easyJet Share News (EZJ)

(Alliance News) - Stocks in London ended broadly in the green on Tuesday, with the large cap index boosted by a strong update from Burberry and further pound weakness as the spectre of a no-deal Brexit looms. The FTSE 100 finished 45.40 points higher, or 0.6%, at 7,577.20. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index ended up 71.91 points, or 0.4%, at 19,656.05, while the AIM All-Share closed up 0.1% at 919.77.The Cboe UK 100 index ended 0.5% higher at 12,843.56. The Cboe UK 250 closed up 0.3% at 17,529.92 and the Cboe UK Small Companies finished up 0.6% at 11,177.88.In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 index in Paris and DAX 30 in Frankfurt closed up 0.7% and 0.4%, respectively."The FTSE charged higher on Tuesday, extending gains ahead of European peers," said Cityindex's Fiona Cincotta."With Burberry leading the way after an impressive first quarter trading update and the tanking pound offering support, the FTSE was aiming for a second straight positive close after a run of seven consecutive losing sessions."Burberry led the FTSE 100 index at the close, finishing up 14%. The fashion house made a good start to its financial year as Chief Creative Officer Riccardo Tisci continues to make his mark.The company saw an excellent consumer response to Tisci's work with new collections delivering strong double-digit percentage growth compared to last year's collections.For the 13 weeks to June 29, Burberry reported retail revenue of GBP498 million, up 4% from last year. Comparable store sales were also up 4%, with growth led by new products. In the Europe, the Middle East & Africa region, comparable store sales grew by a low-single digit percentage, supported by tourist spending, which particularly benefited the UK.In the key Asia Pacific region, where Burberry normally sees strong demand for its items, comparable store sales grew by a high single-digit percentage driven by mainland China, up by the mid-teens.Burberry maintained its financial 2020 guidance for broadly stable revenue and adjusted operating margin at constant exchange rates including cumulative cost savings of GBP120 million.The pound was quoted at USD1.2408, well down from USD1.2518 at the close Monday, despite continued strength in the UK jobs market.The UK headline unemployment rate held steady in the three months to the end of May, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics showed.The unemployment rate was 3.8%, in line with the month before and lowest level since 1974. Estimated employment rate for three month period stood at 76.0%, higher than 75.6% a year earlier.Including bonuses, average weekly earnings in the UK rose 3.4% year-on-year in the three months to May, higher than the revised 3.2% growth for the three months to April, and 3.1% market forecast, as cited by FXStreet.Excluding bonuses, earnings were up 3.6%, above FXStreet's consensus estimate of 3.5% and April's figure of 3.4%."The decline of the pound has been the core driver of FTSE upside, with the threat of a no-deal Brexit becoming clearer than ever," said Joshua Mahony at IG. "With both Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson citing the need to scrap the backstop entirely, they both ruled out one of the only obvious routes to a deal before the October deadline. With the UK economic picture declining, the chance of a no-deal Brexit on the rise, and the BoE expected to cut rates in such an event, it is not surprising we are seeing this kind of selling for the pound."Stocks in New York were broadly lower on Tuesday at the London close following a spate of earnings releases from major banks. The DJIA was marginally higher, the S&P 500 index down 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite also losing out by 0.1%. First up was JPMorgan Chase, which reported a 16% rise in net income for the second quarter to USD9.65 billion, while net revenue climbed 4.2% to USD29.57 billion in what the firm called a "strong" period. Shares were up 1.1% in New York at the London close.Wells Fargo's net income surged 20% on the year before for the quarter, reaching USD6.21 billion, while revenue was flat at USD21.6 billion. Average loans rose 0.4% year-on-year, though average deposits did fall 0.2%. Goldman Sachs, however, registered a 5.8% decline in net earnings to USD2.42 billion for the quarter, with net revenue dipping 1.9% to USD9.46 billion. This latter fall mainly came in the Investment Banking and Investment Management businesses. Wells Fargo shares were down 2.0%, while Goldman Sachs was up 1.2%. On Wednesday, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, streaming service Netflix, IT giant IBM, pharmaceutical firm Novartis, and computer software company Microsoft all release second quarter results. Back on the London Stock Exchange, FTSE 100 publisher Pearson finished up 3.4% as it intends to end the paper publication of educational material in a "major shift" towards digital.Pearson said the paper publishing model is "lengthy and expensive", and the move will make it the only company moving towards exclusively digital publishing in education. Pearson said the move will reduce costs, both for the company and for students.ITV ended up 1.3% after Liberum raised the broadcaster to Buy from Hold.Losing out in the FTSE 100, however, was credit checker