AA..L Share News (AA.)

LONDON (Alliance News) - In a largely muted session, stocks in London managed to overcome some early losses to finish Monday's session in the green. The FTSE 100 was bolstered by travel stocks and a rating upgrade for advertising firm WPP, while Ferrexpo's minor rebound helped the FTSE 250 close in positive territory. The FTSE 100 index closed up 12.47 points, or 0.2%, at 7,440.66 on Monday, having dipped as low as 7,406.53 in morning trade.The FTSE 250 ended up 54.33 points, or 0.3%, at 19,911.20, and the AIM All-Share closed up 1.07 points, or 0.1%, at 970.47.The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.2% at 12,623.62, the Cboe UK 250 also closed up 0.2%, at 17,822.58, and the Cboe Small Companies ended up 0.4% at 11,653.54.The pound was largely unchanged on Monday, quoted at USD1.2921 at the equities close versus USD1.2929 at the close on Friday. Commenting on the session's risers, Joshua Mahony at IG said: "We have seen a boost for the likes of TUI, easyJet, and IAG on the news that consumers are looking further afield for their holidays as the Brexit process continues to rumble on.""This highlights that there is a willingness to spend despite the clouds overhead, with the likes of Asia and the US looking more attractive, especially given the widespread offering of low prices on relatively exotic destinations."Thomas Cook, which closed up 4.1%, said British holiday makers are opting to visit countries outside of the EU this summer due to Brexit uncertainty. "Thomas Cook's 2019 holiday report reveals that the political turmoil is having an impact in other ways, revealing itself in a clear shift to non-EU countries and a growth in all-inclusive," said Chief Tour Operating Officer Will Waggott.To date, 48% of Thomas Cook's UK package holiday bookings for summer are to non-European destinations, the company said, up 10 percentage points on the same time last year.In a read-across from this, TUI closed up 2.3%, while easyJet gained 1.0%. International Consolidated Airlines rose 1.8%, also helped by an upgrade to Buy from Neutral by UBS.Among the other risers in the FTSE 100 on Monday was WPP, also benefiting from a ratings boost as it gained 1.2%. Barclays raised advertising firm WPP to Overweight from Equal Weight.Dragging towards the other end of the index was hospitality firm Whitbread, down 2.0% ahead of its annual results on Tuesday.Meanwhile, gold miner Fresnillo dipped 2.0% as it tracked the price of gold lower. Gold was quoted at USD1,279.41 an ounce at the London equities close Monday against USD1,287.14 at the close on Friday."Gold is a little lower as profit taking has set in," explained David Madden at CMC Markets. "The metal pushed higher in the latter half of last week and now some of that ground has been handed back."Brent oil, meanwhile, was broadly flat on Monday, quoted at USD71.98 a barrel at the London equities close from USD71.90 late Friday.Back in the FTSE 100, Autotrader slipped 1.7% on news Chief Executive Trevor Mather will be departing the digital automotive marketplace firm.Mather will leave his position at the end of March next year. Chief Operating Officer & Chief Financial Officer Nathan Coe will become CEO-designate on Wednesday and will take up the CEO role on the departure of Mather. In the FTSE 250, Ferrexpo rebounded 4.8% following a bruising session on Friday, which saw the shares in the iron pellet producer shed 28%.Last Friday, Deloitte quit as Ferrexpo's auditor with immediate effect - causing Ferrexpo shares to dive - amid an investigation into payments made by Ferrexpo into Ukrainian charity Blooming Land. On Monday, Ferrexpo said it was "naturally" disappointed by the resignation and confirmed it has started looking for a replacement. In addition, the firm said trading thus far in 2019 has been strong.Emergency repairs firm Homeserve dipped 3.6% after HSBC cut the stock to Reduce from Hold. Elsewhere on the Main Market, AA shares slipped 4.2% as the roadside rescue firm's finance boss resigned with immediate effect. Martin Clarke said "now is the right time" for him to return to his "twin passions" of private investing and politics. Mark Strickland, who has been with AA since 2016, has been appointed interim CFO.Stocks in New York were broadly higher at the London equities close, with the Dow Jones flat and both the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq Composite up 0.1%. In the US earnings calendar on Monday, Google parent Alphabet reports after the market close.In US data, a report released by the Commerce Department showed a smaller than expected uptick in US personal income in the month of March.The Commerce Department said personal income inched up by 0.1% in March after edging up by 0.2% in February. Economists had expected income to climb by 0.4%.Meanwhile, the report said personal spending jumped by 0.9% in March after ticking up by 0.1% in February and rising by an upwardly revised 0.3% in January.Meanwhile, in Europe, economic sentiment weakened for a tenth straight month in April to its lowest level in nearly three years.The economic sentiment index decreased to 104 from 105.6 in March, survey data from the European Commission showed on Monday. Economists had expected a score of 105.The latest reading was the weakest since September 2016, when the score was 103.8. Pulling the index down was industrial confidence, which eased sharply to negative 4.1 from negative 1.6, marking the lowest reading since December 2014, when it was at the same level.The euro stood at USD1.1166 at the European equities close Monday, flat against USD1.1158 at the same time on Friday.In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended up 0.2%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt ended up 0.1%.In Tuesday's economic calendar, the Gfk UK consumer confidence survey is out at 0001 BST, while China's manufacturing PMI is due at 0200 BST. Later in the morning, French GDP is at 0630 BST and consumer price inflation at 0745 BST, while German import prices are at 0700 BST and unemployment statistics at 0855 BST.In the UK, the Kantar grocery share figures for the 12 weeks to April 21 are leased at 0800 BST. Eurozone GDP and unemployment are both due out at 1000 BST, followed by German inflation at 1300 BST and the US Redbook index at 1355 BST, with consumer confidence at 1500 BST.Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve will commence its two-day monetary policy meeting on Tuesday, concluding on Wednesday with the announcement of the central bank's latest decision, followed up by a press conference with Chair Jerome Powell. Early in the UK corporate calendar, there are first-quarter results from emerging markets-focused lender Standard Chartered at 0515 BST. Later are first-quarter results from oil major BP, wealth management firm St James's Place and engineer Weir. There is first-quarter production from commodities house Glencore and gold miner Hochschild Mining, while Premier Inn owner Whitbread releases annual results.