(Sharecast News) - London stocks nudged lower in early trade on Tuesday as traders returned to their desks after the Bank Holiday weekend, with results from oil giant BP in focus.
At 0855 BST, the FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 7,533.91.

BP gained ground even as it said it swung to a massive first-quarter loss as a result of its decision to exit Russia after the country's invasion of Ukraine. Analysts said investors were encouraged by better-than-expected underlying profits.

Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: '"$20.4bn is an eye-watering quarterly loss for BP but it's far from unexpected. The market had already factored in a huge hit due to its Russia exit and now the company has unveiled the price to pay is a big and bold $25.5bn. That's the amount it has set aside in pre-tax charges and the cost of extricating itself from Rosneft.

"But surprising on the upside is the boost to underlying profits which came in at $6.2bn, sharply higher than the consensus expected of around $4.5bn. The company has been raking in cash as the supply squeeze on oil markets has intensified. The war and the high geopolitical tensions have brought about a surge in the oil price which is up 40% since the start of the year, spiking in the first weeks of the war at $139."

Elsewhere, Avast was fell after the cybersecurity firm said it expected annual revenue to slow and margins to be squeezed amid a "challenging global backdrop".

In broker note action, M&G and St James's Place both rallied after upgrades to 'buy' at HSBC.

Meanwhile, AO World was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'underweight' at JPMorgan, but Auction Technology was lifted by an upgrade to 'overweight' by the same outfit.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,533.91 -0.14%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,712.08 0.02%
techMARK (TASX) 4,382.86 0.22%

FTSE 100 - Risers

M&G (MNG) 221.30p 3.31%
Kingfisher (KGF) 260.20p 2.72%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 130.20p 2.60%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,648.00p 2.58%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 239.30p 2.57%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 257.90p 2.30%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,881.00p 2.27%
Barclays (BARC) 151.56p 2.27%
BP (BP.) 400.40p 2.26%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 500.20p 2.04%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

SEGRO (SGRO) 1,274.00p -5.10%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,914.00p -2.30%
Unilever (ULVR) 3,652.00p -1.80%
Glencore (GLEN) 488.85p -1.70%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,299.00p -1.58%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 3,582.00p -1.54%
Royal Mail (RMG) 339.90p -1.36%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,136.00p -1.30%
Halma (HLMA) 2,443.00p -1.29%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,531.00p -1.29%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Auction Technology Group (ATG) 931.00p 5.92%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 269.80p 3.45%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 142.30p 3.30%
Man Group (EMG) 242.60p 3.23%
Abrdn Private Equity Opportunities Trust (APEO) 520.00p 3.17%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,261.00p 2.71%
Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 178.90p 2.23%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 798.90p 2.20%
Vistry Group (VTY) 853.00p 1.97%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 217.20p 1.97%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Tritax Big Box Reit (BBOX) 236.00p -3.20%
Impax Environmental Markets (IEM) 430.00p -2.82%
Indivior (INDV) 305.80p -2.36%
Playtech (PTEC) 513.00p -2.10%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,527.00p -2.05%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 55.15p -2.04%
Savills (SVS) 1,062.00p -1.94%
LondonMetric Property (LMP) 264.80p -1.78%
JTC (JTC) 768.00p -1.66%
Hill & Smith Holdings (HILS) 1,362.00p -1.59%