easyJet Share News (EZJ)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares opened mostly lower Monday, the first trading day of November following a strong October, with several Purchasing Manager's Index readings from European countries and the US set to provide the main market focus.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals led FTSE 100 decliners, off 5.7%, after it said trading across the majority of the business has been solid in 2015 but said its Generics division is performing below expectations due to slower-than-expected sales growth of its gout treatment.

EasyJet shares were just behind, down 2.6%, after being cut to Reduce from Hold by HSBC.

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 6,332.80
FTSE 250: down 0.1% at 17,096.69
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.2% at 739.34
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Hang Seng: closed down 1.2% at 22,370.04
Nikkei 225: closed down 2.1% at 18,683.24
DJIA: closed down 0.5% at 17,663.54
S&P 500: closed down 0.5% at 2,079.36
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GBP: down at USD1.5428 (USD1.5444)
EUR: flat at USD1.1035 (USD1.1028)

GOLD: down at USD1,139.30 per ounce (USD1,141.64)
OIL (Brent): up at USD49.46 a barrel (USD49.18)

(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
(all times in GMT)

08:30 Switzerland SVME PMI
08:45 Italy Markit Manufacturing PMI
08:50 France Markit Manufacturing PMI
08:55 Germany Markit Manufacturing PMI
09:00 EU Markit Manufacturing PMI
09:30 UK Markit Manufacturing PMI
10:00 Ireland Consumer Confidence
14:30 Canada RBC Manufacturing PMI
14:45 US Markit Manufacturing PMI
15:00 US ISM Manufacturing PMI
15:00 US Construction Spending
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China's manufacturing sector continued to contract in October but at the slowest pace in four months, survey results published by Caixin and Markit Economics showed. The manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 48.3 in October from 47.2 in September. Nonetheless, it was below the expected neutral level of 50. Operating conditions worsened in each of the past eight months, though the latest deterioration was the weakest since June. "The slight upswing shows the manufacturing industry's overall weakening has slowed down, indicating that previous stimulating measures have begun to take effect," He Fan, chief economist at Caixin Insight Group said.
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Turkey awoke to the certainty of solid single-party government, after months of political instability, with the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) securing a solid victory in snap elections. The party founded by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan secured about 315 of 550 seats in parliament with about 49.4% of the vote. The snap ballot was called after the AKP failed in June elections to garner enough seats to form a government alone, for the first time since 2002. The victory, which far exceeded pollsters' surveys, is seen as a boon to Erdogan, who is trying to ensure his position as the country's dominant political player.
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Russia mourned the deaths of 224 people killed in the crash of a Russian airliner, the deadliest in the country's history. Flight 9268, operated by the small Russian airline Kogalymavia, crashed on Saturday in Egypt shortly after taking off from the popular resort town of Sharm al-Sheikh. The flight was heading to Russia's second largest city, St Petersburg. Almost all of the victims were Russian, authorities said. There were no survivors.
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The European Central Bank has uncovered a shortfall of up to EUR14.4 billion at Greece's four biggest banks, threatening further hardship if the country fails to regain control of the ongoing debt crisis, the eurozone lender announced. The so-called stress tests, carried out at the Alpha Bank, Eurobank, the National Bank of Greece and Piraeus Bank, assessed the institutions' performance should the economy dip further than expected. The deficit - which shows no improvement on earlier forecasts - is currently filled by emergency funds made available by Greece's third bailout, but the ECB is thought to be looking to the private sector for potential investors to step in.
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Ireland's manufacturing sector continued to expand at a solid pace in October, survey figures from Markit Economics showed. The seasonally adjusted Investec purchasing managers' index fell slightly to 53.6 in October from 53.8 in September. The rate of growth in manufacturing production eased for the third straight month in October. The latest rise was the weakest since February 2014.
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Leaders of South Korea, Japan and China met in Seoul on Sunday for their first three-way discussions in more than three years. Relations between the regional powers have been strained by disputes over issues including their World War II past, and more recent friction over territory and resources in the East China Sea.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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CREDIT SUISSE CUTS COMPASS GROUP TO 'UNDERPERFORM' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 1050 (1100) PENCE
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JPMORGAN CUTS PERSIMMON TO 'UNDERWEIGHT' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 2060 (2020) PENCE
