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Britain's FTSE edges up, lifted by Kingfisher

(ADVISORY- Follow European and UK stock markets in real time on the Reuters Live Markets blog on Eikon, see cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets)

* FTSE 100 up 0.3 pct

* B&Q owner hits its highest level since 2014

* Supermarkets diverge after mixed Kantar data

* Barrat Developments suffers UBS (LSE: 0QNR.L - news) downgrade

By Alistair Smout

LONDON, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index rose on Tuesday, buoyed by results for Kingfisher (Frankfurt: 812861 - news) , as supermarkets headed in opposite directions following the latest Kantar sales data.

Kingfisher, Europe's largest home improvement retailer, beat forecasts for first-half profit, boosted by strong demand in Britain and Poland.

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The B&Q and Screwfix owner hit its highest level for more than two years - 2.2 percent, the top gainer on the FTSE 100 , which rose 0.3 percent to 6,831.31 points.

"Pre-tax profit & forecasts were both ahead of consensus and there is the real possibility of earnings upgrades that, given the tough retail environment, will be welcomed by the market," said Atif Latif, director at Guardian Stockbrokers

The stock was up

The index extended gains from Monday's 1.5 percent rally, when the market was buoyed by ralling commodity firms.

Mining stocks rose again, up 1.2 percent, as copper steadied after recent falls, though energy shares fell back with the price of oil.

Traders said that moves might be muted ahead of central bank meetings in the United States and Japan later this week.

Tesco (Frankfurt: 852647 - news) rose 1 percent, after the latest Kantar grocery sales data. It posted its best performance for over two years as British grocery sales rose 0.3 percent in the 12 weeks to 11 September.

However, sector peers Sainsbury (Amsterdam: SJ6.AS - news) and Morrisons both fell around 1 percent. Sainsbury's posted a 1.4 percent drop in sales, while Morrisons' sales declined by 2.3 percent.

Barratt Developments (Frankfurt: 859551 - news) was a top faller, down 1.2 percent after UBS cut the stock to "neutral" from "buy".

However, it reiterated "buys" on the likes of Bellway (Stuttgart: 41B.SG - news) , Berkeley and Persimmon (Frankfurt: 882058 - news) .

"We see value in the sector overall, especially for investors taking a longer-term view," analysts at UBS said in a note.

"However, given the wide range of possible outcomes given the pending uncertainties around the UK economic outlook, we would expect volatility to remain a feature for share prices."

Regus (Other OTC: RGSJF - news) dropped 5.6 percent, the biggest faller on the mid-cap FTSE 250, after it said its founder was selling a 4 percent stake in the company.

The stock was set for its biggest fall since August. (Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Andrew Heavens)