The imposition of direct rule in Catalonia is the backdrop for losses in early trading in London as the FTSE 100 falls 19.12 points to 7,485.91. Traders also eyeing interest rate decisions on both sides of the Atlantic later this week.
DIY retailer Kingfisher (KGF) is the top FTSE 100 riser, up as Goldman Sachs ups its rating on the stock from ‘neutral’ to ‘buy’ and increases its price target from 330p to 375p.
The housebuilders are hit by negative broker comment from Barclays which downgrades its recommendation on several stocks in the sector. Berkeley (BKG) endures the share price biggest hit, down 3% to £36.93.
Bank HSBC (HSBA) is flat at 746.4p despite third quarter revenue of $13bn coming in slightly ahead of expectations for $12.7bn. This positive was balanced out by pre-tax profit short of forecasts at $5.4bn, down 1% year-on-year.
Commodities trader Glencore (GLEN) sinks 1.5% to 361.6p despite the company upgrading guidance for its trading arm for the third time so far in 2017. Again, there was some bad to balance out the good as its mining division was forced to cut production guidance for copper and zinc.
Budget airline EasyJet (EZJ) gains 1.3% to £12.90 on news it has acquired part of the collapsed Air Berlin's operations for €40m. The deal encompasses leases on 25 planes, flying crews and prized runway slots.
