easyJet Share News (EZJ)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Despite a lower open, the FTSE 100 was trading around its best levels since late January by midday on Tuesday as the latest UK wage data failed to inspire the pound.Rising in London's blue-chip index at midday were housebuilder Taylor Wimpey and airline easyJet, while Vodafone continued to drag at the other end on news of Chief Executive Vittorio Colao's planned departure.The FTSE 100 was up 0.3%, or 22.69 points, at 7,733.67 Tuesday midday. The index hit a high of 7,737.19 earlier in the session, its best level since late January of this year.The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 0.2%, or 37.6 points, at 20,838.64. The AIM All-Share index was up 0.1% at 1,085.70.The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.3% at 13,121.24. The Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 19,095.41, and the Cboe UK Small Companies up 0.2% at 12,775.77."The UK labour market figures offered little support to the struggling pound this morning, which continued to hover around four month lows against the dollar and look vulnerable to further declines," said Oanda senior market analyst Craig Erlam."The potential for upside would have likely come from the earnings data but even this was in line, although excluding bonuses, they did rise to 2.9% which is the highest since August 2015. Still, with inflation still high, real wages were unchanged once bonuses were taken into consideration," Erlam said.The Office for National Statistics on Tuesday showed the ILO jobless rate remained at 4.2% in the first quarter - this was the joint lowest level since 1975 and down from 4.6% a year ago.Average earnings including bonuses grew 2.6% from last year, while earnings excluding bonuses advanced 2.9% in three months to March.Sterling was quoted at USD1.3544 Tuesday midday following the data, down from USD1.3584 at the London equities close on Monday.Meanwhile, the euro was quoted at USD1.1920 at midday, down from USD1.1975 late Monday.In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris and DAX 30 in Frankfurt were up 0.1% and down 0.1% at midday, respectively.In data from mainland Europe, Eurostat in a flash estimate on Tuesday showed the eurozone economy expanded at a slower pace as previously estimated in the first quarter.Gross domestic product grew 0.4% sequentially in the first quarter, slower than the 0.7% expansion seen a quarter ago, and in line with the estimate released on May 2.On a yearly basis, GDP growth slowed to 2.5%, as estimated, from 2.8% a quarter ago. This comes after data earlier on Tuesday showed Germany's economy slowed in the first quarter of 2018, with gross domestic product growing by 0.3% compared to the previous quarter.In the last three months of 2017, GDP grew at a quarterly rate of 0.6%, while in the third quarter it had grown by 0.7%.Despite the slowdown, the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden noted on Tuesday that the rise in the first quarter of 2018 represented the 15th quarter of growth in a row. "That is the longest phase of growth since 1991," the office said.Meanwhile, economic sentiment in Germany remained unchanged in May, with the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment holding steady at minus 8.2, the lowest since late 2012. The score matched economists' expectations."The effects of the relatively positive values for German exports and production in March 2018 have been overshadowed in the most recent survey by uncertainty motivated by recent political events," ZEW President Achim Wambach, said.Stocks in New York on Tuesday were pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones and S&P 500 index were both seen opening 0.1% lower, while the Nasdaq composite was pointed down 0.2%. To come in the US on Tuesday, retail sales are due at 1330 BST with the Redbook index at 1355 BST.On the London Stock Exchange at midday, Taylor Wimpey was 2.4% higher after it said it plans to increase its dividend in 2019. In a trading update coinciding with its capital markets day, Taylor Wimpey said from 2019 it will increase its dividend to 7.5% of group net assets, up from 5%. For 2017, Taylor Wimpey paid a dividend of 13.79 pence per share, while for 2018 it plans to pay 15.3p. easyJet was up 1.8% after the low-cost airline reported a narrowed loss for its first half on revenue which topped GBP2 billion, as it set out plans to bolster its holiday proposition.Total revenue came in at GBP2.18 billion for the six months to March 31, up from GBP1.83 billion last year. Of this, GBP1.73 billion was passenger revenue and GBP454 million ancillary revenue.The carrier's pretax loss in the half narrowed to GBP68 million from GBP236 million, while it posted a headline pretax profit excluding Tegel of GBP8 million, turning from last year's loss of GBP212 million.In addition, easyJet on Tuesday said it sees a "significant" opportunity to bolster its holiday offerings. The company said it will develop "closer and strong relationships" with selected hotel operators.easyJet will use its digital capability to support the proposition, driving ancillary revenue through increasing conversion and attachment rates and the overall average booking value.At the other end of the index was Vodafone, slipping 2.7% despite beating full-year forecasts, as it announced Chief Executive Vittorio Colao is set to leave later this year.Total revenue for the year ended March 31 was down 2.2% to EUR46.57 billion, "primarily due to the deconsolidation of Vodafone Netherlands and FX movements".Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation rose 12% on an organic basis to EUR14.73 billion from EUR14.15 billion.The Ebitda growth was above the company's revised guidance range of around 10%, while free cash flow pre-spectrum came in at EUR5.6 billion, delivering on its target to exceed EUR5 billion.Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said news of the planned departure of CEO Colao seemed to have had "an unsettling effect in early trade".Effective October 2018, CEO Colao will be succeeded by Chief Financial Officer Nick Read. Colao was appointed CEO in July 2008. At the firm's annual general meeting on July 27, Deputy CFO Margherita Della Valle will succeed Read as CFO and will join the board, while Read will become CEO-designate.Land Securities was 0.9% lower after the commercial property company swung to an annual loss, and warned that the UK property market will be more subdued in the near term due to Brexit.For the year to March-end, the property company recorded a pretax loss of GBP251 million, compared with a profit of GBP112 million in the comparative year-ago period, on a revenue of GBP406 million and GBP382 million, respectively.The loss for the year was attributed to the company's bond repurchase activity during the period.In the FTSE 250, Cairn Energy was up 5.0% after it Chief Executive Officer Simon Thomson said the company is "confident" in its position regarding its Indian tax dispute.In a statement to the company's annual general meeting on Tuesday, Thomson said the final hearing of Cairn's claim under the UK-India Bilateral Investment Treaty is scheduled for August in The Hague with an outcome expected in the fourth quarter of 2018.The dispute between Cairn Energy and the Indian government stretches back to early 2014, when the Indian government froze Cairn Energy's 10% stake in Cairn India following the introduction of retrospective tax legislation.At the bottom of the mid-cap index was BTG, down 6.9%. The healthcare firm swung to a loss for its recently-ended financial year due to a large impairment charge relating to lung disease treatment PneumRx Coils.For the year ended March 31, the company recorded a pretax loss of GBP70.6 million, compared with pretax profit of GBP31.6 million profit in the comparative year ago period, on a revenue of GBP620.5 million and GBP570.5 million, respectively. Impairment charges stood at GBP151.1 million, of which GBP143.2 million related to PneumRx Coils. BTG said that sales of the product were lower than expected last year and it does not expect to see any "material revenue" from PneumRx Coils over the next two years.CYBG was down 5.2% after it swung to a loss for its first half due to increased payment protection insurance provisions.For the six months to March-end, the company recorded a pretax loss of GBP95 million, compared with a profit of GBP46 million in the year earlier period, on a net interest income of GBP426 million and GBP411 million, respectively. Exceptional costs relating to PPI totalled GBP220 million in the period, up sharply from GBP19 million a year ago. The lender concluded that a further charge of GBP350 million will be required to close-out the PPI remediation programme.Virgin Money, was the third worst performer at midday, down 3.9%. CYBG last week made a GBP1.60 billion stock offer to acquire fellow FTSE 250-listed rival Virgin Money in a bid to create the UK's "leading challenger bank".