Astrazeneca Share News (AZN)

LONDON (Alliance News) - UK shares are higher Tuesday, on a late rebound by Wall Street on Monday and gains by Asian markets, as investors try to shrug off concerns about Ukraine and Gaza.

Anglo American PLC leads FTSE 100 gainers, up 2.2%, after announcing plans on Monday to sell off platinum mines in South Africa. Prior to the open Tuesday, Anglo American subsidiary Kumba Iron Ore Ltd said it will provide the parent company with a lower contribution to underlying earnings, due to lower iron ore prices and higher costs. Anglo American releases its half-year results on Friday.

Royal Mail leads FTSE 100 losers, down 3.2%, after saying revenue in its first quarter rose by 2%, supported by good trading in its letters business, while increased competition hit the UK parcels division.

Here is what you need to know at the UK market open:
----------
MARKETS
----------
FTSE 100: up 0.6% at 6,770.69
FTSE 250: up 0.4% at 15,549.72
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.2% at 770.49
----------
Hang Seng: up 1.6% at 23,755.95
Nikkei 225: closed up 0.8% at 15,343.28
DJIA: closed down 0.3% at 17,051.73
S&P 500: closed down 0.2% at 1,973.63
----------
GBP-USD: flat at USD1.7078
EUR-USD: flat at USD1.3519

GOLD: down at USD1,306.50 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD107.86 a barrel

(changes since end of previous GMT day)
----------
ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
----------
Tuesday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times British Summer Time)

