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LONDON (Alliance News) - Stock prices have opened flat to slightly firm on Friday, as investors await speeches by Mark Carney and Janet Yellen, while keeping a wary eye on the situations in Greece and Yemen.
Airlines easyJet and International Consolidated Airlines are among top blue-chip gainers, up 2.1% and 1.8% respectively, while miners Anglo American, Randgold Resources and others are the biggest early losers.
Royal Bank of Scotland shares are off 0.6% after confirming it has sold Coutts International to Switzerland's Union Bancaire Privée.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: flat at 6,896.60
FTSE 250: up 0.4% at 17,321.69
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.1% at 717.51
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Hang Seng: closed flat at 24,486.20
Nikkei 225: closed down 1.0% at 19,285.63
DJIA: closed down 0.2% at 17,678.23
S&P 500: closed down 0.2% at 2,056.15
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GBP-USD: down at USD1.4809
EUR-USD: down at USD1.0812
GOLD: down at USD1,198.39 per ounce
OIL (Brent): down at USD58.23 a barrel
(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Friday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times in GMT)
08:45 UK BOE Governor Carney speech
09:00 Italy Industrial Orders and Sales
09:15 UK MPC Member Broadbent speech
10:00 Italy Retail Sales
10:30 US Fed's Stanley Fischer speech
12:30 US Gross Domestic Product
12:30 US Personal Consumption Expenditures
15:00 US Reuters/Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index
19:45 US Fed Chair Yellen speech
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Consumer prices in Japan rose at a slower rate of 2% in February from a year earlier due to plunging oil prices, the government said. The rate dropped from the 2.2% rise in January and has slowed for the seventh consecutive month, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. Excluding the effect of a sales tax increase in April, the inflation rate would be zero in February - well below the 2% target set by the Bank of Japan.
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The Germanwings plane crash has spurred European airlines to implement stringent cockpit rules widely followed in the US, after it emerged a lone co-pilot forced the plane into its fatal descent, reports said. Airline passengers are in a state of fear after a probe blamed Andreas Lubitz - the 27-year-old co-pilot of the Germanwings flight - for wantonly causing the crash, after he grabbed the chance to lock himself in the cockpit when the pilot had gone to the lavatory. That has stirred airlines in Canada and Europe into incorporating a US rule that a commercial pilot just can't be left alone in the cockpit.
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A Saudi-led Arab coalition intensified airstrikes against Houthi rebels sweeping southward in Yemen, in a conflict that pits regional powers Saudi Arabia and Iran against each other. Allied strikes targeted the Houthis' installations in the rebel-held capital, Sana'a, destroying military batteries and at least four warplanes, Saudi-owned broadcaster Al-Arabiya reported. Saudi jets bombarded a reserve troop base manned by the Houthis in southern Sana'a, Yemeni website Mareb Press said. Ahmad Assiri, spokesman of the Saudi-led Arab coalition, said late Thursday in a short press briefing that his country has "no immediate plans" to launch ground operations in Yemen, though forces are ready if necessary.
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The chief diplomats of the US and Iran launched a final stretch of talks to hammer out key elements of a wide-ranging nuclear deal that could mend Tehran's relations with the West. "We very much believe we can get this done by the 31st," a senior US State Department official said ahead of the meeting between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, referred to the end-of-March deadline that Iran and six world powers have set themselves to agree on the outlines of a deal curbing Iran's nuclear programme and obliging Tehran to accept intrusive nuclear inspections, in return for sanctions relief.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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JPMORGAN INITIATES HUNTING WITH 'NEUTRAL' - TARGET 515 PENCE
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LIBERUM CUTS WOLSELEY TO 'HOLD' ('BUY') - TARGET 4325 (3875) PENCE
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TRADERS: CANACCORD INITIATES LONDONMETRIC PROPERTY WITH 'BUY'
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TRADERS: CANACCORD INITIATES DERWENT LONDON WITH 'BUY'
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TRADERS: CANACCORD INITIATES WORKSPACE GROUP WITH 'BUY'
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TRADERS: CANACCORD INITIATES GREAT PORTLAND WITH 'BUY'
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TRADERS: HSBC RAISES BALFOUR BEATTY TO 'BUY' ('HOLD')
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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The Royal Bank of Scotland Group confirmed it has struck a deal to sell the international operations of its Coutts private banking and wealth management business to Swiss firm Union Bancaire Privée.
The sale will include client relationships outside of the UK and associated staff, RBS said. RBS confirmed it will retain the UK private banking and wealth management operations of Coutts. RBS said the deal is subject to regulatory approvals and did not provide any financial details on the deal, though it said it expects to receive a price at a premium. Earlier the Financial Times reported that UBP is expected to pay around USD600 million to USD800 million for the acquisition, citing two people familiar with the situation.
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Carnival Corp said it signed two strategic memorandums of agreement that will add a total of nine new cruise ships to its fleet over a four-year period from 2019 to 2022. The shipbuilding agreements, which include options for additional ship builds in the coming years, are subject to several conditions, including satisfactory financing. Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri and German shipbuilder Meyer Werft will each build new ships based on Carnival's next-generation ship designs. The new ships are expected to serve established cruise markets in North America and Europe, as well as newer markets, including China. Carnival is due to report first quarter results later Friday.