Experian, which closed down 1.3%, despite saying it has started the year "well".In the three months to June 30, Experian achieved total revenue growth of 4% compared to the year before, driven by a 9% growth in the company's North American operations. Every other region in which Experian operates, Latin America, UK & Ireland and EMEA/Asia Pacific, posted a drop in total revenue, however. At constant exchange rates, Experian achieved organic revenue growth of 6%.In North America, organic revenue growth was 8%, with 9% growth in Latin America. UK & Ireland's organic revenue was flat on the year before with EMEA/Asia Pacific slipping 1%. In the FTSE 250, Aston Martin ended up 5.0% after Jefferies raised James Bond's preferred car maker to Hold from Underperform.easyJet closed up 2.8% after Berenberg raised its rating to Buy from Hold.Away from the FTSE 250, its fellow airline Ryanair closed up 2.7% despite the Irish firm saying delays to deliveries of Boeing's troubled 737 MAX aircraft will hurt passenger numbers next year and that it plans to cut or close bases at some airports as a result.AG Barr was the worst performer in the FTSE 250, ending down 28%. The Irn-Bru and Rubicon soft drinks maker said weak trading during the first half of the year meant revenue sank 10% and full-year profit could be as much as a fifth lower.For the 26 weeks ending July 27, revenue is forecast by the company to fall 10% to GBP123 million with trading "below our expectations" amid a number of market and brand-specific headwinds. In particular, AG Barr said 2018 had been a year of "unprecedented" challenges for the industry through a combination of a new soft drink levy, carbon dioxide shortages, and a hot summer.The UK corporate calendar Wednesday has annual results from newly-listed Watches of Switzerland, as well as first quarter figures from utility Severn Trent and TalkTalk Telecom. There are also trading statements from Premier Oil, bookmaker GVC, third quarter numbers for Euromoney Institutional Investor, and a trading statement from housebuilder Galliford Try.Back in the US, retail and food services sales recorded strong year-on-year growth in June, the US Census Bureau showed. Advance monthly sales rose 0.4% in June on May, and 3.4% on June 2018, to USD519.9 billion.For the three months to June, total sales climbed 3.4% year-on-year. May's sales growth on April was revised downwards to 0.4%, reaching a figure of USD517.7 billion, from 0.5% growth reported before."US June retail sales look very strong with the 'core' retail sales control group rising 0.7% month-on-month (consensus 0.3%) with upward revisions to the history," said James Knightley, chief international economist at ING."Headline sales rose a more modest 0.4% (consensus 0.2%), but even this is a firm figure that suggests the market is too aggressive in terms of pricing for interest rate cuts," he added.US manufacturing jumped in June on a surge in volatile auto production but total industrial output was flat, the Federal Reserve also showed Tuesday.Manufacturing jumped 0.4% compared to May, while total industrial production showed no change, according to the report, confounding economist expectations for a 0.2% gain.Manufacturing fell 2.2% in the April-June period compared to the second quarter of 2018, while total output lost 1.2%, in both cases the second consecutive quarterly decline, the report said."This extended industrial soft patch is due to slower global growth and trade, tariffs, the inventory overhang in the durable goods sector, and idiosyncratic troubles plaguing the aircraft sector," said analysts at Berenberg.In another bit of US data, import prices declined in June, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, following a flat month in May.Import prices dipped 0.9% in June, with falling prices for both fuel and non-fuel imports contributing to the decline. This June fall is the first since a 1.4% decline in December.Import fuel prices declined 6.5% in June, after rising 2.3% in May, the first monthly decline once again since last December. Import petroleum prices fell 6.2%, after 2.4% growth in May, with natural gas import prices slipped 21% in June.Export prices for US goods fell 0.7% in June, accelerating from a 0.2% decline in May. This decline in June is the biggest since November 2018.The euro stood at USD1.1216, lower than USD1.1258 late Monday.In European economic news, the eurozone's trade surplus swelled in May to EUR23.0 billion, according to data released by Eurostat.Euro area exports to the rest of the world in May were EUR203.4 billion, 7.1% ahead of the year before. Imports stood at EUR180.3 billion, an increase of 4.2% compared the year before.As a result, the euro area's trade surplus rose to EUR23.0 billion compared to EUR16.9 billion a year ago.According to Eurostat, intra-euro area trade rose to EUR172.0 billion in May, up by 4.9% compared with last year.Brent oil was quoted at USD66.62 a barrel, broadly flat compared to USD66.74 at the London close Monday. Gold was quoted at USD1,408.99 an ounce, down from USD1,412.30.The international data calendar Wednesday has EU harmonised consumer prices at 1000 BST, as well as UK CPI, producer prices, and the housing price index at 0930 BST. London Close is available to subscribers as an email newsletter. Contact info@alliancenews.com