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“Blue-chips opened on the front foot, recovering some ground after yesterday’s fall. The early focus for investors is the Bank of England quarterly bulletin and eurozone inflation data before US housing stats this afternoon,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“Supermarket giant Tesco was one of the biggest FTSE100 risers in early trading after like-for-like sales rose by 1% in the first quarter. The group’s UK figures were particularly impressive with like-for-like sales up 2.3% offsetting the 3% fall in international sales. Market conditions remain tough, though, and Tesco is working with its suppliers to keep prices low. This was the group’s sixth consecutive quarter of positive like-for-like sales growth and it also continues to implement plans to reduce its cost base by £1.5bn. Tesco’s shares were up by more than 0.3%.
“Rolls-Royce’s shares edged up after the group maintained full-year forecasts following a good start to the year with all its businesses performing in line with expectations. The group remains focused on the delivery of its engine production ramp up, the continued execution of its transformation programme and growing its free cash flow against a backdrop of mixed market conditions. Roll-Royce was up by 0.17% in early trading.
“Amec Foster Wheeler was an early riser after it clinched a contract worth A$298m for the Gruyere gold project in Western Australia with its joint venture partner, Civmec Construction and Engineering. The contract, which was awarded after the JV’s successful delivery of the 'early contractor involvement' phase, includes the engineering, procurement and construction of the process plant and associated infrastructure. Amec Foster Wheeler’s shares were up by over 2.0%.”
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