09:30 UK Public Sector Net Borrowing
n/a UK 10-y Bond Auction
11:00 UK CBI Industrial Trends Survey - Orders (MoM)
13:30 US Consumer Price Index
13:55 US Redbook index
14:00 US Housing Price Index
15:00 US Existing Home Sales
15:00 US Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index
16:30 US 4-Week and 52-week Bill Auction
----------
Pro-Russian rebels delivered the flight data and voice recorders of a downed passenger plane to Malaysian officials Tuesday, a government source said. The instruments were handed over in Donetsk, Ukraine to a group of Malaysian officials led by National Security Council member Colonel Mohamed Shukri. The source said the equipment appeared to be in good condition. "Malaysia will keep it for safekeeping temporarily and will eventually hand it to the proper investigating body," he said. Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed Thursday, killing all 298 people aboard, in eastern Ukraine. It was suspected to have been shot down by a missile.
----------
International efforts to reach a ceasefire deal were stepped up on Monday, as the death toll in the Gaza Strip continued to mount, passing 550 Palestinians, according to medics. Israeli casualties were also rising, the military said, confirming 25 soldiers have died since ground operations started last week. Washington has begun to directly intervene, with US Secretary of State John Kerry landing in Egypt, one of the key nations trying to broker a deal. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was also in Cairo meeting officials.
----------
The International Monetary Fund lifted its outlook for German economy and urged authorities to boost public investment on infrastructure, while adhering to the European fiscal rules. The Washington-based lender forecast the largest Eurozone economy to grow 1.9% this year, up from the prior estimate of 1.7%. The outlook for next year was revised to 1.7% from 1.6%.
----------
A leading indicator of economic activity in China rose at an accelerated pace in June, the results of a survey by the Conference Board showed. The Conference Board's leading economic indicators index for China increased 1.3% month-on-month in June followed by the 0.7% rise in May.
----------
The Japanese government downgraded the nation's economic growth forecast for the current financial year to 1.2% from 1.4% amid concerns about the impact of a tax increase. The government predicted consumer spending, which accounts for about 60% of gross domestic product, to grow 0.3% in the financial year through March, revised down from a 0.4% rise estimated in December. Tokyo raised the nation's sales tax in April to 8% from 5% - the first hike in 17 years.
----------
Japan's leading index declined more than estimated in May to the lowest since early 2013, final data from Cabinet Office showed. The leading index fell to 104.8 in May from 106.5 in April. The score was revised down from 105.7. The latest reading was the lowest since January 2013, when the score was 102.9.
----------
Japan's all industry activity recovered as expected in May, a report from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed. The all industry activity index rose 0.6% month-over-month in May following the 4.6% drop in April, in line with the consensus estimate.
---------
BROKER RATING CHANGES
---------
BARCLAYS CUTS TESCO PRICE TARGET TO 300 (340) PENCE - 'EQUAL WEIGHT'
----------
BARCLAYS CUTS MORRISON PRICE TARGET TO 165 (180) PENCE - 'UNDERWEIGHT'
----------
JPMORGAN RAISES REED ELSEVIER PRICE TARGET TO 1020 (915) PENCE - 'OVERWEIGHT'
----------
JEFFERIES CUTS ROTORK TO 'HOLD' ('BUY') - TARGET 2905 (3330) PENCE
----------
JEFFERIES INITIATES TSB GROUP WITH 'BUY' - TARGET 413 PENCE
----------
CREDIT SUISSE RAISES SPIRAX-SARCO TO 'OUTPERFORM' (NEUTRAL) - TARGET 3030 PENCE
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 100
----------
Royal Mail PLC said revenue in its first quarter rose 2%, supported by good trading in its letters business, while increased competition hit the UK parcels division. In an interim management statement for the three months to June 29, and including the period from March 31 to date, the company said the low single-digit revenue growth was in line with its strategy. Royal Mail said that on a cost basis, its performance in the period was better than expected. The increase in the cost of sales is slowing due to lower export mail volume growth, it said.
----------
Anglo American PLC subsidiary Kumba Iron Ore Ltd said it will provide the parent company with a lower contribution to underlying earnings, due to lower iron ore prices and higher costs. The announcement comes ahead of Anglo American's half-year results release on Friday. The major iron ore mining subsidiary, which operates in South Africa, will contribute USD409 million to Anglo American for the six months ended June 30, a fall of 29% from USD579 million the previous year. The subsidiary said its IFRS headline earnings fell 28% to USD606 million from USD840 million as operating profit fell 14% due to lower export iron ore prices and costs from increased mining activities.
----------
ARM Holdings PLC upped its interim dividend as it saw pretax profit rise in the half year to end-June, driven by a strong performance from its licensing operations which offset weaker royalty revenues. The chipmaker proposed an interim dividend of 2.25 pence, up from 2.1 pence in the previous year. The company said it enters the second half of the year with a healthy pipeline of opportunities, and expects to see its royalty revenue grow in the second half as the semiconductor industry improves. As a result of this improvement, it expects to meet market expectations for US dollar revenues for the full year.
----------
AstraZeneca PLC said its research and development arm MedImmune has teamed up with US biotechnology company Advaxis Inc for a clinical trial combining MedImmune's MED14736 compound with Advaxis' ADSX-HPV. The two treatments are both immunotherapies, which use the body's immune system to treat cancer, the company said.
----------
