UK stocks stayed under mild selling pressure in early afternoon trading as investors remained jittery ahead of testimony to Congress from both Fed chief Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
Closer to home, rising Covid-19 cases in Europe, resulting in Germany extending its mobility restrictions, are putting pressure on oil prices and equities. Turkish markets continued to add to a volatile atmosphere after President Erdogan’s axing of the central bank governor for being too hawkish, while doubts about AstraZeneca’s (AZN) vaccine re-emerge.
At 1.30pm, the benchmark FTSE 100 had drifted 0.14% down to 6,716.44, but off earlier lows. The mid-cap FTSE 250 also recovered some of its morning losses but remained in the red, 0.2% lower at 21,4120.15.
The UK unemployment rate fell to 5.0% in November to January, down from the last reading of 5.1% in October to December according to the Office for National Statistics, though the claimant count rose by a higher-than-expected 86,600.
In corporate news, pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca fell 1.2% to £72.56 after a US regulator questioned the accuracy of positive clinical trial data about its Covid-19 vaccine that had shown a 79% efficacy rate.
The US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said it was concerned that AstraZeneca may have included outdated information from that trial.
CREST NICHOLSON UPGRADES OUTLOOK
Housebuilder Crest Nicholson (CRST) rallied 5% to 395.2p as it upgraded its outlook on profit as government measures to support the UK housing market boosted its order book. The company now expects full year 2021 adjusted pre-tax profit to be around £85 million, ahead of current consensus of £74.3 million.
‘The UK housing market has remained resilient to the impacts of Covid-19 and is set to benefit from the measures recently outlined in the Budget, including the extension of the Stamp Duty holiday and the introduction of Government-backed 95% mortgages,’ insisted Crest Nicholson.
ELEMENTIS LURCHES INTO LOSS
Chemicals and personal care businesses Elementis (ELM) dived 4% to 118.7p after swinging to an annual loss, which the group blamed on a Covid-19 related volume impact across industrial and consumer end markets.
Online reviews platform Trustpilot (TRST) sww heavy buying on its first day of trading sending the stock up 9% at 288.5p. The IPO had been priced at 265p per share for a starting market capitalisation of £1.08 billion.
Employee benefits and services provider Personal Group (PGH:AIM) slumped 8% to 242p after it posted an 18% fall in annual profit and slashed its dividend as margins shrunk amid the pandemic.
MARKDOWN FOR MCCOLL’S
Convenience stores operator McColl’s Retail (MCLS) was marked down 3.1% to 31p, despite posting a narrower annual loss after its sales rose 3.2%, as its underlying earnings were hit by lower margins.
Adjusted earnings fell 9.3% to £29.1 million after customers stocked up on lower-margin products during lockdowns and avoided impulse buying and McColl's didn't declare any dividends of the year.
As for current trading, the company said like-for-like sales in the 15 weeks to 14 March grew 8.8%, though McColl’s warned ‘we remain in a highly uncertain environment, with little visibility on macroeconomic and consumer trends for the remainder of 2021’.
IN OTHER NEWS
Communications services provider Gamma Communications (GAMA:AIM) gained 3.5% to £16.35 after posting a sharp increase in annual profit as revenue was bolstered by acquisitions in Europe and growth across all key product categories.
Queuing and ticketing technology provider Accesso (ACSO:AIM) advanced 2% to 530p on slightly better than expected annual results and an optimistic outlook which flagged an encouraging start to 2021 with early metrics confirming pent-up demand.
Polling and data company YouGov (YOU:AIM) shed 1.5% to 965p as it posted a 15% fall in first half profit due to deferred payments for acquisitions, the closure of a Kurdistan business and foreign exchange losses.
