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(Alliance News) - Stocks in London were called flat on Wednesday, as new data showed producer price inflation is easing in the UK.
UK producer input prices rose by 16.5% annually in December, slowing from the 18.0% annual rise seen in November, according to the Office for National Statistics.
On a monthly basis, input prices fell 1.1% in December, compared to a revised monthly fall of 0.2% in November.
In early UK company news, Fresnillo reported strong annual production and Ascential announced a restructuring.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: called up 3.0 points at 7,760.36
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Hang Seng: Hong Kong market shut for Lunar New Year holiday.
Nikkei 225: closed up 0.4% at 27,395.01
S&P/ASX 200: closed down 0.3% at 7,468.30
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DJIA: closed up 104.40 points, or 0.3%, at 33,733.96
S&P 500: closed down 2.86 points, or 0.1%, at 4,016.95
Nasdaq Composite: closed down 2.86 points, or 0.1%, at 4,016.95
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EUR: higher at USD1.0903 (USD1.0881)
GBP: flat at USD1.2327 (USD1.2320)
USD: higher at JPY130.37 (JPY129.89)
GOLD: higher at USD1,931.70 per ounce (USD1,930.76)
OIL (Brent): flat at USD86.50 a barrel (USD86.55)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS
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Wednesday's key economic events still to come:
10:00 CET Germany Ifo business climate index
07:00 EST US MBA weekly mortgage applications survey
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Nearly two-thirds of UK first-time buyer mortgages being taken out are in joint names. Some 63% of first-time buyer mortgages completed between January and November last year were in joint names (involving at least two parties), leaving 37% as sole applications, Halifax said. Its figures were based on mortgage completion data from Halifax, Lloyds Bank, and Bank of Scotland, which are all part of Lloyds Banking Group. The number of joint first-time buyer mortgages has been creeping upwards in recent years, according to the group's figures.
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Some UK firms could be at risk of struggling to apply a new consumer duty effectively when it comes into force in six months' time, according to the Financial Conduct Authority The consumer duty will set clearer and higher standards of consumer protection across financial services, requiring firms to put customers at the heart of what they do. Firms, including senior managers and boards, will be held accountable for delivering good outcomes for consumers. The FCA reviewed a sample of implementation plans. It found many firms show they understand and embrace the changes and have established extensive programmes of work to comply.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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Berenberg cuts Direct Line to 'hold' (buy) - price target 160 (272) pence
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Berenberg starts Petershill Partners with 'buy' - price target 220 pence
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SocGen cuts Hammerson to 'sell' (hold) - price target 18.7 (20.2) pence
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Mexico City-based gold and silver miner Fresnillo said annual production was in line with its guidance. Total silver production fell 3.0% year-on-year in the fourth quarter to 12.5 million ounces, but rose 1.2% annually in 2022 as a whole to 53.7 million ounces. Gold production was up 12% in the fourth quarter year-on-year, but fell 15% in 2022 overall. "Silver output was driven by a strong performance from our Fresnillo mine which is showing consistent improvement and the continued contribution of our new Juanicipio project offsetting the expected lower grades at San Julian," the miner said.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Ascential said it is proposing to separate its worldwide digital commerce assets into an independent US-listed company. It also proposed to sell WGSN, with its UK listing continuing as its events company. It proposed a series of leadership changes alongside the new structure. The firm said it saw double-digit revenue growth across all four of its segments in 2022. The business-to-business media and events firm now expects revenue to be at least GBP520 million, ahead of the top end of the current consensus range of GBP479 million to GBP516 million. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation is now expected at GBP118 million, which is also ahead of the top end of the current consensus range. In 2021, the firm brought in revenue GBP349 million and adjusted Ebitda of GBP89 million.
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OTHER COMPANIES
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Watkin Jones said annual revenue fell 5.4% in the year that ended September 30, falling to GBP407.1 million from GBP430.2 million a year before. Pretax profit plummeted to 64% to GBP18.4 million from GBP51.1 million. The student accommodation developer and manager explained that market volatility in the wake of the UK mini budget hit the end of its financial year, delaying two forward sale transactions. The firm cut total dividend payments to 7.4 pence for the year, from 8.2p the year before.
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Rupert Murdoch, who controls both News Corp and Fox, has withdrawn a proposal to explore a possible merger of the media companies. In a letter to the firms, the 91-year-old billionaire said he and his son Lachlan Murdoch, the chief executive of Fox, determined that "a combination is not optimal" for shareholders of the two media giants at this time, according to a Fox press release on Tuesday. Multiple shareholders in the companies had reportedly expressed their opposition to the merger in recent months. As a result of the action, News Corp, which covers an extensive list of major news titles across the globe, and Fox, which works mostly in television, said they dissolved their special committee of the board of directors.
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Canadian pop star Justin Bieber has sold his music publishing and recording catalogue shares to Blackstone-backed Hipgnosis Songs Capital for USD200 million, the company said Tuesday. The sale had been rumoured for weeks; it was first reported by the Wall Street Journal in late December. Hipgnosis did not publicly disclose terms of the deal, but a source close to the matter told AFP it was worth around USD200 million. Hipgnosis Songs Capital is a USD1 billion venture between US private equity firm Blackstone and the UK's Hipgnosis Song Management. Hipgnosis Song Management is the investment advisor of London-listed Hipgnosis Songs Fund. Hipgnosis Songs Capital said it acquired Bieber's interest in his publishing copyrights to his 290-song back catalogue – all of his music released prior to the end of 2021.
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By Elizabeth Winter, Alliance News senior markets reporter
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