London open: Stocks edge lower; Lloyds drops after results

(Sharecast News) - London stocks edged lower in early trade on Wednesday as investors mulled the latest stimulus measures announced by China and mixed reactions to results from Microsoft and Google owner Alphabet overnight. At 0845 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.2% at 7,372.80.

Market participants were mulling the latest efforts from authorities in Beijing, after they announced plans to issue 1 trillion yuan in government bonds to support the economy. According to state media, the bulk of this will be used for infrastructure spending.

Investors were also digesting a mixed showing from Microsoft and Alphabet.

The former rose after the close as it reported a 13% increase in first-quarter revenues, but the latter slumped on the back of lower-than-forecast cloud division revenues.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "Both sets of numbers were impressive, although judging by the market reaction the market had a somewhat mixed view, sending Alphabet lower and Microsoft higher in aftermarket trading, even though both beat expectations on revenues and profits."

In UK equity markets, Reckitt Benckiser slumped even as the consumer goods giant unveiled plans to return £1bn to shareholders and laid out a strategy to boost revenues over the medium term.

Lloyds Bank was also in the red even as it reported a massive jump in third-quarter profits as it continued to cash in on higher interest rates, despite a reduction in lending to customers amid tough macroeconomic conditions.

Pre-tax profit for the three months to September 30 soared to £1.85bn from £576m a year earlier.

Essentra tumbled as it said full-year adjusted operating profit was set to be "towards the lower end" of its expectations due to a "softer" trading environment.

Brick and building materials maker Ibstock lost ground as it maintained annual guidance despite lower volumes as higher prices and cost controls offset weaker demand in the housebuilding market.

Paper and packaging group Mondi was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'underweight' from 'equalweight' at Barclays.

On the upside, Bytes Technology gained as the software, security and cloud services company hiked its interim dividend by 12.5% after a strong first half, with revenues and profits rising by double-digits and billed income jumping by over a third.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,372.80 -0.23% FTSE 250 (MCX) 16,883.79 -0.65% techMARK (TASX) 4,014.88 -0.10%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,148.00p 1.74% Sage Group (SGE) 960.60p 1.03% Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 2,604.00p 0.85% Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,157.00p 0.65% Rentokil Initial (RTO) 463.60p 0.61% Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,734.00p 0.58% Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 3,776.00p 0.43% British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,452.50p 0.41% Unilever (ULVR) 4,001.00p 0.40% Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 604.20p 0.40%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 487.30p -4.00% Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,768.00p -2.50% Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 39.65p -2.29% Melrose Industries (MRO) 455.90p -2.25% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 126.40p -1.98% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 139.45p -1.83% Land Securities Group (LAND) 560.40p -1.68% Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 104.60p -1.65% Prudential (PRU) 821.00p -1.63% NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 204.50p -1.59%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 461.60p 1.67% Me Group International (MEGP) 147.00p 1.66% Softcat (SCT) 1,256.00p 1.45% Coats Group (COA) 68.40p 1.33% Baillie Gifford Japan Trust (BGFD) 654.00p 1.24% Ithaca Energy (ITH) 169.30p 1.14% Scottish American Inv Company (SAIN) 470.00p 1.08% BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 541.00p 0.93% Britvic (BVIC) 844.50p 0.84% Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 1,950.00p 0.83%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Essentra (ESNT) 134.80p -8.67% CAB Payments Holdings (CABP) 58.30p -4.11% Ibstock (IBST) 118.00p -3.99% IP Group (IPO) 45.35p -3.10% Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 533.00p -2.83% Petershill Partners (PHLL) 144.60p -2.82% Harbour Energy (HBR) 248.40p -2.55% Just Group (JUST) 70.20p -2.50% Marshalls (MSLH) 195.80p -2.49% Genuit Group (GEN) 257.50p -2.28%