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(Alliance News) - Stocks in London were set to open higher on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 called to push past the 8,000 mark again at the open.
The pound was firm on Thursday morning, though still bruised by UK inflation data on Wednesday that offered the Bank of England room to slow or stop UK interest rate hikes.
Inflation in the UK slowed by slightly more than forecast in January, though remained in double digits, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed on Wednesday.
On an annual basis, the consumer price index eased to 10.1% in January from 10.5% in December. Consensus had expected inflation to cool to 10.3%, according to FXStreet.
Meanwhile, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde reiterated Wednesday that the ECB plans to raise interest rates by half a percentage point, even as price inflation also shows signs of easing in the eurozone.
The International Energy Agency has sharply raised its forecast for global crude oil demand because of the prospect of stronger economic growth in China. For the whole year, the IEA expects an increase of 2 million barrels per day to an average of 101.9 million barrels per day.
In London, power utility Centrica swung to an annual loss, while professional information and analytics firm Relx posted double-digit rises in both profit and revenue.
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 22.87 points, or 0.3%, at 8,020.70
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Hang Seng: up 0.8% at 20,983.74
Nikkei 225: closed up 0.7% at 27,696.44
S&P/ASX 200: closed up 0.8% at 7,410.30
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DJIA: closed up 38.78 points, 0.1%, at 34,128.05
S&P 500: closed up 0.3% at 4,147.60
Nasdaq Composite: closed up 0.9% at 12,070.59
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EUR: up at USD1.0706 (USD1.0669)
GBP: up at USD1.2048 (USD1.2007)
USD: down at JPY133.85 (JPY134.32)
Gold: up at USD1,839.20 per ounce (USD1,832.19)
(Brent): up at USD85.92 a barrel (USD84.07)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS
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Thursday's key economic events still to come:
10:00 CET EU ECB economic bulletin
11:00 GMT Ireland consumer price index
08:30 EST US housing starts and building permits
08:30 EST US Philadelphia Fed business outlook survey
08:30 EST US producer price index
08:30 EST US unemployment insurance weekly claims report
08:45 EST US Fed Cleveland President Loretta Mester speaks
12:30 CST US Fed St Louis President James Bullard speaks
16:30 EST US foreign central bank holdings
16:30 EST US federal discount window borrowings
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One in three small UK businesses might not be able to cover their costs from the start of April as their energy bill support is slashed by the government. New analysis from credit score company Experian suggests that around 30% of the 1.2 million small businesses it analysed will be at "heightened risk" when the support is phased down. These businesses may not have enough cash to absorb the energy price shock, the company said. At the moment it thinks around 13% of small companies are at heightened risk. "These figures are very worrying. An added threat to the viability of small businesses is that many are struggling to get paid quickly by their bigger customers," said Small Business Commissioner Liz Barclay.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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Barclays raises Hargreaves Lansdown price target to 1,240 (1,225) pence - 'overweight'
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Goldman raises Standard Chartered price target to 925 pence - 'neutral'
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Citi Group starts Inchcape with 'buy' - price target 1,131 pence
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered reported pretax profit of USD4.29 billion in 2022, up from USD3.35 billion in 2021, as interest income jumped by nearly 50% to USD15.25 billion from USD10.25 billion. StanChart declared a full-year dividend of 18 US cents, up 50%. The lender said it was optimistic about the reopening of China and for economic growth in Asia in the year ahead.
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Centrica swung to a statutory loss of GBP240 million in 2022 from a profit of GBP1.21 billion in 2021. This was due to a loss on re-measurements after taxation, the firm said, largely reflecting the revaluation of UK energy supply hedging positions due to wholesale gas and power price falls towards the end of the year. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, meanwhile, jumped to GBP3.99 billion from GBP1.85 billion in 2021. Centrica adds it intends to extend its existing GBP250 million buyback programme by an additional GBP300 million. This would result in Centrica buyback back 10% of its share capital, the utilities firm said.
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Relx posted double-digit rises in full year profit and revenue, as it announced its intention to deploy GBP800 million on share buybacks in 2023. In 2022, pretax profit rose 18% to GBP2.11 billion from GBP1.80 billion in 2021, while revenue climbed 18% to GBP8.55 billion from GBP7.24 billion. Relx's total payout for the year rose to 54.6 pence per share from 49.8p in 2021. Looking ahead, the company said momentum remains strong across the group. It expects underlying growth rates in revenue and adjusted operating profit to remain above historical trends. Separately, Relx said Senior Independent Director Wolfhart Hauser will retire from the board after the company's annual general meeting on April 30. Suzanne Wood will succeed him as senior independent director.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Indivior swung to a pretax loss of USD95 million in 2022 from a profit of USD190 million the previous year, despite a jump in revenue to USD901 million from USD791 million. The pharmaceutical firm explained that it booked a USD290 million exceptional provision in the year as it navigates initial mediation sessions in late January regarding legacy civil multi-district antitrust litigation. "Because these matters are in various stages, Indivior cannot predict with any certainty how these matters will ultimately be resolved, or the costs, or timing of such resolution. In particular, any final aggregate costs of these matters, whether resolved by settlement or trial, may be materially different from this provision," the company said.
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OTHER COMPANIES
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Coca-Cola Europacific Partners reported jumps in pretax profit and revenue in 2022 as it declared a record full-year interim dividend of EUR1.68, up 20% against the prior year. In 2022, pretax profit totalled EUR1.96 billion, up from EUR1.38 billion the year prior. Revenue climbed to EUR17.32 billion from EUR13.76 billion year-on-year. Looking forward, Coca-Cola EP said it expects comparable revenue growth of between 6% and 8% in 2023. However, the bottling company added that costs of sales per unit case are expected to grow by around 8% as commodity inflation is expected to be around 10%, down from previous expectations of mid-teens.
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South32 cut its interim dividend, as a pullback in commodity prices dragged half-year profit lower, but the diversified miner maintained its full-year guidance. The Perth, Australia-based company reported pretax profit of USD885.0 million for the six months that ended December 31, down 39% from USD1.46 billion in the prior year. Revenue declined 7.7% to USD3.69 billion from USD4.00 billion, bringing underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation down 27% to USD1.36 billion from USD1.87 billion. This steep decline in underlying Ebitda was due to lower commodity prices, amid cost inflation and higher raw material input prices. These factors were partly offset by the benefit of weaker producer currencies, it said. South32 declared an interim dividend of 4.9 US cents, down 44% from 8.7 cents.
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By Heather Rydings, Alliance News senior economics reporter
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