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Housebuilder Barratt Developments said David Thomas is to move from his current role as chief financial officer to take over as chief executive officer. Thomas will take over the CEO role from Mark Clare on July 1, when Clare will step down after nine years in the role. Barratt said it has started the process of recruiting a finance director to replace Thomas.
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Antofagasta said the heavy rainfall in the Atacama desert in Chile has resulted in the company suspended operations at three of its mines. The FTSE 100-listed Chilean copper miner said it has suspended operations at the Centinela, Antucoya and Michilla mines, all of which are located in the desert. It said the suspension was primarily to ensure the safety of employees, though it said some processing of stockpiled material has been possible.
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Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto is set to cut at least 1,500 jobs, including a substantial number from its headquarters in London, Sky News reported. Sky said it understands Rio Tinto informed staff earlier this week that it was starting a consultation on cuts involving a significant number of UK jobs. The move comes in the wake of a reorganisation of the business outlined last month which will focus on streamlining its operations and cutting costs.
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Vodafone Group said it has signed a new partner deal with Botswana Telecommunications. Under the deal, Botswana Telecommunications will become Vodafone's preferred partner in Botswana, and the two companies will jointly offer businesses and consumers a range of products and services. No financial details were disclosed on the deal.
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Vodafone had said late Thursday that Vodafone India has acquired spectrum in 12 telecom circles at auction for GBP2.8 billion, enabling it to expand its 3G capabilities. The company said it bought spectrum in all six of its 900 MHz circles due for extension in December 2015. It said it will be able to expand its 3G service over its own network from nine circles to 16 circles. These circles in total represent 88% of Vodafone India's service revenues.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Polymetal International said its ore reserve and grades increased during 2014, mainly due to the acquisition of the Kyzyl project, but said its mineral resource decreased. The FTSE 250 precious metals mining company said its total ore reserves increased in 2014 to 21.6 million ounces of gold equivalent after the company acquired the Kyzyl project in Kazakhstan and updated its reserves at multiple sites, which increased the reserve by 6.7 million ounces. However, its mineral resource, which is in addition to the ore reserve, fell by 12% in 2014 due to resource-to-reserve conversion at Albazino and Svetloye, both in Russia, alongside a more conservative resource estimate for its underground mining operations.
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Cable & Wireless Communications said it has received regulatory approval in Trinidad and Tobago for the USD1.85 billion acquisition of Barbados-based telecommunications and technology services group Columbus International. Under the terms of the regulatory approval provided by the Telecommunications Authority Trinidad and Tobago, Cable & Wireless has agreed to sell its 49% stake in Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago.
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Housebuilder and construction company Redrow said it has signed a deal to sell a series of ground rent portfolio holdings to Adriatic Land 3 Ltd for GBP10.2 million. Under the deal, Redrow Homes Ltd will sell its ground rent portfolios for Kingston Riverside, Kingston Riverwalk, Amberley Waterfront and 205 Holland Park, all based in London.
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Home emergency company HomeServe said it is trading in line with expectations for the year to the end of March. In a short trading statement, the company said trading across the company in the final quarter of its financial year has been good, with retention and marketing activities both performing well.
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Abcam said Deputy Chairman Jonathan Milner and certain trusts in which he acts as a trustee have sold GBP21.5 million worth of shares in the company via a placing. The biotechnology company said Milner and the associated trusts had sold a total of 4.6 million shares in the company at 465 pence per share. The placing was conducted by JPMorgan Cazenove and Peel Hunt LLP as joint bookrunners.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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Chevron announced that its subsidiary Chevron Global Energy has entered into an underwriting agreement for the sale of its 50% shareholding in Caltex Australia. The company said these shares are expected to be sold to a broad range of Australian and global equity market institutional investors. The company noted that the sale does not alter Chevron's focus on moving the Gorgon and Wheatstone liquefied natural gas projects towards start-up.
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Hewlett-Packard is nearing a deal to sell control of its data-networking business in China to Tsinghua Unigroup, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter. Tsinghua Unigroup has emerged as the preferred bidder in an auction of 51% of the business, H3C Technologies Co. A deal between the two parties, which could also include a separate server operation, may still be a few weeks away and there is no guarantee another bidder won't re-emerge, the report said.
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Google's new chief financial officer Ruth Porat will receive a package of more than USD70 million, the company said. Porat, 57, previously held the same position with Morgan Stanley. Her move to Google, where she was also to be senior vice president, was announced Tuesday, and due to take effect Thursday. Her annual base salary will be USD650,000 in 2015. She will also receive a USD5 million signing bonus and a USD25 million new-hire restricted stock grant. In 2016, she will receive a USD40 million biennial grant on top of her annual base salary.
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Friday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs
Blue Star Capital
Trinity Mirror
Milestone Group
Pinnacle Technology Group
St Modwen Properties
Range Resources
Invista European Real Estate Trust
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite
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