UK mid-cap stocks near one-year lows; Tesco lifts FTSE 100 (updated)
04/10/2023 09:26
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Tesco up on annual profit raise
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Superdry jumps on sale of IP assets
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UK services PMI due 0830 GMT
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FTSE 100 flat, FTSE 250 off 0.4%
(Updated at 0815 GMT)
By Khushi Singh
Oct 4 (Reuters) - UK's main stock indexes were mixed on
Wednesday with the mid-cap stocks near one-year lows after
Spirent Communications' lower annual profit warning, while
Tesco's forecast raise boosted sentiment.
The benchmark FTSE 100 index .FTSE reversed earlier losses
but was trading flat by 0815 GMT. The domestically-focussed FTSE
250 index .FTMC , however, was down by 0.4%, marking a third
straight day of losses.
Tesco TSCO.L shares led gains on FTSE 100, rising 2.8%
after the country's biggest retailer raised its annual profit
forecast and signalled that food inflation would continue to
fall.
"The value of the average basket size rose by 5.2% to £98,
still well below underlying food price inflation, which serves
to indicate that the supermarket is absorbing some of the costs
of higher prices," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at
CMC Markets UK, in a note.
The retailer's earnings also boosted the broader personal
care, drug and grocery stores index .FTNMX452010 , which gained
0.3%.
Media shares .FTNMX403010 rose 0.9% and were the top
gainers, while automobile and parts index .FTNMX401010 were
the top losers, falling 2.4%.
Heavyweight industrial metal miners .FTNMX551020 lost 0.4%
as copper prices fell to their lowest in more than four months.
Precious metal miners .FTNMX551030 were down 1.0%, tracking a
drop in gold prices on a stronger dollar. MET/L GOL/
Ascending dollar and bond yields after strong U.S. jobs data
kept markets expecting further monetary policy tightening,
hammering equities across the board.
Shares of Spirent Communications SPT.L fell 31.4% to lead
declines on the midcap index after the telecoms testing services
provider warned of lower annual profit.
Fashion retailer Superdry SDRY.L soared 29.4% on news that
it would sell its intellectual property assets in South Asia to
Reliance Retail.
Investors now look forward to readings on the UK's service
sector activity in September, due at 0830 GMT, to draw further
clues on the health of the economy.
(Reporting by Khushi Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sohini
Goswami and Janane Venkatraman)
((Khushi.Singh@thomsonreuters.com;))
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