DC..L Share News (DC.)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Share prices are called to open lower on Tuesday, as London re-opens after Monday's UK bank holiday and following political uncertainty in Europe.In early UK company news, Standard Life Aberdeen plans to return GBP1.75 billion to shareholders, Old Mutual intends to proceed with a global offer for 9.6% of Quilter, and Dixons Carphone said annual like-for-like sales were up but sees a further fall in profit for the year ahead.IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 index of large-caps to open 38.28 points lower at 7,692.00 points on Tuesday. The FTSE 100 index closed up 0.2%, or 13.54 points, at 7,730.28 on Friday."European bourses and the euro are at risk of further losses, as political instability in two of the eurozone's largest economies sends jitters through the markets," says Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital Group.Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Monday tasked economist Carlo Cottarelli with forming a government, after an unsuccessful attempt by the anti-establishment Five Star Movement and the anti-immigrant League to form a coalition.The move came after the two Eurosceptic parties dropped their bid to form a governing alliance on Sunday, increasing the odds of fresh elections as Italy struggles to overcome the political stalemate produced by March election.Meanwhile, in Spain, the opposition Socialist party last week called for a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. Rajoy responded in a televised press conference, stating: "As far as it's in my power, it is evident that I want the legislature to last four years."In company news, Standard Life Aberdeen said it intends to return GBP1.75 billion to shareholders, with GBP1.0 to be returned via a B share scheme - a minimum of 33.4p per share based on current expectations - and the remaining by way of a share buyback. This is due to the expected surplus capital following the receipt of proceeds from Standard Life's UK & European insurance business sale to Phoenix Group, and anticipated lower capital requirements.GlaxoSmithKline said it has submitted a regulatory application to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour & Welfare for Trelegy Ellipta, used to treat adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This is the first regulatory filing to be made in Japan for a triple COPD therapy in a single inhaler, Glaxo said. Rolls-Royce Holdings said it has launched a new engine family for business aviation, Pearl. The Pearl 15 is the first of the planned Pearl engine family for business aviation, and marks the sixth new civil aerospace engine introduced by Rolls-Royce in the past 10 years. The engine has been purpose-built and will be the sole engine for Canadian plane maker Bombardier's latest business jets, the Global 5500 aircraft and the Global 6500 aircraft. The engine is currently undergoing flight tests at Bombardier's Flight Test Centre in Wichita, Kansas, supporting the planned entry into service at the end of 2019.Old Mutual said - following Friday's shareholder approval of its managed separation - it will proceed with a global offer of up to 9.6% of Quilter, subject to final pricing. Rothschild is acting as financial adviser to Old Mutual on its managed separation, including the global offer.Quilter Chief Executive Paul Feeney, in a separate statement, said: "A global offering of up to 9.6% of Quilter moves us closer to becoming a listed, independent wealth management business. We believe that our leading position in the UK, one of the world's largest wealth markets, our multi-channel customer proposition and our strong investment performance position Quilter for continued success."Electricals retailer Dixons Carphone said annual revenue was up 3% year-on-year, with like-for-like sales up 4%. UK & Ireland full year like-for-like revenue rose 2%.FTSE 250-listed Dixons said that, for the year to April 28, it expects to deliver headline pretax profit of GBP382 million, and intends to maintain its full-year dividend at 11.25 pence. This compares with a pretax profit of GBP501 million in financial 2017.For the year ahead, headline pretax profit is expected to decline to "around" GBP300 million.This fall includes "early, necessary action" to correct recent underinvestment in its customer proposition, with market and contractual pressures in UK Mobile to be partially offset by cost improvements.Prime Opportunities Investment Group said it made an approach to IWG regarding a cash takeover offer, which was subsequently rejected by the FTSE 250-listed Regus office space provider."Prime Opportunities continues to actively consider the possibility of making an offer for IWG and is confident in its ability to submit a further proposal to IWG's board for its consideration in due course," Prime Opportunities said.There can be no certainty that any offer will be made, Prime Opportunities added, nor as to the terms of any such offer. On Sunday, blue-chip engineer Smiths Group Sunday confirmed it is in "very early stage" talks over merging its medical unit with Nasdaq-listed ICU Medical. Smiths said there is no certainty a deal will be reached. ICU Medical, which is based in California, has a market capitalisation of around USD5.60 billion. Shares in Smiths closed up 0.5% at 1,720.00p on Friday, giving it a market capitalisation of GBP6.81 billion.In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended mostly lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending down 0.2% and the S&P 500 down 0.2%, but the Nasdaq Composite closing 0.1% higher. Like in the UK, markets in the US were closed on Monday, for the Memorial Day holiday. US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday pledged to continue close coordination in advance of the "expected summit" between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.Trump and Abe spoke by phone about recent developments to resolve the conflict with North Korea, a White House statement said.The two leaders "affirmed the shared imperative of achieving the complete and permanent dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and ballistic missile programs," the statement said.Trump and Abe spoke after a government official in Seoul said South Korean President Moon Jae In might travel to Singapore to meet Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.The potential three-way meeting could be held around June 12, when Trump and Kim were originally scheduled to hold their landmark bilateral summit, the presidential office spokesman told the Yonhap news agency.Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has indicated her willingness to enter into talks with the US as a June 1 deadline in the dispute over trade tariffs looms.It was important to find the right answer, Merkel said on Monday at a congress in Berlin. The chancellor likened the trade tariffs dispute to the ancient Greek story of the "Sword of Damacles."In Asia on Tuesday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.6%. In China, the Shanghai Composite is down 0.2%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is down 0.7%.Japan's unemployment rate came in at a seasonally adjusted 2.5% in April, in line with expectations and unchanged from March's reading.In the economic calendar on Tuesday, in the US, the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index is due at 1400 BST, and consumer confidence at 1600 BST.