Trading in Barclays PLC's dark pool has seen a dramatic fall since the New York State Attorney General's allegations that the bank gave an unfair advantage to high-frequency traders at the expense of its other investor clients, despite presenting the trading platform as having special safeguards to protect against "predatory" or "toxic" traders. According to data published by the US's Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the number of shares traded in Barclays' dark pool, LX Liquidity Cross, fell by two-thirds in the week of June 30, from the week of June 23. The number of shares traded in the pool fell to 66.4 million from 197.0 million. The data is for NMS Tier 1 equities. Data for NMS Tier 2 and over-the-counter equities is not as recent as for NMS Tier 1.
----------
A Renaissance Technologies LLC hedge fund’s investors probably avoided more than USD6 billion in US income taxes over a 14-year spell, through transactions with Barclays PLC and Deutsche Bank AG, a Senate committee has said, Bloomberg reported online on Tuesday.
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 250
----------
IG Group Holdings PLC reported a 1.3% increase in pretax profit in its last financial year, boosted by stronger revenue figures in the UK and Ireland, as well as in the rest of Europe. The FTSE 250 online trading company also increased its full-year dividend by 21% to 28.15 pence, from 23.25 a year earlier, representing approximately 70% of the group's full-year earnings. IG Group said it will continue to monitor its capital structure closely as it looks to fund its growth and to adapt and respond to any changes in regulation or the financial environment. In a statement, IG Group said that it made a GBP194.7 million pretax profit in the year ended May 31, compared with GBP192.2 million a year earlier. Revenue increased to GBP413.7 million, from GBP406.4 million, due to increases in the UK and Europe more than offsetting falls in Australia and the rest of the world.
----------
Galliford Try PLC said its recently-acquired Miller Construction business has reached financial close on two school campus building contracts in Scotland. Miller, working on behalf of public/private development body Hub North Scotland Limited, will work on a GBP35.4 million project to construct the new Inverness Royal Academy and on a GBP15.4 million scheme to build Noss Primary School in Wick.
----------
QinetiQ Says FY Outlook Unchanged From May Guidance
----------
Croda International H1 Pretax Profit Down 6%, GBP125.1M Vs GBP133.1M; Sales Down 4.5%, GBP537.4M Vs GBP562.7M; Interim Dividend Increased 1.7% To 29.5p
----------
Beazley H1 Pretax Profit USD132.9M Vs USD82.3M; Gross Written Premiums USD1.08B Vs USD1.07B; Combined Ratio 90% Vs 89%; Interim Dividend 3.1p Vs 2.9p
----------
COMPANIES - MAIN MARKET AND AIM
----------
Brady Says Trading In First Half In Line With Expectations, Above Year Before; Says On Track To Deliver Full-Year Results In Line With Expectations
----------
Ashcourt Rowan COO Richard Sinclair To Depart Company, Won't Be Replaced
----------
IQE Remains On Track For Full Year Expectations
----------
Imaginatik Proposes 1-For-80 Share Consolidation
----------
Scapa Group Says Trading In Its Q1 In Line With Board Expectation, Despite Currency Headwinds
----------
Songbird Estates Subsidiary Wins Planning Permission For Wood Wharf Development
----------
McColl's Retail Splits CEO And Chairman Role; James Lancaster To Be CEO, John Coleman Non-Exec Chair; COO Martyn Aguss Resigns, Replaced By Operations Director Dave Thomas; H1 Pretax Loss GBP4.0M, Vs GBP2.5M Loss Year Before; Pretax Loss Is After GBP6.2M In Exceptional Items; Says On Track For Full-Year Results In Line With Expectations; Declares Interim Dividend Of 1.7p, Vs None Year Before
----------
Leni Gas & Oil Finds 187 Feet Region Of Net Oil Pay In Goudron Sands At GY-667 Well
----------
Rethink Group Trading In Line With Expectations; H1 Pretax Profit To Be Ahead Of 2013
----------
Hydrogen Group Now Expects Net Fee Income In H1 To Be Lower Than Previous Year By Around 7%; Says It Believes Profit For FY Before Exceptional Items Will Be In Line With Expectations
----------
Renold Says Underlying Group Revenue Up 0.9% In Q1 On Year Before
----------
Premier Foods H1 Pretax Loss GBP54.9M, Vs GBP15.7M Year Before; Expects Improvement to Sales In H2 On New Products, Marketing Spend; Says Trading Profit Expectations For Full-Year Unchanged
----------
Bagir Expects FY Results To Be At Lower End Of Previous Ranges Guided
----------
Hogg Robinson FY Trading Expected To Be Slightly Below Market Expectations
----------
COMPANIES - OTHER
----------
Search giant Yahoo!, Inc. agreed Monday to acquire mobile app analytics startup Flurry, Inc. in order to boost its mobile products offerings. The deal, reportedly valued at more than USD200 million, will enable Yahoo to provide brands with more effective mobile advertising solutions.
----------
The online subscription service Netflix is planning to launch in Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, and Luxembourg in September, the California-based company said Monday in its quarterly earnings report. The company added 570,000 domestic streaming members in the second quarter, bringing the US total membership to over 36 million. International customers increased by 1.12 million to 13.8 million, the statement said.
----------
The board of Time Warner Inc Monday altered its bylaws and removed the provision for shareholders to call a special meeting, a move made to block further takeover attempts from Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox Inc. The amendment removed provisions regarding stockholders' ability to cause the board to call a special meeting of stockholders; the board, however, said it plans to to reinstate the special meeting provisions at its 2015 annual meeting. Last week, Time Warner said it rejected a takeover bid from 21st Century Fox, saying that the proposal was not in the best interests of the company or its stockholders.
----------
Texas Instruments Inc reported net income for the second quarter of USD683 million or USD0.62 per share, compared to USD660 million or USD0.58 per share for the year-ago quarter. Revenue for the second quarter rose 8% to USD3.29 billion from USD3.05 billion in the same quarter last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn USD0.59 per share on revenue of USD3.27 billion for the second quarter.
----------
Tuesday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

N Brown
JPMorgan European Investment Trust
Bloomsbury Publishing
Renold
Scapa Group
TR Property Investment Trust
VP
QinetiQ Group
Advanced Computer Software Group
Assura Group
----------
By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

Copyright 2014 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.