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(Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 stood out in a mixed session for Europe on Tuesday, with share price gains for Vodafone helping to lift the blue-chip index as market sentiment remained cautious over worries of a second wave of Covid-19 infections in Asia.
The FTSE 100 index closed up 55.04 points, or 0.9%, at 5,994.77. The FTSE 250 ended down 98.45 points, or 0.6%, at 16,173.04, and the AIM All-Share closed down 2.06 points, or 0.3%, at 824.56.
The Cboe UK 100 ended up 1.2% at 10,150.86, the Cboe UK 250 closed down 1.1% at 13,749.07, and the Cboe Small Companies ended down 0.3% at 8,957.75.
As France and Spain embraced new freedoms and Britain announced plans for a partial reopening, the Chinese city of Wuhan where the pandemic was born reported a second day of new cases after a month without a sign of the virus.
South Korea, meanwhile, announced its highest number of infections for more than a month driven by a cluster in a Seoul nightlife district.
Germany set in motion the reopening of shops, eateries, schools and gyms, but Chancellor Angela Merkel refreshed warnings to stay safe after official data showed the infection rate picking up speed again.
In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended down 0.4%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt closed down 0.1%.
The euro stood at USD1.0870 at the European equities close Tuesday, against USD1.0812 at the same time on Monday.
In the UK, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the government's furlough scheme currently supporting 7.5 million workers through the coronavirus crisis will be extended until the end of October.
The scheme – which pays 80% of a worker's salary up to a GBP2,500 monthly cap – will remain unchanged until the end of July and then continue with employers expected to start footing some of the multi-billion pound bill.
Sunak told MPs that from August there will be greater flexibility in order to allow furloughed staff to begin returning to work.
Sunak's announcement came as new analysis by the PA news agency puts the death toll at just over 40,000, following new figures on care home deaths released by the Office for National Statistics.
The pound was quoted at USD1.2310 at the London equities close Tuesday, compared to USD1.2328 at the close on Monday.
Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY107.28 compared to JPY107.66 late Monday.
In US data, official figures showed consumer prices declined in April as people stayed home during the coronavirus crisis.
On an annual basis, the US inflation rate - as measured by the consumer price index - was 0.3% in April, slowing sharply from 1.5% in March. The reading missed market consensus of 0.4%.
On a monthly basis, the index fell 0.8%, from the 0.4% drop registered in March, in line with consensus.
Annually, core inflation - which strips out food and energy - was 0.3% in April, decelerating sharply from 1.5% in March. On a monthly basis, inflation fell 0.4% in April after a 0.1% decrease in March.
"It is clear that demand has been hit hard by the pandemic, but seeing as a large number of states are reopening their economies, we might see a tick up in the readings in the next few months," commented David Madden at CMC Markets.
Stocks in New York were mixed at the London equities close, with the DJIA up 0.1%, the S&P 500 index down 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.2%.
Brent oil was quoted at USD29.80 a barrel at the London equities close Tuesday from USD29.78 late Monday.
"Oil prices are relatively steady as we move closer to the critical June contract expiry, with Saudi Arabia attempting to provide supportive commentary where possible. With Saudi Arabia already overcommitting to production cuts, traders are well aware of the possibility we could see further production eased at next month's OPEC meeting. Nevertheless, demand is a critical element within this story, with the flexible nature of US producers meaning that we could see recent well shut-ins reversed if oil prices rise too much," commented Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at IG.
Gold edged up amid Tuesday's cautious atmosphere. The safe haven asset was quoted at USD1,707.15 an ounce at the London equities close Tuesday against USD1,698.03 at the close on Monday.
In London, Vodafone ended as the top blue-chip performer after keeping its payout.
The stock rose 8.7% on Tuesday.
For its financial year to the end of March, Vodafone swung to a pretax profit of EUR795 million from a loss of EUR2.61 billion in financial 2019. Revenue rose 3% to EUR44.97 billion from EUR43.67 billion last year.
Adjusted earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation grew by 2.6% to EUR14.9 billion, reflecting revenue progression and cost savings success. Free cash flow grew by 12% to EUR4.9 billion.
A final dividend of 4.5 euro cents was declared, up from 4.16 cents the year prior, thereby maintaining Vodafone's total annual dividend at 9.0 cents.
Fellow telecommunications firm BT last week decided to suspend and reduce its payout.
Standard Life Aberdeen advanced 3.9% despite reporting a decline in assets under management and administration, though reiterated its commitment to its final dividend.
The company's estimated AUMA at April 30 was GBP490 billion, down 10% from GBP544.6 billion at the end of 2019, with estimated net outflows of GBP24 billion. The remaining GBP30.6 billion of the decline would have been from market movements, though Standard Life Aberdeen didn't specify this in its statement Tuesday.
However, the company noted that excluding around GBP25 billion of withdrawals related to a Lloyds Banking Group mandate, it saw net inflows of GBP1 billion.
In a video statement to Standard Life Aberdeen's annual general meeting, Chief Executive Keith Skeoch reiterated the company's commitment to pay the 14.3p final dividend in respect of 2019, saying this was supported by its capital strength and GBP237 million proceeds from the sale of shares in its Indian joint venture HDFC Life.
Wm Morrison Supermarkets ended up 3.4% as the grocer reported sales growth in the first quarter despite "highly volatile" trading and a worse-than-expected Easter due to the ongoing coronavirus lockdown in the UK.
For the 14-week period from February 3 to May 10, the grocer said like-for-like sales excluding fuel were up 5.7% - with retail sales up 5.1% and wholesale up 0.6%. Total sales were up 5.7% excluding fuel, and down 4.0% including fuel.
Morrisons said that retail like-for-like sales were up 5.0% for the first six weeks of the year. Sales were flat in the first four weeks of financial 2021, with weeks five to seven being marked by "considerable stocking up" by customers, lifting sales.
The FTSE 100-listed retailer is predicting costs relating directly to Covid-19 pandemic in financial 2021 to be broadly offset by the UK government's business rates cost-saving, but the actual net effect is dependent on the length of the crisis and how customers respond as lockdown eases.
At the bottom of the blue-chip index was Land Securities, sinking 13% as its saw the value of its assets slip and cut its dividend.
For the financial year to March 31, the commercial property developer's pretax loss widened to GBP837 million from GBP123 million in financial 2019, as revenue slipped 6.3% to GBP414 million from GBP442 million.
Landsec said the value of its assets fell 8.8% in the recent year to GBP1.18 billion. Annual EPRA net asset value per share - a measure of the fair value of the company's assets - was down 12% at 1,192p from 1,348p.
Landsec slashed its full-year dividend 49% to 23.2p per share from 45.55p last year.
Amongst the mid-caps, DIY Kingfisher rallied 9.6% as it reported improved sales in May.
In the three months to April 30, Kingfisher's total sales slumped 24%, or 25% on a like-for-like, constant currency basis. It was a period during which the pandemic began to gain a foothold in Europe, meaning some retailers were forced to close due to not providing essential services, while others, as in the case of chains like Kingfisher-owned B&Q, shuttered by choice.
Encouragingly, like-for-like sales were up 2.7% in the first week of May, Kingfisher said.
The UK corporate calendar on Wednesday has half year results from accounting software firm Sage and first quarter results from luxury car maker Aston Martin Lagonda.
In the economic calendar on Wednesday, there is Japan's trade balance at 0050 BST and UK GDP and manufacturing production out at 0700 BST. Eurozone industrial production is at 1000 BST and US producer prices are at 1330 BST.
By Lucy Heming; lucyheming@alliancenews.com
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