Last checked at 
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set to nudge a touch higher on Wednesday, recovering some lost ground after declining on Tuesday amid the threat of tariffs from incoming US president Donald Trump.
"Even though Donald Trump's tariff threats on China, Mexico and Canada didn't concern Europe, the feeling in Europe was far from being comfortable yesterday. The word tariff gives cold chills especially to the European carmakers that already found themselves in crossfire with China. As such, Stellantis lost more than 5% yesterday," Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya commented.
"In the US, the market mood was better. Trump's tariff threat, the rising inflation expectations as a result of them, and the cautious approach for further rate cuts from the latest Federal Reserve (Fed) minutes were outweighed by ceasefire news from the Middle East: Israel and Hezbollah inked a 60-day ceasefire agreement. "
US Federal Reserve officials expect a gradual easing of monetary policy given that inflation is easing and the labour market is solid, minutes on Tuesday showed.
The summary of November's Federal Open Market Committee meeting showed Fed officials are confident that inflation is heading towards its 2% remit, even if month-on-month readings remain volatile. Some officials said it may take longer to hit target than planned.
As a result, officials said should data come in as expected, "it would likely be appropriate to move gradually toward a more neutral stance of policy over time."
The minutes gave no steer as to the timing and pace of any possible cuts.
Focus on Wednesday will be on a pre-Thanksgiving US data dump. Among the data releases is a third-quarter gross domestic product estimate.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
----------
MARKETS
----------
FTSE 100: called up 0.2% at 8,273.41
----------
Hang Seng: up 2.3% at 19,589.86
Nikkei 225: down 0.8% at 38,134.97
S&P/ASX 200: up 0.6% at 8,406.70
----------
DJIA: closed up 123.74 points, 0.3%, at 44,860.31
S&P 500: closed up 0.6% at 6,021.63
Nasdaq Composite: closed up 0.6% at 19,174.30
----------
EUR: higher at USD1.0498 (USD1.0475)
GBP: higher at USD1.2588 (USD1.2548)
USD: lower at JPY151.94 (JPY153.52)
GOLD: higher at USD2,646.96 per ounce (USD2,629.43)
(Brent): lower at USD72.60 a barrel (USD73.43)
(changes since previous London equities close)
----------
ECONOMICS
----------
Wednesday's key economic events still to come:
20:00 GMT eurozone European Central Bank Governor Philip Lane speaks
13:30 GMT US durable goods orders
08:30 GMT US GDP
08:30 GMT US initial jobless claims
08:30 GMT US personal consumption expenditures
08:30 GMT US quarterly personal consumption expenditures
08:30 GMT US trade balance
08:30 GMT US wholesale inventories
----------
A levy on casino and betting operators' profit will bring in GBP100 million to put into tackling problem gambling, the UK government has announced. Under the plans, a statutory levy will be imposed on gambling operators, with half of the money to go directly to NHS-led treatment and support, the Department for Culture, Media & Sport has confirmed. Online slot stakes will also be limited under the efforts to strengthen legislation on gambling addiction. The mandatory levy aims to make consistent contributions from gambling operators to a ringfenced fund to prevent and tackle gambling harm. A voluntary system is currently in place, which means some operators pay as little as GBP1 a year towards research, prevention and treatment. The new system will charge a levy to all licensed gambling operators at different rates to take into account the difference in operating costs and levels of harmful gambling. The government will also introduce stake limits for online slots of GBP5 per spin for adults aged 25 and over and GBP2 per spin for 18 to 24-year-olds.
----------
Plans for boosting the number of electric vehicles in the UK are not working as intended, the business secretary has said on the day Vauxhall's owner announced it would close its factory in Luton. Jonathan Reynolds told car manufacturers on Tuesday night he was "profoundly concerned" about how policies meant to phase out new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030 were operating, and would consult on "a better way forward" while still keeping the target. His comments in a speech to the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders follow Vauxhall-owner Stellantis NV's announcement that it will close its van-making plant in Luton, putting 1,100 jobs at risk. The closure forms part of the group's proposal to consolidate its UK manufacturing of vans to create an all-electric hub at its Ellesmere Port plant in Cheshire, where it is set to invest GBP50 million.
