metals prices rose after Chinese leaders pledged more economic support on Monday.

Steve Clayton, head of equity funds at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Chinese stocks rose by 2% overnight, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index added 4% after traders became optimistic that Beijing will take steps to boost the flagging Chinese economy.

"A key session in the Politburo saw Chinese leaders flagging that more would be done to support the economy, leading to property and technology sectors racing ahead."

Consumer goods giant Unilever surged to the top of the FTSE 100 after saying it had delivered a 3.3% rise in interim earnings, driven by higher prices, although it expects underlying price growth to moderate through the year.

Underlying operating profit came in at €5.2bn as underlying sales grew 9.1% to €30.4bn.

Croda followed close behind after half-year results.

On the downside, catering company Compass fell even as it backed its full-year outlook and posted an increase in third-quarter organic revenue.

Auto Trader was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'underweight' from 'neutral' at JPMorgan, which pointed to easing momentum in the core business and an unattractive valuation, while Paragon Banking lost ground after a trading update.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,684.88 0.08% FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,094.46 -0.26% techMARK (TASX) 4,435.73 -0.58%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Unilever (ULVR) 4,223.00p 5.09% Croda International (CRDA) 5,904.00p 4.27% Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,371.00p 3.75% Anglo American (AAL) 2,477.50p 3.64% Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,608.50p 3.47% Prudential (PRU) 1,073.50p 1.90% Glencore (GLEN) 487.35p 1.82% Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,950.00p 0.92% Beazley (BEZ) 563.00p 0.90% Mondi (MNDI) 1,314.50p 0.69%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 628.00p -3.38% Compass Group (CPG) 2,059.00p -3.15% Airtel Africa (AAF) 108.20p -2.08% Unite Group (UTG) 929.00p -1.69% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 154.15p -1.63% Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 15,055.00p -1.50% BAE Systems (BA.) 906.80p -1.39% F&C Investment Trust (FCIT) 883.00p -1.34% InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 5,542.00p -1.25% Next (NXT) 7,072.00p -1.09%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 217.00p 2.36% BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 629.00p 1.78% Digital 9 Infrastructure NPV (DGI9) 61.90p 1.48% HICL Infrastructure (HICL) 135.60p 1.19% Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 714.00p 1.13% JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust (JFJ) 484.50p 1.04% Victrex plc (VCT) 1,573.00p 0.77% Liontrust Asset Management (LIO) 668.50p 0.75% Smithson Investment Trust (SSON) 1,410.00p 0.71% Centamin (DI) (CEY) 92.85p 0.70%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 195.00p -7.67% Games Workshop Group (GAW) 11,000.00p -2.74% Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 268.80p -2.68% Future (FUTR) 756.00p -1.82% SSP Group (SSPG) 252.00p -1.79% Abrdn Private Equity Opportunities Trust (APEO) 440.50p -1.67% Harbour Energy (HBR) 254.20p -1.59% Molten Ventures (GROW) 275.40p -1.57% Mitie Group (MTO) 100.40p -1.57% PureTech Health (PRTC) 220.00p -1.57%