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HSBC CUTS IAG TO 'HOLD' ('BUY') - TARGET 625 (700) PENCE
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HSBC CUTS EASYJET TO 'REDUCE' ('HOLD') - TARGET 1600 (1800) PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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HSBC Holdings reported higher third-quarter pretax profit, and offered reassurance over its Asian credit quality amid fears about China's economic slowdown and market volatility in the region. Pretax profit rose to USD6.10 billion in the three months to September 30, from a USD4.61 billion pretax profit in the corresponding quarter the prior year. Adjusted for currency translation and significant items, pretax profit was down to USD5.51 billion from USD6.42 billion. Third-quarter revenue was down to USD15.09 billion from USD15.78 billion. Impairment charges for bad loans and other credit risk provisions, after being adjusted for currency translation, were up 15% to USD638 million. HSBC said its ongoing review of whether to shift its headquarters from London to a new location could take longer than previously expected. "Whilst the target for completion of the review was initially set as by the end of 2015, this is a self-imposed deadline that can be moved should the board require further work to be performed," HSBC said.
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Hikma Pharmaceuticals said trading across the majority of the business has been solid in 2015 but said its Generics division is performing below expectations due to slower-than-expected colchicine sales growth. Hikma said it has seen continued strong demand for its legacy products within the Generics business, with any declines in line with its expectations due to greater competition. But colchicine, its gout treatment, has suffered due to Hikma having to sell the drug under both the Mitigare brand name and as an authorised generic version. This 'hybrid' brand strategy has meant growth in sales of the drug has been "more gradual" than expected, Hikma said, and it has cut its revenue guidance in the Generics business to USD150.0 million for the full year, down from USD175.0 million to USD200.0 million previous.
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Telecoms giant Vodafone Group said Saturday that 1,827 Vodafone UK customers' accounts had been accessed, potentially leaving them open to fraud or 'phishing' attempts. In a statement Vodafone said it had been "subject to an attempt to access some customers' account details between midnight on Wednesday 28 October and midday on Thursday 29 October." The company said it had been informed the National Crime Agency, the Information Commissioner's Office and UK telecoms regulator Ofcom of the issue on Friday evening.
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Defence contractor BAE Systems has agreed to buy a 20% stake in Reaction Engines, the company responsible for an engine which could propel aircraft into outer space and back at five times the speed of sound, the Financial Times reported. BAE will become a strategic investor in Reaction, whose Sabre engine could radically cut the cost of launching satellites and which has the potential to allow passengers to fly across the world in around four hours. BAE will pay GBP20.6 million for the stake as part of a funding round for Reaction which, according to the UK Space Agency's David Parker, will unlock a GBP60.0 million grant package from the UK government.
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Ryanair and International Consolidated Airlines Group, are close to signing a collaboration agreement, The Times reported. IAG Chief Executive Willie Walsh revealed that meetings had taken place with Ryanair executives to come to an agreement whereby the budget airline’s extensive European network would feed passengers into Aer Lingus’s transatlantic services out of Dublin, the newspaper reported. IAG acquired Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus this year, with Ryanair's agreement in August to sell to IAG its own 29.8% stake in Aer Lingus being the final piece of the puzzle that got the deal done.
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Property developer British Land said it has let the first floor of Marble Arch House in London to signal-processing equipment maker Cirrus Logic. The group had signed deals earlier this year covering the second and fourth floors at the building with gaming technology company GTECH and private investment group BXR Partners LLP.
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Nedbank Group, the majority-owned South African banking subsidiary of British insurer Old Mutual, reported that its headline earnings for the six months ended 30 June 2015 grew 15.7% to ZAR5.323 billion from ZAR4.599 billion, underpinned by strong non-interest revenue growth, disciplined expenses growth, ongoing improvement in impairments and faster growth from activities in the rest of Africa, including associate income from its shareholding in Ecobank Transnational.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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A third person has been arrested in relation to alleged data theft from TalkTalk Telecom Group, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement Saturday. A 20-year-old from Staffordshire was arrested on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act offences. A search of the address remains ongoing, the Met said. Metropolitan Police Cyber Crime Unit and officers from the National Crime Agency are continuing enquiries related to the data breach. This was the third in a string of arrests related to the alleged data theft, following the arrest of a 16-year-old boy from Feltham, west London, and a 15-year-old from County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
