With a US inflation reading ahead, stock market traders moved with trepidation on Thursday.
European equities went into the afternoon mixed, mindful of 1330 GMT's US consumer price index reading. A red-hot figure would strengthen the case for another turbo-charged Federal Reserve rate hike, and spook stocks in the process.
The FTSE 100 index was down 8.74 points, 0.1%, at 7,287.51 at midday on Thursday in London. The FTSE 250 was up 26.17 points, 0.1%, at 18,675.17, and the AIM All-Share was down 3.47 points, 0.4%, at 822.88.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.2% at 728.63. The Cboe UK 250 was up 0.1%, at 16,111.13, while the Cboe Small Companies was 0.1% lower at 12,775.90.
Stocks on the continent were also mixed. The CAC 40 index in Paris was down 0.4%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 0.1% higher.
Ahead of the US open, meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was called up 0.3%, the S&P 500 up 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.6%.
There were a series of guidance lifts for London listings to pique the interest of stock market traders.
In London, Centrica was the FTSE 100's standout performer, up 9.0%.
The British Gas owner said it expects annual results at the top end of expectations, and announced a share buyback of up to 5% of its issued share capital.
The company now expects 2022 adjusted earnings per share to come in at the top end of a 15.1p to 26.0p sell-side analyst range.
Adjusted EPS from continuing operations in 2021 amounted to 4.1p.
National Grid was up 0.7% after it lifted its interim dividend and upped guidance.
National Grid, which manages the UK's electricity infrastructure, posted a pretax profit of £1.57 billion in the six months to September 30, up 45% from £1.08 billion a year ago.
Looking ahead, National Grid upped its earnings per share growth target. It now expects EPS to rise in the middle of a new 6% to 8% compound annual growth rate range, lifted from 5% to 7%.
ConvaTec surged 6.7%. The medical products and technologies company said revenue in the 10 months to October 31 rose 2.4% year-on-year, slowing from a 3.6% hike in the first-half due to adverse effects from foreign exchange movements.
Nonetheless, ConvaTec upped its 2022 organic revenue growth guidance to a 5.4% to 5.8% range, from previous a 4.0% to 5.5% forecast.
AstraZeneca rose 3.6%. The company said it now expected core earnings per share to increase at constant exchange rates by a high twenties to low thirties percentage, versus previous guidance of a mid-to-high twenties increase.
For the three months ended September 30, the Cambridge, England-based pharmaceutical company reported pretax profit of $922 million, swinging from a loss of $2.00 billion a year prior.
Revenue increased by 11% to $10.98 billion from $9.87 billion.
B&M fell short of lifting guidance, though it maintained its forecast.
B&M shares dropped 5.9%, the worst blue-chip performer at midday.
It reported a 17% drop in interim profit. The retailer's pretax profit in the six months ended September 24 fell to £201 million from £241 million the previous year as its gross margins declined year-on-year.
Adjusted earnings before, interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell by 18% to £232 million from £282 million
For the financial year ending March 25, B&M still expects an adjusted Ebitda between £550 million and £600 million, down at least 3.1% from £619 million a year ago.
In the FTSE 250, Grafton jumped 8.4% as it backed yearly guidance and unveiled a new share buyback of up to £100 million.
'The favourable first half revenue trends in the Distribution businesses in Ireland and the Netherlands continued against the backdrop of solid underlying demand and building materials price inflation,' the building materials firm and DIY retailer said.
Average daily like-for-like revenue grew 1.8% annually at constant currency during the period from July 1 and October 31. It was up 17% from three years earlier, before the onset of the pandemic.
IntegraFin was up 4.7%. The London-based investment platform said it expects to report adjusted pretax profit 'moderately above' the top end of analyst consensus estimates.
This follows cost reductions resulting from accounting updates, the firm explained.
Elsewhere in London, Majedie Investments climbed 6.1% as it became a member of Marylebone Partners, entitling the firm to 7.5% of its residual profits and capital interest at no consideration cost.
In the foreign exchange space, the dollar clawed back some ground, after a bit of weakness so far this week.
The pound was quoted at $1.1387 at midday, down from $1.1416 at the London equities close on Wednesday, while the euro traded at $0.9949, down from $1.0049. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP¥146.39, up slightly from JP¥146.00.
'The dollar is no longer the high-flyer it was over the past months,' said Antje Praefcke, analyst at Commerzbank.
'[US] Inflation is likely to have eased a little thus confirming the Fed's signals from the last week, which were pointing at a slightly slower speed of the rate cycle. Data in line with market expectations is unlikely to support the dollar notably any longer, on the contrary: if inflation eases even faster contrary than expects, EURUSD might rise towards 1.01 again,' Praefcke continued.
A barrel of Brent fell to $92.09 midday Thursday in London, down from $93.74 late Tuesday, as China's zero-Covid policy added to demand concerns.
Gold was quoted at $1,708.42 an ounce midday Thursday UK time, lower against $1,713.97 at the London equities close on Wednesday.
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