(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to open lower on Monday, as investors look ahead to three key interest-rate decisions this week.
The Fed announces its interest rate decision on Wednesday, before the BoE and ECB on Thursday.
"The strong start to 2023 appears to have given way to a little bit of caution for markets in Europe as we look to this week’s trifecta of central bank meetings, and what sort of outlook is painted by the Federal Reserve, ECB and Bank of England, and more importantly how many more rate hikes can we expect to see after next week," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.
In early UK company news on Monday, insurer Legal & General said Nigel Wilson plans to step down after more than a decade as chief executive, while Unilever named Hein Schumacher as its new CEO.
Budget airline Ryanair reported a swing to third-quarter profit, with results boosted by higher prices and stronger demand over the Christmas period.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: called down 0.6% at 7,715.6
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Hang Seng: up 2.3% at 22,154.72
Nikkei 225: closed up up 0.2% at 27,433.40
S&P/ASX 200: closed up 0.2% at 7,481.70
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DJIA: closed up 28.67 points, or 0.1%, at 33,978.08
S&P 500: closed up 10.13 points, or 0.3%, at 4,070.56
Nasdaq Composite: closed up 109.30 points, or 0.1%, at 11,621.71
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EUR: flat at USD1.0861 (USD1.0857)
GBP: flat at USD1.2389 (USD1.2383)
USD: down at JPY129.61 (JPY129.87)
Gold: down at USD1,930.19 per ounce (USD1,930.80)
(Brent): down at USD85.94 a barrel (USD86.78)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS
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Monday's key economic events still to come:
11:00 CET EU economic sentiment indicator
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A strike this week by up to half-a-million workers in bitter disputes over pay, jobs and conditions should send a clear message to the UK government that it cannot continue to ignore the causes of the unrest, according to the head of the Trades Union Congress. Teachers, train drivers, civil servants, university lecturers, bus drivers and security guards from seven trade unions will walk out on Wednesday in what will be the biggest day of industrial action in the UK in over a decade. Protests will be held across the country on the same day against the government's controversial plans for a new law on minimum service levels during strikes. TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said Wednesday will be a "really important day" for workers and members of the public to show support for those taking action to defend pay, jobs and services, as well as for the right to strike.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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Numis cuts Rentokil to 'hold' - price target 470 pence
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Barclays raises Auto Trader to 'overweight' (equal weight)
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Barclays raises Moneysupermarket.com to 'overweight' (equal weight)
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Unilever said it has appointed Hein Schumacher as its new CEO, following a global search process. Hein will replace Alan Jope, who announced in September 2022 his intention to retire from the London-based consumer goods company. Hein is currently CEO of the global dairy and nutrition business Royal FrieslandCampina and became a non-executive director of Unilever in October last year. He will begin as Unilever CEO on July 1, after a one-month handover period. Chair Nils Andersen said: "Hein is a dynamic, values-driven business leader who has a diverse background of experiences and an excellent track record of delivery in the global consumer goods industry. He has exceptional strategic capabilities, proven operational effectiveness, and strong experience in both developed and developing markets."
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Legal & General said Chief Executive Nigel Wilson plans to step down, after over a decade in post. Wilson joined the company in 2009 as chief financial officer and was appointed to CEO in 2012. Legal & General said it has now begun the process to appoint a successor, considering both internal and external candidates. It added that Wilson has agreed to continue as CEO until his successor starts. It is planned that this process will take around a year.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Gibraltar-based online betting and gaming company 888 Holdings said CEO Itai Pazner is stepping down immediately. Non-Executive Chair Lord Mendelsohn will become executive chair on an interim basis while the company searches for a permanent CEO. Mendelsohn said: "On behalf of the board I would like to thank Itai for his significant contributions to the business over more than 20 years, including the last four as CEO. Itai has played a very important role in building a business with powerful proprietary technology, and has overseen successful early stages to the William Hill integration process." 888 also said it has suspended VIP activities in some of its .com markets pending the outcome of an internal compliance investigation. It explained that some of its best practices have not been followed in regard to know-your-client and anti-money-laundering processes for 888 VIP customers in the Middle East region. The company currently expects the suspension to have less than a 3% impact on company revenue.
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Computer services firm Computacenter said it has ended 2022 with a "record" fourth quarter. It expects full-year results to slightly ahead of its guidance. The company said total revenue, on a gross invoiced income basis, grew by more than 30%, including the effects of acquisitions made in the middle of 2022, and by over 27% in constant currency. It said adjusted pretax profit in the first half of the year against the first half of 2021 was down by 6%; however over the year as a whole pretax profit grew. In 2021, Computacenter brought in GBP248.0 million of pretax profit on GBP6.73 billion in revenue.
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OTHER COMPANIES
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Ryanair reported a swing to third-quarter profit, with results boosted by higher prices and stronger demand over the Christmas period. The Dublin-based budget airline posted revenue of EUR2.31 billion in the three months to December 31, up 57% from EUR1.47 billion a year earlier. Ryanair swung to a pretax profit of EUR212.8 million from a EUR132.8 million loss. It reported a net profit before exceptional items of EUR211 million, swinging from a loss of EUR96 million. The company still put its pre-exceptional items net profit guidance range to EUR1.33 billion to EUR1.43 billion. That guidance was lifted from EUR1.00 billion to EUR1.20 billion earlier in January. It would represent a swing from a EUR355 million loss in financial 2022. It expects to be loss-making in the fourth-quarter, however, due to when Easter falls in 2023.
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By Sophie Rose, Alliance News reporter
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