London open: Stocks surge as Trump declares victory

London stocks rallied in early trade on Wednesday as Donald Trump closed in on the US presidency.

At 0835 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 1.3% at 8,278.79.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: "Trump has declared victory on stage in Florida, it’s a little premature, but he is only 4 electoral college votes away from winning, and there is no way for Harris to catch him at this stage.

"In the end, this was not a tight race, and it was wrapped up quickly. This has helped to boost risk sentiment on Wednesday, as it reduces the chance of civic unrest. The national opinion polls got this election very wrong. Even the market-based prediction polls had narrowed sharply in recent days, although they had consistently predicted a win for Trump.

"The results of this election are clear: it’s a red wave, he has received a massive mandate for his agenda, and Trump and the Republicans could get a clean sweep after winning the Senate and the White House. Trump won the popular vote and in the last 4 years it looks like more Americans have turned Republican.

"This result also suggests that the market was right all along. In the aftermath of the result, the market has put the Trump trade back on. However, there is some ‘buying the rumour, and selling the fact’ going on. Bitcoin has backed away from the record high $75,000 level, the dollar has stabilized after sharp gains overnight and US Treasury yields are also down a touch."

Brooks pointed out that US stocks are set to surge at the open, with S&P 500 futures suggesting a jump above 5,900, which would be the 48th record high of the year so far.

"US stocks surged in the aftermath of Trump’s 2016 victory and his promise to lower taxes and cut red tape is supportive of the next leg higher in US stocks," she said.

In equity markets, equipment rental firm Ashtead - which has significant exposure to the US, trading there as Sunbelt Rentals - surged to the top of the FTSE 100.

Building materials group CRH was also sharply higher.

Lancashire Holdings gained as it said gross premiums written rose 9% in the first nine months of the year to $1.7bn and announced a special dividend of 75 cents per share.

Prudential advanced as it posted an 11% increase in third-quarter new business profit to $2.3bn.

Burberry was boosted by an upgrade to ‘outperform’ from ‘sector perform’ at RBC Capital Markets.

Marks & Spencer advanced as it reported better-than-expected first-half profits as it said the food and clothing segments have now delivered market share growth for four consecutive years.

In the 26 weeks to 28 September, profit before tax and adjusting items rose 17.2% to £407.8m, coming in ahead of consensus expectations of £361m. Pre-tax profit was up 20.4% to £391.9m.

Pub chain JD Wetherpoon was higher after saying it was "confident of a reasonable outcome for the year" as it reported record sales but highlighted rising costs.

TBC Bank was also up after results, while AO World rose as the online electricals retailer said it has been given approval by the Financial Conduct Authority for its takeover of MusicMagpie.

On the downside, housebuilder Persimmon fell despite saying it was on track to hit full-year targets for housing completions this year after an in-line third-quarter performance, with demand helped by improvements in customer sentiment as interest rates begin to reduce and affordability improves.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 8,278.79 1.30%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,716.44 1.70%
techMARK (TASX) 4,638.28 1.63%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Ashtead Group (AHT) 6,358.00p 6.53%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 7,794.00p 5.38%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 18,410.00p 5.29%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 8,982.00p 5.00%
Barclays (BARC) 256.80p 4.86%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 586.60p 4.75%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,600.00p 4.17%
Prudential (PRU) 673.20p 3.89%
Entain (ENT) 753.00p 3.58%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 397.20p 3.57%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Persimmon (PSN) 1,414.00p -3.87%
Fresnillo (FRES) 720.00p -1.03%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,628.00p -0.76%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 959.60p -0.68%
BT Group (BT.A) 146.40p -0.68%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,054.00p -0.52%
SSE (SSE) 1,743.50p -0.40%
Centrica (CNA) 115.25p -0.35%
National Grid (NG.) 988.00p -0.34%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,732.00p -0.21%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 684.00p 8.74%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,450.00p 7.41%
OSB Group (OSB) 370.00p 6.87%
JPMorgan American Inv Trust (JAM) 1,062.00p 5.36%
Target Healthcare Reit Ltd (THRL) 92.00p 4.90%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 336.20p 4.74%
Ninety One (N91) 172.90p 4.72%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 2,965.00p 4.22%
Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (USA) 229.50p 4.08%
GCP Infrastructure Investments Ltd (GCP) 73.00p 3.84%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

CMC Markets (CMCX) 304.00p -1.94%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 216.00p -1.37%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 234.00p -0.85%
Asia Dragon Trust (DGN) 433.00p -0.46%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 215.00p -0.37%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,680.00p -0.30%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 272.10p -0.29%
BH Macro Ltd. GBP Shares (BHMG) 381.50p -0.26%
Pennon Group (PNN) 554.00p -0.18%
Drax Group (DRX) 630.50p -0.16%