FTSE 100 opened lower as fears of a slowdown in China weighed on investors for a second day. London’s blue-chip index shed around eight points in early deals to 7,145.
UK job vacancies have topped one million for the first time on record as the country remerges from lockdown. Staff numbers rose by 182,000 though have still not yet recovered to pre-pandemic levels said the ONS.
BHP Group PLC (LSE:BHP) (LSE:BHP) shot higher on confirmation of plans to merge its oil and gas business with Woodside Petroleum Ltd. The new entity would be among the largest independent energy companies in the world, in the top 10 for LNG production globally, and the largest energy company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Also rising was Just-Eat-Takeaway.com (NASDAQ:GRUB), which said it reached the peak of its absolute losses in the first half of 2021. The food delivery giant said earnings going forward will be driven by technology improvements and greater efficiency.
Among the small caps, Scancell Holdings PLC (AIM:SCLP, FRA:SCP) (LON:SCLP) will use technology that doesn’t require needles to administer COVID-19 vaccine candidates in clinical trials. The pharma group said this can help people who are afraid of needles and have skipped their jabs so far.
Canadian Overseas Petroleum Ltd (LSE:COPL, CSE:XOP, FRA:V9LA, OTC:VELXF)’s recently acquired Atomic Oil and Gas assets are performing significantly ahead of expectations, it said. Shares are trading again after they were suspended because of the reverse takeover.