London midday: Stocks turn lower but retailers rally on broker notes

(Sharecast News) - London stocks had turned a little lower by midday on Friday as investors continued to mull the prospect of further interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. The FTSE 100 was down 0.2% at 7,425.45.

Russ Mould, head of investment at AJ Bell, said: "Early trading on Friday put the FTSE 100 on course to end an up and down week broadly unchanged.

"The market continues to wax and wane with every data release as investors desperately look for signs the end is in sight on interest rate hikes. Overnight there was weakness on Wall Street as the enmity between China and the US continued to impact the tech sector - reports Chinese government workers have been banned from having iPhones taking a bite out of Apple.

"These developments are bitter news for the consumer electronics giant as it gears up for the expected launch of the iPhone 15 on 12 September."

In equity markets, JD Sports jumped to the top of the FTSE 100 after Berenberg lifted its price target on the shares to 225p from 210p and said investors still underappreciate the strength of the company's model, its positioning and the international opportunity.

Next was also in the black after an upgrade to 'buy' from 'hold' at Societe Generale.

Computacenter shot higher as its first-half revenues and pre-tax profit came in ahead of expectations.

Hipgnosis Songs Fund surged after Round Hill Music Royalty Fund agreed to be bought by Alchemy Copyrights for around $468.8m. Mould said investors will be wondering "if it too will be rescued out of the doldrums with a bid".

On the downside, Petershill Partners slumped after the investment firm cut part of its full-year guidance.

Housebuilder Berkeley edged lower after it reaffirmed full-year earnings guidance but said private sales reservations were down 35% due to rising interest rates and political volatility.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,425.45 -0.22% FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,408.69 0.14% techMARK (TASX) 4,303.35 0.97%

FTSE 100 - Risers

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 138.00p 2.79% GSK (GSK) 1,411.00p 1.64% Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,000.00p 1.52% Beazley (BEZ) 546.00p 1.39% Compass Group (CPG) 2,027.00p 1.30% Next (NXT) 7,078.00p 1.23% Rightmove (RMV) 567.20p 1.21% Haleon (HLN) 317.80p 0.81% Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,170.00p 0.80% Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 9,960.00p 0.79%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Melrose Industries (MRO) 504.80p -6.03% Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,006.00p -2.91% Convatec Group (CTEC) 224.40p -2.77% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 219.10p -2.10% Smith (DS) (SMDS) 289.10p -1.67% Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,775.00p -1.49% Mondi (MNDI) 1,294.00p -1.07% HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 578.60p -1.04% Vodafone Group (VOD) 73.18p -1.00% Standard Chartered (STAN) 698.20p -0.99%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Computacenter (CCC) 2,500.00p 15.96% Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited NPV (SONG) 88.80p 11.28% Darktrace (DARK) 403.20p 5.16% Vanquis Banking Group 20 (VANQ) 114.00p 4.20% Genus (GNS) 2,124.00p 3.01% Hilton Food Group (HFG) 704.00p 2.47% Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 177.55p 2.13% Digital 9 Infrastructure NPV (DGI9) 56.60p 1.98% Me Group International (MEGP) 157.00p 1.82% Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 220.00p 1.76%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Petershill Partners (PHLL) 148.60p -15.28% Victrex plc (VCT) 1,462.00p -2.34% Molten Ventures (GROW) 240.40p -2.20% Babcock International Group (BAB) 386.60p -2.13% IP Group (IPO) 57.20p -1.72% IWG (IWG) 169.70p -1.68% Savills (SVS) 900.50p -1.58% JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust (JFJ) 478.50p -1.44% Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 209.00p -1.42% Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 94.85p -1.35%