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Public transport operator Go-Ahead Group said it has appointed Patrick Butcher as chief financial officer. Butcher joins the group from infrastructure manager Network Rail, where he has been group finance director since 2009. Butcher will start his new role in May 2016. In the meantime, Financial Controller Paul Edwards will become interim group finance director following Keith Down's departure on November 13.
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Ophir Energy said it has plugged and abandoned the G5/50-10 exploration well at the Soy Siam prospect in Thailand. FTSE 250-listed Ophir said the well was drilled to depth, but all reservoirs encountered were dry, with no hydrocarbon shows. The drilling rig will now be moved to the Parichat South West prospect, which is independent of Soy Siam and which will test a different petroleum system, Ophir said.
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IP Group said its portfolio company Ultrahaptics Ltd has raised GBP10.1 million. The developer of intellectual property-based businesses said that Ultrahaptics has developed a unique technology that enables users to receive tactile feedback without needing to wear or touch anything, using ultrasound to project sensations through the air and directly onto the users. IP Group added that following completion of the raising, its undiluted beneficial stake of 30% in Ultrahaptics was valued at GBP7.1 million, while IP Venture Fund II's 11% stake was valued at GBP2.6 million.
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Ryanair Holdings said it expects its full-year net profit to be at the top end of its expectations, as it raised its passenger traffic target following increases in revenue, post-tax profit and customer numbers in the first half. Ryanair said after-tax profit for the half year to the end of September was EUR1.09 billion, up from EUR795.00 billion a year earlier. The profit excludes a one-off gain made from the sale of its stake in Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus Group to IAG. Revenue for Ryanair rose to EUR4.04 billion, up from EUR3.54 billion, as total customer traffic in the half rose to 58.1 million customers from 51.3 million a year earlier. In addition to the rise in customer numbers, the company's load factor improved to 93.0%, up 4 percentage points from the year before.
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Irish drinks company C&C Group is understood to be running the rule over acquiring assets likely to be sold should the merger of beer giants Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller go through, The Sunday Times reported. C&C, which mainly focuses on cider brands like Magners, Bulmers and Gaymers, is thought to be considering bidding for the Bass and Boddington's beer brands, both of which are currently owned by AB InBev and which would likely go for around GBP30.0 million apiece, City sources told the newspaper.
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Insurance technology company Quindell said it will pursue a two-tranche distribution of 100.00 pence per share to its shareholders The first portion will total 90.00 pence per share, and the company will seek court approval to carry this out by December at a total cost of GBP145.0 million. It intends to make the second, 10.00p per share distribution following the release from escrow at the end of 2016 of GBP50.0 million from the sale of its Professional Services division.
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Construction services company Morgan Sindall Group said its expectations for 2015 remain unchanged following a solid second half so far. The company said it has seen continued positive trading across the group in the second half of 2015, with an improvement in the quality of its overall order book. Its committed order book at the end of the third quarter on September 30 was GBP2.7 billion, up 1.0% since the start of the year.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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A German flight attendants' union threatened further strikes at Lufthansa after negotiations between the sides failed to find compromise in the long-running dispute. "We will announce when strikes are to take place on Monday," Nicoley Baublies, chief of the Ufo union, which is fighting cuts to the pensions of 19,000 flight attendants, told dpa Sunday. Further work stoppage could hit the beleaguered airline as early as the coming week, he said.
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Commerzbank reported that its profit attributable to shareholders for the third-quarter declined to EUR207 million from last year's EUR225 million.
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The automaker Fiat Chrysler has recalled more that half a million cars to repair airbag and anti-lock brake system defects, the company announced. Jeep Liberty and Grand Cherokee models from the years 2003 and 2004 account for 284,000 of the 560,000 cars named in the recall due to defective airbags that deploy inadvertantly.
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Monday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

JPMorgan Mid Cap Investment Trust
Mid Wynd International Investment Trust
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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