London close: Stocks end on mixed note even as Bank hikes rates

(Sharecast News) - Stocks ended the session on a mixed note even after the Bank of England went ahead and hiked rates. Bank Rate was raised by 25 basis points to 5.25% and policymakers indicated that further tightening was possible.

The FTSE 100 slipped 0.44% to 7,529.16, but had come well off its intraday lows.

London's second-tier index however added 0.11% to 18,833.65.

Cable was little changed 1.2710 alongside while the yield on the benchmark 10-year Gilt was rising by seven basis points to 4.474%.

In the background, Wall Street's main indices were also moving higher even as Treasury yields ground higher.

Asia Pacific stocks traded lower for the most part, but the Shanghai Stock Exchange's composite index outperformed after it was reported that services sector activity in the Asian giant picked up unexpectedly last month.

Survey compiler Caixin's services sector Purchasing Managers' Index improved from 53.9 for June to 54.1 in July (consensus: 52.4).

On home shores, S&P Global confirmed that its UK services sector Purchasing Managers' Index slipped to a reading of 51.5 in July.

Wizz Air and LSE Group disappoint

Low-cost carrier Wizz Air swung to a first-quarter profit on the back of soaring demand for travel and record passenger numbers. The company on Thursday reported an operating profit of €79.9m, compared with a loss of €284.5m. Revenue climbed 53% to €1.2bn, while passenger numbers were up by a quarter to 15.3 million. However, chief executive officer, Jozsef Varadi, said he downgraded first-half seat kilometre growth to 25% versus previously guided 30% due to continued infrastructure, supply chain limitations facing the industry and engine inspections.

Rolls Royce was firing on all cylinders during the front half of 2023. For the six months ending on 30 June, Rolls Royce delivered a 31% jump in underlying revenues to reach £6.95bn. Underlying operating profits more than quintupled to £673m and Rolls Royce turned cash flow positive to the tune of £356m after an outflow of -£68m in the year earlier period. Management attributed the improvement to continued growth in its end markets, commercial optimisation and cost efficiencies.

Paper and packaging group Mondi reported a sharp fall in interim earnings due to weaker demand, customer destocking and higher input costs. Pre-tax profit for the six months to June 30 more than halved to €418m from €933m a year ago. "So far in 2023, demand and prices have declined sequentially with the exception of containerboard prices which stabilised in the later part of the half year. We saw some benefit from lower input costs which continue to ease as we progress into the third quarter of the year," said chief executive Andrew King.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,529.16 -0.43% FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,833.65 0.11% techMARK (TASX) 4,351.40 -0.58%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 192.20p 4.51% Admiral Group (ADM) 2,134.00p 3.69% Entain (ENT) 1,381.00p 2.30% Barclays (BARC) 149.16p 1.84% NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 236.80p 1.59% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 150.70p 1.48% Convatec Group (CTEC) 221.80p 1.37% Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 118.95p 1.36% Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,625.00p 1.12% Unite Group (UTG) 961.00p 1.10%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Mondi (MNDI) 1,245.50p -6.74% BT Group (BT.A) 113.95p -4.20% Fresnillo (FRES) 558.20p -4.09% St James's Place (STJ) 869.60p -3.38% Ocado Group (OCDO) 861.80p -2.62% Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,124.00p -2.39% National Grid (NG.) 972.60p -2.33% Vodafone Group (VOD) 72.37p -2.07% InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 5,612.00p -1.85% AstraZeneca (AZN) 10,900.00p -1.77%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Helios Towers (HTWS) 89.05p 6.01% Pantheon International (PIN) 270.00p 4.65% OSB Group (OSB) 373.00p 4.36% Serco Group (SRP) 161.80p 4.06% Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 103.00p 4.04% Shaftesbury Capital (SHC) 121.00p 3.77% Tritax Big Box Reit (BBOX) 140.40p 3.69% Clarkson (CKN) 2,850.00p 3.45% Primary Health Properties (PHP) 96.25p 3.44% Vanquis Banking Group 20 (VANQ) 127.60p 3.40%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 106.00p -5.02% Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 256.00p -4.05% Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 360.00p -3.88% TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 578.00p -3.83% Ferrexpo (FXPO) 84.05p -3.17% Rathbones Group (RAT) 1,710.00p -2.95% NCC Group (NCC) 96.00p -2.92% Bank of Georgia Group (BGEO) 3,090.00p -2.83% Synthomer (SYNT) 80.30p -2.72% Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,616.00p -2.42%