By Patrick Munnelly, Market Strategist, Tickmill
The FTSE 100 index is up 0.64% on an overall positive session driven by shares of Ocado LON:OCDO.
The British online supermarket and technology group, surged by as much as 19% to a five-month high, making it the top percentage gainer on London’s bluechip index. The company announced that it had swung to a half-year adjusted core profit of £16.6 million ($21.7 million) from a loss of £13.6 million. Ocado reaffirmed its annual outlook and reported a 9% increase in half-year revenue. It also anticipated that its joint venture with Marks & Spencer, called Ocado Retail, would achieve a marginally positive EBITDA in the fiscal year. Analysts at Jefferies commented that there is clear upward pressure on consensus expectations for the full-year 2023. However, some analysts at Interactive Investor noted that while there are still positive factors, such proponents are becoming fewer as time goes on, given the company’s progress continuing to underwhelm. Prior to this positive news, the stock had experienced a decline of around 6% this year.
Further positivity came from the UK housebuilders’ index which has risen by 4% ahead of the release of the country’s consumer price inflation data for June, scheduled for Wednesday.
Investors in house building companies are sensitive to consumer price data, and the recent figures from market researcher Kantar, indicating a decline in food inflation, have been well received as markets start to reassess inflation driven interest rate rises by the Bank of England. As a result, FTSE 100 companies Persimmon LON:PSN and Taylor Wimpey LON:TW. have seen their shares increase by almost 5%, while Barratt LON:BDEV is up 3.9% and Berkeley LON:BKG is up 1.7%. The annual grocery inflation, according to Kantar’s data, was 14.9% for the four weeks ending July 9, representing a decline of 1.6 percentage points from its June data set. If the gains hold, the housebuilders’ index is set to record its best day in over five months, and it is up 4.7% year-to-date.
On the negative side of the negative side of the ledger Compass Group LON:CPG takes the bottom spot, shedding 1.5%
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