London open: AB Foods leads UK stocks lower early on

8th Sep 2014 08:29

UK stocks fell on Monday morning on the back of uncertainty surrounding the ceasefire in Ukraine and the Scottish referendum.The FTSE 100 was trading 0.3% lower at 6,834 in early trading, with Associated British Foods leading the fallers after an underwhelming pre-close update.Markets were in the red for the second straight session after investors continued to take profits following the European Central Bank-inspired 14-year intraday high seen on Thursday.The ceasefire in Ukraine seems to be mostly holding, but a number of incidents over the weekend have sparked concerns that the overall truce could be threatened.There were reports of an attack overnight on Ukrainian forces near the port city of Mariupol and shelling near Donetsk despite a deal being agreed by leaders on Friday to temporarily lay down arms.Closer to home, growing support of a 'yes' vote in the upcoming Scottish independence referendum now means that it is now too close to call, according to economists."The FTSE has edged lower on the open and by looking at the plunge in sterling on Sunday night, we expect jitters over the Scottish referendum to take its toll," said deadlier Jonathan Sudaria from Capital Spreads."I highly doubt anyone has an accurate model of what Scottish independence means for England but, following the recent YouGov poll, analysts have concluded that it’s not good."AB Foods and banks in the redFood, ingredients and retail group Associated British Foods fell despite reiterating its guidance for profit growth in the year to 13 September. AB Foods said that strong profit performances from the Primark and grocery divisions and an improvement in ingredients are expected to offset the adverse effect of lower sugar prices and the £50m impact from the recent strength in sterling.Banking stocks were under pressure early on with RBS falling heavily after Credit Suisse listed it as one of its "key underperforms" in the European banking sector. HSBC and Standard Chartered were also rated 'underperform'.Heightened concerns about Scottish independence were also weighing on RBS following recent comments made by the bank about the "material adverse effect" that a 'yes' vote could have on the business.De La Rue gained after being named preferred bidder for a 10-year contract to print bank notes for the Bank of England from April 2015.Veterinary drugs firm Dechra Pharmaceuticals was also higher after a turnaround in the second half helped full-year revenues to rise 1.6%. The company also said underlying profits jumped 18% as it hiked its dividend by 10%. Market MoverstechMARK 2,843.11 -0.46%FTSE 100 6,833.59 -0.31%FTSE 250 15,820.21 -0.66%FTSE 100 - RisersARM Holdings (ARM) 971.00p +1.52%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,800.00p +1.33%Fresnillo (FRES) 879.00p +1.27%Tesco (TSCO) 230.95p +1.07%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,505.00p +0.87%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 371.50p +0.76%Glencore (GLEN) 369.35p +0.64%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,236.00p +0.45%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,196.00p +0.44%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,460.00p +0.41%FTSE 100 - FallersAssociated British Foods (ABF) 2,801.00p -3.71%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 71.99p -2.72%Standard Life (SL.) 406.20p -2.47%Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,080.00p -2.44%Weir Group (WEIR) 2,657.00p -2.28%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 339.60p -2.13%SSE (SSE) 1,480.00p -2.05%BAE Systems (BA.) 447.90p -1.73%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 440.20p -1.39%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,088.00p -1.27%FTSE 250 - RisersDe La Rue (DLAR) 770.50p +3.70%Supergroup (SGP) 1,236.00p +3.00%Just Retirement Group (JRG) 145.00p +2.76%Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 748.00p +2.33%Genesis Emerging Markets Fund Ltd Ptg NPV (GSS) 581.00p +1.75%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 66.80p +1.52%Bankers Inv Trust (BNKR) 578.00p +1.40%JPMorgan American Inv Trust (JAM) 263.60p +1.31%NMC Health (NMC) 475.70p +1.21%Polymetal International (POLY) 524.50p +1.06%FTSE 250 - FallersBrewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 279.50p -3.09%Fidessa Group (FDSA) 2,247.00p -2.90%Genus (GNS) 1,096.00p -2.84%Synergy Health (SYR) 1,463.00p -2.60%Galliford Try (GFRD) 1,242.00p -2.59%Exova Group (EXO) 183.40p -2.24%Playtech (PTEC) 700.50p -2.23%Ocado Group (OCDO) 311.20p -2.20%Debenhams (DEB) 65.80p -2.08%Kier Group (KIE) 1,676.00p -2.05%