FTSE 100 cushioned by oil shares; Greggs flops on weaker sales - Market Report
4It was another choppy start for the FTSE 100 this morning, with the index erasing most of its gains in the first hour of trading.
By 9am, the Footsie was just 10 points up at 8,795 for a gain of just over a tenth of a percent.
On the upside, Shell and BP have gained on the back of a firmer oil price.
But Greggs PLC (LSE:GRG) has fallen sharply after warning that full-year profits are likely to fall "modestly" compared to last year, as it blamed slower growth in recent weeks on hot weather reducing footfall, even though it increased cold drinks demand.
At the top end of the FTSE 250's movers this morning is SSP Group plc (LSE:SSPG) after the Upper Crust owner gave an update on the planned listing of its Indian joint venture, Travel Food Services.
Elsewhere, the board of Spectris PLC (LSE:SXS) has switched its backing to a £4.1 billion cash offer from KKR. That trumps a £3.8 billion deal agreed last week with another US private equity firm, Advent International.
Meanwhile, Ryanair says it completed over 109,000 flights in June, with more than 800 cancelled due to the Middle East conflict. Just under 20 million passengers were carried last month, up 3%, at a load factor of 95%. Broker Peel Hunt says this was slightly lower than expected due to the Middle East cancellations.
Also in the travel sector, Peel Hunt has cut its price target for Intercontinental Hotels Group PLC (LSE:IHG) in light of weaker US travel data.