London open: Stocks fall as investors mull jobs data; Convatec surges

London stocks fell in early trade on Tuesday as data revealed an uptick in unemployment and a cooling in wage growth, and as investors sifted through a raft of corporate releases.

At 0840 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.6% at 8,078.40.

Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed the unemployment rate rose to 4.3% in the three months to September from 4% in the previous quarter, versus expectations for a 4.1% increase.

Pay excluding bonuses rose 4.8% on the same period a year earlier, which was the lowest since June 2022.

Including bonuses, pay growth rose to 4.3% from 3.8% but the ONS said this was affected by the civil service one-off payments made in July and August 2023.

ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said: "Growth in pay excluding bonuses eased again this month to its lowest rate in over two years. Pay growth including bonuses increased, but for recent periods these figures have been affected by last year’s one-off payments made to public sector workers.

"Job vacancies have fallen again, as they have been doing for more than two years now. However, the total still remains a little above where it was before the pandemic."

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "European markets look to have a slightly sombre tone this morning with the FTSE 100 opening 0.4% lower, as UK wage growth continues to slow, but not quite as fast as expected.

"Regular pay in the UK, excluding bonuses, rose by 4.8% year-on-year marking its lowest growth since June 2022 but slightly above market forecasts of 4.7%. Strip out the impact of inflation, and wage growth held steady at 1.9%, matching the previous quarterly print.

"The worry here is that sticky wage growth could scupper the Bank of England’s plans to keep interest rates coming down, but policymakers won’t be losing too much sleep over these numbers."

In equity markets, Fresnillo slumped after saying that Industrias Peñoles, its partner in a long-standing silver production agreement, was having operational issues affecting the Sabinas mine, which is fully owned by Peñoles.

Vodafone fell even as it reiterated full-year guidance after saying first-half results were in line with expectations.

4Imprint lost ground as it hailed a "strong financial performance in difficult market conditions" in the 10 months to the end of October.

Waste management company Renewi also retreated after half-year results.

On the upside, Convatec surged to the top of the FTSE 100 as the wound care specialist raised its guidance for 2024 following robust sales growth across its divisions.

BAE Systems rose as the arms maker held annual guidance and said its order book reflected demand from governments for weaponry amid increasing global tensions. The company said it expected to hit its upgraded underlying operating earnings growth target of 12 -14% this year on 2023's £2.7bn.

DCC shot higher as it announced plans to simplify its operations and focus on the energy sector. The sales, marketing and support services group also reported a rise in interim profit and lifted its dividend.

AstraZeneca was in the black after upgrading its full-year revenue and earnings per share guidance, citing strong growth across key therapy areas and solid financial results for the first nine months of the year.

Bank of Georgia and Drax were also trading up after third-quarter results and a trading update, respectively.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,078.40 -0.58%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,580.33 -0.69%
techMARK (TASX) 4,620.75 -0.79%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Convatec Group (CTEC) 256.00p 18.19%
DCC (CDI) (DCC) 5,730.00p 15.38%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,411.50p 1.29%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 518.80p 1.09%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 944.60p 0.73%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,640.00p 0.28%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 240.10p 0.21%
Shell (SHEL) 2,552.50p 0.10%
RELX FINANCE BV 3.375% GTD NTS 20/03/33 (BW73) 99.72p 0.00%
Rightmove (RMV) 592.00p 0.00%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Fresnillo (FRES) 634.50p -6.14%
Vistry Group (VTY) 725.00p -4.04%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 70.28p -3.73%
Croda International (CRDA) 3,681.00p -2.95%
Prudential (PRU) 625.20p -2.53%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 360.00p -2.15%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 96.50p -1.78%
Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 416.10p -1.72%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,289.50p -1.68%
BT Group (BT.A) 138.15p -1.64%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Bank of Georgia Group (BGEO) 5,150.00p 6.63%
Drax Group (DRX) 676.50p 5.37%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 62.80p 2.03%
Indivior (INDV) 812.50p 1.56%
VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 440.00p 1.38%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 334.30p 1.30%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 121.70p 1.25%
Foresight Solar Fund Limited (FSFL) 84.00p 1.20%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 3,230.00p 0.94%
Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 396.00p 0.76%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Renewi (RWI) 582.00p -5.06%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 5,170.00p -4.96%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,030.00p -4.69%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 153.40p -4.48%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 750.00p -3.60%
North Atlantic Smaller Companies Inv Trust (NAS) 3,830.00p -3.04%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 333.60p -2.88%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 314.00p -2.48%
Grafton Group Ut (CDI) (GFTU) 968.30p -2.40%
Baillie Gifford Japan Trust (BGFD) 707.00p -2.35%