----------
The leaders of Ireland's three main political parties clashed on housing, healthcare and financial management in their final televised debate before the general election. The tetchy debate, which was marked by several interruptions, featured Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald, Fine Gael leader and Taoiseach Simon Harris, and Ireland's deputy premier and Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin. The parties set out their stalls in a broadcast that commentators said did little to move the dial before polling day on November 29, which is likely to set the scene of Irish politics for the next five years. The latest opinion poll put the parties in a tight grouping with Fianna Fail slightly ahead of Sinn Fein, and Fine Gael in a close third after a significant slide in a campaign marked with several hiccups for that party.
----------
BROKER RATING CHANGES
----------
Barclays cuts Segro to 'equal weight' - price target 900 pence
----------
Exane BNP raises Direct Line to 'outperform' - price target 198 pence
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 100
----------
easyJet hailed a record summer, helping push its annual profit up by more than a third. easyJet reported pretax profit of GBP602 million for the year to September 30, up 39% from GBP432 million a year prior. Headline pretax profit, surged 34% to GBP610 million from GBP455 million. Revenue rose 14% to GBP9.31 billion from GBP8.17 billion. "This strong performance - resulting in a 34% increase in our annual profits - reflects the effectiveness and execution of our strategy as well as continued popularity of our flights and holidays. It also represents a significant step towards our goal of sustainably generating over GBP1 billion annual profit before tax," outgoing Chief Executive Officer Johan Lundgren said. "It has been a privilege to lead easyJet for the past seven years. I am extremely proud of all that has been achieved, which is a result of the hard work of the entire team. I am pleased to be leaving a strong easyJet, the future for the company is bright and I look forward to seeing Kenton delivering his ambitious plans, generating positive shareholder returns while making low-cost travel easy for millions of customers." Lundgren's replacement, Kenton Jarvis, takes on the role early next year. easyJet added: "A strong performance for the year characterised by capacity growth, cost discipline and the continued success of easyJet holidays, delivering reduced winter losses and culminating in a record summer profit." easyJet recommended a 12.1 pence per share dividend, more than doubling from 4.5p the year prior. Looking ahead, the firm expects to "reduce winter losses with a significant improvement in Q1". The second-quarter will be "impacted by the timing of Easter and a prior year release of aged balances". In the burgeoning easyJet Holidays package getaway arm, the first half of the new financial year is 82% sold, the firm added.
----------
Anglo American said it has raised ZAR9.6 billion, or about USD527 million, through an accelerated bookbuild share offering of its subsidiary Anglo American Platinum. The diversified miner on Tuesday launched the placing of 17.5 million shares of Anglo American Platinum at ZAR548 each, offered to institutional investors only. The accelerated bookbuild offer was part of Anglo American's broader plan to divest its platinum subsidiary. Anglo announced in May it sought to divest some assets including Anglo American Platinum and De Beers. On Monday, Anglo American agreed to sell the remainder of its coal business in Australia for USD3.78 billion.
----------
Overnight, an update from index operator FTSE Russell showed retailer B&M European and Frasers and housebuilder Vistry face relegation from the FTSE 100. According to indicative index changes from FTSE Russell, new investing titan Alliance Trust, miniature wargames maker Games Workshop and wealth manager St James's Place are the trio primed to replace them.
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 250
----------
Carmaker Aston Martin said it has netted GBP211 million from a share offering and debt issue "to support future growth and enhance liquidity". It raised just over GBP111 million through an offering of 111.2 million shares at 100.0p each, a 7.3% discount to its Tuesday closing price. It noted GBP110 million of that came from a placing and director subscription, with another GBP1.3 million through a retail offer. In addition, it announced the successful private placement of additional senior secured notes totalling GBP100 million. Aston said: "The net proceeds from the share offering and debt issuance are expected to provide Aston Martin with increased financial resilience and strength as the company maximises the potential of its fully reinvigorated core portfolio of class-leading next generation models. It continues to invest in future growth opportunities and the proceeds of the financing are also expected to be used by the group to support capital investments related to the company's electrification strategy, consistent with its plans to invest GBP2 billion over the five year period between 2023 and 2027. On Tuesday, the luxury car maker expects full-year adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation between GBP270 to GBP280 million. It had previously forecast adjusted Ebitda to be "slightly below" the GBP305.9 million it achieved last year. This guidance was cut in September. Aston Martin said the "ultra-exclusive" Special, Valiant, remains on track to commence delivery to customers before the end of 2024. "However, due to a minor delay in the timing of a small number of deliveries, the group now expects to deliver around half of the 38 Valiant models by the end of the year (previously guided to be the majority). The balance of deliveries will now occur in early 2025," it cautioned late Tuesday.
