London open: Stocks gain as investors mull Rightmove data; inflation eyed

(Sharecast News) - London stocks edged higher early trade on Monday as investors mulled the latest UK house price figures and looked ahead to key inflation data later in the week. At 0845 BST, the FTSE 100 was 0.3% firmer at 8,443.38.

Data released earlier by Rightmove showed that average house prices hit a new record of £375,131 in May, boosted by pent-up demand and momentum from the Spring selling season.

House prices pushed up 0.8% on the month following a 1.1% increase in April.

On the year, prices were up 0.6% in May following a 1.7% jump the month before.

Rightmove said pent-up demand from would-be buyers who paused their plans last year was a key driver behind increased home-mover activity despite mortgage rates remaining elevated for longer than expected.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove's director of Property Science, said: "Some predicted that property prices would suffer sharp falls and take a while to recover following the Bank of England increasing the Base Rate up to 5.25%, where it has remained since August 2023. However, the momentum of the Spring selling season has exerted enough upwards price pressure to reach a new record asking price.

"The top-of-the-ladder sector is still leading the way, while from a regional perspective the North East, with the cheapest average prices in Great Britain, has seen the strongest price growth. However, it's important to remember that prices overall are still only 0.6% ahead of this time last year. The market remains price-sensitive, and with prices reaching new records in the majority of regions and mortgage rates remaining elevated, affordability for many home-buyers is still stretched."

In equity markets, precious metals miners Fresnillo and Hochschild shone as gold prices hit fresh record highs after Iran's president was killed in a helicopter crash.

Miners were also on the front foot, with Antofagasta and Glencore among the top performers.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The defensive nature of the FTSE 100 has come to the fore, with the index rising in early trade amid fresh uncertainty in the Middle East. Oil and gold have been rising in tandem, following the confirmation of the death of Iran's President, and the health of King Salman of Saudi Arabia, being the subject of speculation. Mining stocks and energy giants are on the front foot in early trade, while shares in defence contractors have also edged up.

"Nervousness about the direction of geopolitics has pushed gold to fresh record highs, reaching $2,438 per ounce. Demand for the safe-haven asset has surged as investors have been digesting news of the death of Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi who is believed to have been killed with others including foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter crash. Demand for the metal has also likely to have been pushed up by renewed speculation that the Federal Reserve will be minded to cut interest rates a couple of times this year."

Kainos surged as it posted a rise in full-year profit and revenue and maintained a positive outlook.

Hilton Foods gained as it said trading in the year to date had been in line with expectations, with volumes and sales ahead of last year despite a challenging economic environment and lower raw materials prices in some of its markets.

AstraZeneca was little changed as it announced plans to build a $1.5bn manufacturing facility for antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) in Singapore, to enhance the global supply of its cancer treatments.

Ryanair flew a little lower after the budget airline reported higher annual profits but warned that summer airfares would be softer than anticipated.

Profit after tax climbed 34%to €1.9bn in the 12 months to March 30 as demand rose 9% to 184 million passengers. Revenue jumped 25% to €13.4bn.

The company also said it would start a €700m share buyback as it had "surplus cash".

Elsewhere, Keywords Studios surged more than 60% after saying it was "minded to accept" a £2.2bn takeover proposal from Swedish private equity firm EQT Partners if it makes a firm offer.

Following press speculation over the weekend, Keywords confirmed it was in "advanced discussions" with a fund which is part of the EQT Group about a possible cash offer of 2,550p per share. This represents a 73% premium to the closing share price on Friday.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,443.38 0.27% FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,833.96 0.41% techMARK (TASX) 4,803.11 0.46%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Fresnillo (FRES) 636.50p 3.50% Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,846.00p 1.42% Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,397.00p 1.35% Centrica (CNA) 146.25p 1.18% Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) 2,288.00p 1.15% Haleon (HLN) 332.70p 1.12% Entain (ENT) 729.80p 1.08% Glencore (GLEN) 502.00p 1.01% BP (BP.) 495.65p 0.89% Weir Group (WEIR) 2,138.00p 0.85%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Sage Group (SGE) 1,093.00p -1.18% easyJet (EZJ) 485.10p -1.16% Ocado Group (OCDO) 359.50p -0.99% Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,950.00p -0.79% Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,093.00p -0.64% Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 4,567.00p -0.57% Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,934.00p -0.40% Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 9,240.00p -0.38% CRH (CDI) (CRH) 6,446.00p -0.34% Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 728.00p -0.27%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Kainos Group (KNOS) 1,164.00p 9.60% Rathbones Group (RAT) 1,818.00p 3.65% Savills (SVS) 1,148.00p 3.42% TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 2,750.00p 3.38% Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 145.60p 3.12% Hochschild Mining (HOC) 172.80p 2.86% Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust (ORIT) 73.40p 2.66% Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 201.00p 2.34% Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,515.00p 2.24% Elementis (ELM) 150.00p 2.18%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Ascential (ASCL) 340.00p -37.97% Foresight Group Holdings Limited NPV (FSG) 440.00p -2.65% Witan Inv Trust (WTAN) 263.00p -1.87% Target Healthcare Reit Ltd (THRL) 80.60p -1.59% Moonpig Group (MOON) 154.00p -1.41% Assura (AGR) 42.24p -1.26% TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 551.50p -1.25% ICG Enterprise Trust (ICGT) 1,196.00p -0.99% Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 799.00p -0.93% Discoverie Group (DSCV) 730.00p -0.82%