Ferrexpo Share News (FXPO)

(Alliance News) - London stock prices opened slightly lower on Friday, after a fall in German factory orders was confirmed, providing a further indication of a slowing eurozone economy, but market focus remained on the US jobs report later in the day.The FTSE 100 was 12.65 points lower, or 0.2%, at 7,590.93 early Friday. The FTSE 250 was down 0.1%, at 19,772.94, while the AIM All-Share was 0.1% lower at 916.87.The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.2% at 12,870.02. The Cboe UK 250 was 0.2% lower at 17,667.01, while the Cboe UK Small Companies was flat at 11,366.14.In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 index in Paris and DAX 30 in Frankfurt were down 0.2% and 0.1% higher, respectively, in morning trade.Germany saw a sharp decline in new manufacturing orders in May, Destatis revealed Friday, after modest growth in April.New orders in May fell 2.2% on the previous month and 8.6% on the same month a year before. In April, orders had risen 0.4% on March but had fallen 5.3% on the same month a year before. These figures were revised in Friday's release, with May's provisional."Equities in core member states are a touch lower after another sharp fall in German factory orders was confirmed, strengthening the case for near-term ECB policy easing," said Daiwa Capital Markets Analyst Chris Scicluna. In Asia on Friday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.2%. In China, the Shanghai Composite closed up 0.3%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is 0.1% higher in late trade.In London, International Consolidated Airlines Group was the third best performer among the blue-chips, up 0.8%, ahead of its June traffic statistics, expected at 1400 BST. In the FTSE 250 index, Acacia Mining was the second best performer, up 3.5%. Successful drilling at the Gokona mine in Tanzania has allowed the gold miner to upgrade reserves, it saidAs of the end of May, the Gokona mine had 1.3 million ounces of gold reserves at a grade of 5.5 grams of gold per tonne of ore, 13% higher than before, though at a marginally lower grade. This, Acacia said, is due to drilling on the east and west extensions of Gokona in late 2018 and early 2019.This upgraded reserve estimate comes after, in mid-June, Acacia refuting Barrick Gold's criticism of Acacia's mining plans in Tanzania. Barrick owns 64% of Acacia and has offered USD285 million for the rest, though the two continue to bicker. Dechra Pharmaceuticals was also in the green, up 1.3%. The veterinary pharmaceuticals firm said it has acquired a further 15% stake in Medical Ethics for around AUD13.5 million, or GBP8.0 million, taking its holding to 48%.In 2017, Dechra acquired a 33% stake in Medical Ethics for AUD18.0 million, This was used to progress registration of pain relief product Tri-Solfen for farm animals.Approval of Tri-Solfen is expected to "significantly strengthen" Dechra's Food producing Animal Products portfolio and become part of its "geographical expansion strategy".Meanwhile, SIG was dragging London's mid-cap index down, falling by 9.3%. The supplier of building materials reported a 3.8% decline in its like-for-like revenue for the six months to the end of June. SIG saw a 13% fall in like-for-like revenue in the UK & Ireland, due to reduced level of construction activity. In Mainland Europe, however, SIG's like-for-like revenue in the first half was 3.3% higher year-on-year.In addition, SIG said it sold WeGo FloorTec in Germany to fellow London-listed building materials firm Kingspan Group. The transaction follows a review of SIG's peripheral businesses. There remains one further peripheral business under review in SIG's portfolio, it said.The WeGo FloorTec sale is expected to complete "shortly", the company said, and the proceeds of about GBP12 million from Kingspan are expected to be used to reduce headline financial leverage.Kingspan shares were down 1.1% on Friday morning. FTSE 250-listed Ferrexpo also was one of the worst performers in London, down 3.0%, despite reporting an 11% rise in second-quarter production on the first quarter, to 2.8 million pellets, with first half output up 5.3% year-on-year.The iron ore pellet maker's first half sales are set to rise 4% on the year before to around 5.0 million tonnes, while Ferrexpo also reiterated 2019 production guidance of 10.6 million tonnes. In 2019, pellet output was 10.5 million.Financial markets in the US will reopen on Friday, after being closed for the Independence Day public holiday on Thursday. The closely watched US jobs report for June is released at 1330 BST."The key highlight of the day is the US labour data," said London Capital Group Senior Market Analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya. "The weak ADP data whispers that the US non-farm payrolls could fall short of 160,000 expected by analysts versus 75,000 printed a month earlier." Back in May, the US Labour Department reported slowdown in the pace of US job growth, with the small 75,000 rise, which was below analysts' expectations of 185,000 rise. A weaker-than-expected figure in June could increase the likelihood of a rate cut by Federal Reserve."A 25-basis-point interest rate cut is priced in at 100% at the Fed's July meeting, according to the activity on US treasury markets. But what may follow the likely July cut shall give a fresh direction to the market," added Ozkardeskaya.