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LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares in London were higher soon after the open Tuesday, with miners taking back some of the losses suffered on Monday, while shares in FTSE 100-listed outsourcer Capita were benefiting from a positive trading update.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.8%, or 51.45 points, at 6,166.26. The FTSE 250 was 0.6% higher at 16,791.72, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.1% at 723.99.
Shares in Capita rose 4.4%. The group, which handles back-office tasks on behalf of a range of private and public sector clients, said it has secured GBP458.0 million in major contracts in 2016 so far. Capita has also acquired four companies and sold two businesses in the period.
Capita said it has seen increased organic growth in its divisions so far in 2016 and said its bid pipeline provides greater visibility and confidence on the outlook for 2016 as a whole. The group said it is on track to hit its target for 4.0% organic revenue growth in 2016 and is trading in line with market expectations for the full year.
Anglo American said late Monday it has chosen Ruben Fernades to lead the company's operations in Brazil as the miner shuffles its management whilst progressing with its restructuring efforts. Fernades will become the chief executive of Anglo American in Brazil from June 20 and his primary focus will be on the company's iron ore operations, including the Minas Rio mine.
Shares in the miner were up 5.0% soon after the open Tuesday, the top blue-chip gainer.
Other mining stocks also were recovering some ground following heavy losses seen on Monday, when the FTSE 350 Mining Sector index dropped 7.9%. The mining index was up 2.3% soon after the open Tuesday, with Fresnillo, up 2.8%, and Glencore, up 2.5%, among the best performers in the FTSE 100, alongside Anglo American.
Shares in easyJet were up 0.8%, but had gyrated heavily in the first minutes of trade. The budget airline said it swung to a loss in the first half of its financial year due to negative movements in foreign exchange rates, but it increased its dividend payout ratio to 50% from 40%. The group also warned about the effect the recent terrorist attacks in Brussels will have on its third-quarter performance.
EasyJet said it suffered a GBP24 million pretax loss in the six months ended March 31, having made a GBP7 million pretax profit in the first half of the prior year. Revenue rose very slightly to GBP1.77 billion from GBP1.76 billion, but revenue per seat fell by 6.6% to GBP51.29. Load factor remained flat at 89.7% and the number of passengers carried grew to 31.0 million from 28.9 million.
The low-cost airline said revenue and passenger numbers were helped by its biggest ever ski season, while UK beach traffic also provided a "healthy start" to the year. Profit, however, was hit by an "adverse foreign exchange impact" of GBP33 million, and would have been broadly flat on a constant currency basis, easyJet said.
In the FTSE 250, Grafton Group was down 0.1%. The builders' merchant and DIY company said it has enjoyed a "broadly positive" start to the year across its end-markets, but noted uncertainty over the outcome of the UK referendum on European Union membership appears to be having a bearing on current activity levels.
Grafton reported a broadly favourable economic environment in the UK, continuing growth momentum in Ireland, and improving conditions in the Netherlands, which it said has supported volume growth in its businesses. Grafton said revenue in the four months to the end of April was GBP790.0 million, up 13% from GBP698.0 million for the same period a year earlier. In constant currency this was 12% higher than the same period a year earlier.
"We are positive about the prospects for the group...although uncertainty over the outcome of the referendum on continued membership of the EU appears to be having a bearing on current activity levels," said Grafton Chief Executive Gavin Slark.
Investor sentiment was supported by China's inflation data and some resilience in Asian stocks, which remained higher at the London open. The Shanghai Composite was up 0.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.1%. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index ended up 2.2%.
China's consumer price inflation remained stable yet again below the government's full-year target in April, and producer prices dropped at a slower pace from last year, providing ample space for policy adjustment, official data revealed.
Chinese consumer prices climbed 2.3% on a yearly basis for the third straight month in April, the National Bureau of Statistics reported. The annual rate matched economists' expectations and remained below the full-year target of 3%.
Meanwhile, like-for-like sales in the UK were down 0.9% on year in April, the British Retail Consortium said in a report, falling short of forecasts for an increase of 0.5%, following the 0.7% decline in March.
German industrial production declined at the fastest pace since August 2014, Destatis reported. Industrial production decreased 1.3% on a monthly basis in March, following a revised 0.7% drop in February. This was the second consecutive decline and the biggest since August 2014, when output slid 2.5%. Economists had forecast a 0.2% fall for March.
The DAX 30 index in Frankfurt was up 0.6%, while the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.4%.
Still in the economic calendar Tuesday, the UK trade balance is at 0930 BST, and US JOLTS job openings are at 1500 BST, followed by API weekly crude oil stocks at 2130 BST.
By Daniel Ruiz; danielruiz@alliancenews.com
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