London stocks nudged up in early trade on Thursday as investors eyed the latest policy announcement from the European Central Bank.

Shares in SThree plunged on Thursday, after the recruiter posted a slide in net fees and warned that the ongoing challenging market conditions would hit profits.

Banknote printer De La Rue reported a decline in first-half operating profit on Thursday as revenue fell, with revenue from the currency segment down as a number of deliveries moved into the second half of the year.

London stocks were still a little firmer by midday on Thursday as investors eyed the latest policy announcement from the European Central Bank, with Diageo pacing the gains after a rating upgrade.

The 211-year-old group is in the process of being broken up after agreeing the sale of its authentication arm in October for £300m

The London-listed firm, which recruits for science, technology, engineering and maths roles, said it now thinks the challenges could persist into 2025