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(Alliance News) - Pub-goers will need to wrap up warm on Monday, as chilly temperatures are forecast for the first day of outdoor hospitality re-openings in England, PA reports.
The Met Office has said Monday morning will be bright in the north, while areas in the southern half of the UK are likely to be hit by a rain front moving eastwards throughout the day.
Along with beer gardens and outdoor dining areas, non-essential shops, hairdressers, indoor gyms, swimming pools, nail salons and zoos in England will also be opening for the first time this year.
Following a cold April weekend where many areas experienced a light dusting of snow, temperatures of between 0C and -2C are expected in the early hours of the morning across Britain.
Heavy rain and hill snow is also forecast for Northern Ireland and west Wales in the morning.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the nation to "behave responsibly" amid the major easing of England's coronavirus lockdown.
Jonson urged caution during the "major step forward" as a scientist advising the government warned the rules must be followed to minimise a possible rebound in case numbers.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: down 0.4% at 6,915.75
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Hang Seng: down 0.9% at 28,447.50
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.8% at 29,538.73
DJIA: closed up 297.03 points, or 0.9%, at 33,800.60
S&P 500: closed up 31.63 points, or 0.8%, at 4,128.80
Nasdaq Composite: closed up 70.88 points, or 0.5%, at 13,900.19
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EUR: unchanged at USD1.1887 (USD1.1886)
GBP: down at USD1.3705 (USD1.3723)
USD: down at JPY109.54 (JPY109.69)
GOLD: down at USD1,740.27 per ounce (USD1,743.30)
OIL (Brent): down at USD62.63 a barrel (USD63.13)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Monday's Key Economic Events still to come
Germany balance of payments
1100 CEST EU retail trade
1400 EDT US monthly Treasury statement of receipts and outlays
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US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said he was more worried about the risk of a large-scale cyberattack than another financial crisis like that of 2008. The risks of a 2008-like crisis with a need for government bailouts of banks were "very, very low," the head of the US central bank said during an interview aired Sunday on CBS's '60 minutes'. "The world changes. The world evolves. And the risks change as well. And I would say that the risk that we keep our eyes on the most now is cyber risk," he said, adding that that concern was shared by multiple governments and private businesses, particularly in finance.
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Japanese producer prices increased on a monthly and annual basis in March, preliminary data from the Bank of Japan showed. Producer prices rose 0.8% month-on-month in March, after 0.6% February's rise. Annually, prices grew 1.0% compared to February's 0.6% decrease and January's 1.6% fall.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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HSBC CUTS EASYJET TO 'HOLD' (BUY) - PRICE TARGET 1050 (1200) PENCE
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HSBC CUTS RYANAIR TO 'HOLD' (BUY) - PRICE TARGET 17 (19) EUR
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Rolls-Royce Holdings has narrowed down the list of potential buyers for its ITP Aero division, Bloomberg reported. ITP Aero, based in the Basque region of Spain, is an arm of Rolls-Royce that makes aircraft engines and turbines. Possible buyers that have advanced to the next round of bidding include private equity companies KKR & Co and Bain Capital. Buyout firm TowerBrook Capital, which owns Spanish aircraft supplier Aernnova, and bidding partner Onex Corp remain interested as well, according to Bloomberg. Spanish manufacturer Aciturri Aerostructures may team up with one of the other bidders. The sale of ITP Aero could bring EUR1.5 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing "people familiar with the matter", with the next bids for the unit due in May.
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FanDuel, the US sports betting brand owned by UK bookmaker Flutter Entertainment, faces having its ads taken off the air by FoxSports, the US's second-biggest sports television network, amid a dispute over the price for Fox's option to buy a stake in FanDuel, the Sunday Telegraph reported. Rupert Murdoch's Fox is set to impose an advertising blackout on FanDuel amid the legal row, according to the newswpaper. Flutter last week had said it will "vigorously" defend itself against Fox.
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AstraZeneca announced high-level results of the primary analysis from the Dare-19 Phase III trial assessing the potential of Farxiga to treat patients hospitalised with Covid-19, who are at risk of developing serious complications. The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said the trial "did not achieve statistical significance" for the primary endpoint of prevention - measuring organ dysfunction and all-cause mortality - nor the primary endpoint of recovery - measuring a change in clinical status, from early recovery to death, at 30 days. Mene Pangalos, executive vice president of BioPharmaceuticals R&D, said: "Prior to the Dare-19 Phase III trial, there was little data on the use of [sodium-glucose co-transporter-2] inhibitors in hospitalised patients with Covid-19, and we have now helped to fill this knowledge gap. We look forward to the efficacy and safety data being presented in the coming weeks."
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Imperial Brands said Lukas Paravicini, its new chief financial officer, will join the board with effect from May 1. Paravicini will be appointed CFO on May 19 a day after the company's interim results. Imperial Brands had said in February that Paravicini's start date would be on August 5.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Hammerson confirmed a report in the Sunday Times that it is in discussions on terms of a possible disposal of its retail parks portfolio to Brookfield Asset Management. The newspaper reported that Hammerson has agreed to sell its retail parks in the UK to Toronto-based property and private equity firm for GBP350 million, in order to pay down debt. The seven retail parks in England, Scotland and Wales are in Falkirk, Didcot, Middlesbrough, St Helens, Telford, Merthyr Tydfil and Rugby, the newspaper said. Hammerson on Monday said there can be no certainty that a transaction will take place or what the terms may be. Last month, London-based Hammerson revealed its pretax loss more than doubled to GBP1.73 billion in 2020 from GBP779.3 million in 2019. Net debt totalled GBP2.23 billion on December 31.
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LondonMetric Property said that it has sold five assets for a total of GBP38.5 million. LondonMetric said two retail assets in North Shields and Llanelli were sold in separate transactions for a total of GBP21.1 million. Further, in three additional transactions, two offices and a retail unit in Birmingham were sold for a total of GBP17.4 million. Chief Executive Officer Andrew Jones commented: "As part of our portfolio refinement, we continue to dispose of non-core and mature assets at attractive prices, allowing us to re-invest into opportunities with greater certainty of income and income growth."
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COMPANIES - MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Osmond Capital, a London-based private equity firm, is in talks to buy DIY chain Homebase for GBP300 million, Sky News reported. Osmond, the firm owned by businessman Hugh Osmond, is one of several possible buyers in talks with Hilco Capital, the owner of Homebase. The identity of the other bidders is unknown. Hilco also is said to have considered a stock market flotation for Homebase, according to Sky. Hilco bought Homebase from Australian company Wesfarmers in 2018 for a nominal sum. The retailer's fortunes have since turned around and sales of DIY products have boomed during the pandemic.
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COMPANIES - GLOBAL
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Microsoft is in advanced discussions to buy the US's Nuance Communications, which specialises in artificial intelligence, for USD16 billion, according to media reports Sunday. The deal could be announced Monday, CNBC reported, citing a source close to the situation. According to the source, Microsoft made an initial offer in December and is willing to pay USD56 per share for Nuance, which represents a premium of 23% compared to the group's closing stock price on Friday. If the deal goes through, this would be the second-most important acquisition for Microsoft after its USD27 billion purchase of LinkedIn in 2016.
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Monday's Shareholder Meetings
ADES International Holding PLC - EGM re Innovative Energy takeover
Baron Oil PLC - GM re fundraising
Cineworld Group PLC - GM re suspension of Cineworld Group AoA
Jardine Strategic Holdings Ltd - GM re acquisition of 15% stake by Jardine Matheson
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
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