----------
All Bar One, Miller & Carter and O'Neill's owner Mitchells & Butlers hailed a "very strong" annual performance, and it said the new year has kicked off in a positive fashion. Revenue in the year to September 28 rose 4.3% to GBP2.61 billion from GBP2.50 billion, helping push the firm to a pretax profit of GBP199 million, swinging from a loss of GBP13 million. Also boosting its bottom line, "separately disclosed" costs totalled GBP12 million during the year, falling markedly from GBP128 million. Among the costs last year was a GBP110 million impairment from the revaluation of freehold and long leasehold properties. CEO Phil Urban said: "We are delighted by the very strong performance during the year. Like-for-like sales continued to outperform the market which, coupled with easing inflationary costs and focus on efficiencies, has resulted in very strong profit recovery. We face increased inflationary cost headwinds in the year ahead. However, we shall remain focused on our established Ignite programme of initiatives and our successful capital investment programme, to drive further cost efficiencies and increased sales. Coupled with our market-leading estate and customer offers, we are confident that this will enable us to further grow market share and secure continued long-term outperformance." Mitchells & Butlers said it has kicked off the new year in a "strong" fashion, with like-for-like sales up 4.0% over the first seven weeks. The firm did not pay a dividend this year or the year prior.
----------
OTHER COMPANIES
----------
Just Eat Takeaway.com announced it plans to call time on its London listing. The food delivery firm, which had switched to a standard listing in London around two years ago, said it "recommenced and continued its review to determine optimal listing venues". "As part of this review, the company has considered, amongst other things, the liquidity and trading volumes, as well as cost and administrative requirements related to its primary listing in Amsterdam and secondary listing in London," JET added. It has moved to exit London, "in order to reduce the administrative burden, complexity and costs associated with the disclosure and regulatory requirements of maintaining the LSE listing". JET, formed out of a tie-up between Just Eat and Takeaway.com in 2020, said the delisting is likely to take effect next month, with the final day of trading in London on December 24. The relinquishing of its premium listing back in 2022 meant JET surrendered its FTSE 100 status.
----------
Oxford Nanopore Technologies said it is teaming up with UK Biobank for an "epigenetic dataset targeting the causes of cancer, dementia, complex disease". UK Biobank is a biomedical database and research resource. DNA and RNA sequencing specialist Oxford Nanopore said the partnership will "analyse the epigenome using 50,000 participant samples". Epigenetics is the study of how lifestyle choices can change DNA. "This project represents a significant leap forward in epigenetics research, an increasingly important area of study related to causes of disease, disease progression and response to treatment. Working with UK Biobank to create the world's largest epigenetic dataset aligns with our commitment to drive discovery in healthcare and genomics. By capturing comprehensive methylation data, we aim to open new doors for understanding disease, especially cancer and dementia, and ultimately enable more personalised, effective treatments for patients," CEO Gordon Sanghera said. The firm said the deal will not change it 2024 and medium-term financial guidance. According to FTSE Russell on Tuesday, Oxford Nanopore is set for FTSE 250 promotion. Set to exit the FTSE 250 are clean energy technology developer Ceres Power, bank, broker and asset manager Close Brothers, Carex owner PZ Cussons and oilfield and engineering services provider Wood Group. Replacing them are food delivery firm Deliveroo, US-focused natural gas producer Diversified Energy, transport operator Mobico and Oxford Nanopore.
----------
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
