FOOT.L Share News (FOOT)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 started the week on strong footing, outperforming its European counterparts at midday on Monday as the pound declined on Brexit fears and weak manufacturing data from the UK.Among the biggest movers in London on Monday were FTSE 250-listed Dechra Pharmaceuticals, which fell after the release of its results, while shares in AIM-listed Footasylum dived 50% after the company warned on earnings in its current financial year.The dollar earner-heavy FTSE 100 was up 0.8%, or 61.42 points, at 7,493.84 Monday midday. The FTSE 250 index was up 0.1%, or 24.68 points, at 20,713.68, while the AIM All-Share was 0.5% higher at 1,109.22.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.9% at 12,701.12 at midday, while the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.1% at 18,794.81, and the Cboe UK Small Companies also 0.1% higher at 12,284.09."Friday's breakdown in trade talks between the US and Canada has provided a negative backdrop to trading today, with the deterioration in the pound providing the main driver of gains for the FTSE," commented IG market analyst Joshua Mahony.The pound was quoted at USD1.2883 at midday, down from USD1.2970 late Friday.Sterling tumbled as data from IHS Markit and Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply showed the UK's manufacturing sector expanded at the slowest pace in over two years in August.The manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index dropped to 52.8 in August from 53.8 in July. While any reading above 50 indicates growth in the sector, August's figure was the lowest in 25 months.Output grew at the slowest pace in 17 months in August, while the pace of job creation slowed to near-stagnation, as cuts at large enterprises offset further increases at SMEs."This reading is the lowest in two years and has put more pressure on the pound this morning with the currency already beginning the new week lower after the latest Brexit developments over the weekend," said XTB chief market analyst David Cheetham.With Parliament returning from recess on Tuesday, UK Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to face a coordinated effort from Tory hardline Brexiteers to abandon her exit agenda.Over the weekend, EU chief negotiator Michael Barnier said he "strongly opposed" the Chequers proposals because such "cherry-picking" would mean the end of the European project if enacted.In what is likely to be seen by many at Westminster as the beginning of a bid to try to oust the prime minister, ex-foreign secretary Boris Johnson wrote in the Daily Telegraph on Monday the UK is "lying flat on the canvas" in withdrawal talks.Britain has "gone into battle with the white flag fluttering over our leading tank" due to May's Chequers proposals to align UK standards on goods to the EU, Johnson said.The comments followed former Brexit secretary David Davis branding the Chequers blueprint as being "actually almost worse than being in" the EU. However, Davis cautioned against any efforts to unseat May over the plans."Let me be absolutely clear. It is absolutely possible to dump Chequers without changing leader -- and that's the best way to do it," he told The Times.In European data on Monday, manufacturing activity in the euro area slipped slightly from July's reading, though was in line with expectations.The PMI fell to 54.6 in August, in line with flash estimate but down from July's 55.1. The indicator pointed to the slowest growth since November 2016.Manufacturing output climbed at the fastest pace in three months. Growth strengthened despite the level of new orders increasing at the slowest rate for two years.In European equities at midday, the CAC 40 in Paris and DAX 30 in Frankfurt were flat and down 0.2% respectively.Markets in the US are closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday.Over the weekend, US President Donald Trump threatened he could "terminate" the NAFTA free trade agreement with Mexico and Canada.He was tweeting a day after trade talks between the US and Canada broke down without result. The US and Mexico had reached a deal earlier in the week, putting pressure on Ottawa to keep the tripartite trading bloc alive."There is no political necessity to keep Canada in the new NAFTA deal. If we don't make a fair deal for the US after decades of abuse, Canada will be out. Congress should not interfere with these negotiations or I will simply terminate NAFTA entirely and we will be far better off," Trump tweeted.Talks with Canada are due to resume next week, while the full text of the deal with Mexico is expected to be revealed later this month.Among broad-based gains in the FTSE 100 on Monday, Standard Life Aberdeen rose 1.5% after confirming late Friday its intention to return up to GBP1.75 billion to shareholders following the sale of Standard Life Assurance to Phoenix Group Holdings.At the bottom of the index was Untied Utilities, down 1.3%, while Severn Trent was down 0.9%.London-listed water companies have submitted their business plans for the period from 2020 to 2025 to UK water industry regulator Ofwat.FTSE 100-listed Severn Trent plans to reduce its real bill for Severn Trent Water customers by 5.0%, by using the company's commercial pipelines to produce 13% more efficiency in spending, with total expenses of GBP6.6 billion over the five-year period.Peer United Utilities intends to reduce its average customer bills in real terms over the period by 10.5% from GBP427 in 2019-20 to GBP382 in 2024-25.In the FTSE 250, pub operator Mitchells & Butlers rose 2.5% after Citigroup raised its rating on the stock to Neutral from Sell. At the same time, Citi cut peer JD Wetherspoon to Sell from Neutral, the company 4.8% lower on Monday and among the worst mid-cap performers.The biggest faller in the FTSE 250 at midday was Dechra Pharmaceuticals, down 15%.The veterinary products manufacturer said revenue in the year to the end of June grew 13% to GBP407.1 million from GBP359.3 million reported for the same period a year earlier, pushing pretax profit up to GBP28.9 million from GBP28.6 million.Dechra proposed a final dividend of 18.17 pence per share, up from 15.33p paid the prior year. The full-year payout totalled at 25.5p per share, up 19% year-on-year."On the face of it, Dechra's full year results still look good with underlying profit, excluding the impact of accounting adjustments on some acquisitions, up more than 20%. What may be concerning the market are references to contingency plans for a 'hard Brexit' and the fact an increasing number of distributors are focusing on the sale and marketing of their own products," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.Mould continued: "These factors could prevent the company churning out the same stellar numbers as it has done historically."On London's junior AIM market, Footasylum shares halved in value after the trainers retailer warned on earnings for its current financial year. The footwear retailer said that, for the year ending February 23, revenue is expected "below current market expectations" with the board guiding for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation to be "significantly lower than previous guidance, at less than half of the financial 2018 adjusted Ebitda of GBP12.5 million".The company said that it was forced to reassess its overall earnings expectations for the year due to challenging store trading during July and August, with no sign of a recovery in the short-term.