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(Alliance News) - Stock prices opened slightly higher on Friday, despite calls for a lower open, on a shortened trading day ahead of the Christmas break, with gains supported by travel and leisure shares.
The FTSE 100 index was up 12.59 points, or 0.2%, at 7,385.93 early Friday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 45.43 points, or 0.5%, at 23,312.18. The AIM All-Share index was flat at 1,194.38.
The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.1% at 731.80. The Cboe 250 was 0.1% higher at 20,707.64. The Cboe Small Companies was down 0.1% at 15,129.22.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 stock index in Paris was down 0.1%.
The London Stock Exchange is open for a half-day on Friday, as is the market in Paris, while markets in Germany and the US are shut entirely on Christmas Eve. New York will reopen on Monday, but London will remain closed until Wednesday.
In the FTSE 100, travel and leisure stocks were once again among the gainers. Hotel operators Whitbread and InterContinental Hotels were up 1.2% and 0.9%, respectively. British Airways-parent International Consolidated Airlines was up 1.2%. Midcap carrier easyJet and Wizz Air were up 1.9% and 0.7% respectively.
CRH was up 1.3%. The Irish building materials firm said it has entered into arrangements with bankers Societe Generale to repurchase shares worth up to USD300 million. The share buyback will commence on Friday and will end no later than March 30, 2022.
Analysts at Davy commented: "Share purchases since May 2018 now total USD2.9 billion. That means that on an annualized basis CRH is returning USD2 billion to shareholders by way of dividends and buybacks, while investing another USD2 billion in growth opportunities.
"That financial muscle is likely to strengthen in 2022 given the group's impressive cash generating capabilities. That, combined with the group's integrated solutions model and favourable end-markets, underpins a compelling investment case in our view."
Conversely, Reckitt Benckiser was down 0.1%. The consumer goods firm said it has agreed to sell its E45 skincare brand and related sub-brands to Swedish healthcare firm Karo Pharma, for an enterprise value of GBP200 million.
The Slough, England-based firm said the sale is another step forward in its plan to actively manage its portfolio for higher growth, following the recent divestments of its IFCN business in China and its Scholl brand, as well as the acquisition of Biofreeze.
In the FTSE 250, Capita was up 1.5%. The outsourcer said it has sold its software business, AMT Sybex, to Jonas Computing for up to GBP40 million.
The London-based company said Jonas Computing will pay GBP23 million on completion in January. An additional amount of up to GBP17 million may be payable to Capita over 24 months subject to conditions. The sale is part of Capita's intention to strengthen its balance sheet and focus on its two core divisions, Capita Public Service and Capita Experience, it said.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3406 early Friday, marginally higher from USD1.3402 at the London equities close Thursday.
The euro was priced at USD1.1334, up from USD1.1310. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY114.40, firm from JPY114.36.
Brent oil was quoted at USD76.50 a barrel Friday morning, up from USD76.22 late Thursday. Gold stood at USD1,809.50, firm from USD1,807.10.
In Asia on Friday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.1%. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended down 0.7%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong finished up 0.1%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.4%.
Japan's consumer prices rose 0.6% in November as higher energy costs helped inflation accelerate, data from the Statistics Bureau of Japan showed. The 0.6% annual price rise was above the 0.1% climb seen in October and in line with market consensus cited by FXStreet.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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