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(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are set for a higher open on Monday after markets in Asia started the week on the front foot.
However, trade is expected to be muted with financial markets closed in Germany and Switzerland for Whit Monday. In France, the Paris bourse will remain open, however.
In early UK company news, Cineworld burst back from months of lockdown to report a bumper UK reopening weekend, Kainos saw full-year profit surge, and Hilton Food Group said it has seen a strong start to the new year.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 index of large-caps to open 20.45 points, or 0.3%, higher at 7,038.50 on Monday. The FTSE 100 closed down 1.74 points at 7,018.05 on Friday.
London is set to follow a largely upbeat start to the week in Asia.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.2% on Monday. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.2%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 0.3%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney ended up 0.2%.
"Asia is definitely in wait-and-see mode today, a wise course of action in my opinion. Activity will ease this afternoon with the UK the only major market open across the Western Europe area. The US open is a lottery and will depend on headline risk, but they'll probably buy the dip from Friday," said Jeffery Halley at Oanda.
In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.4%, the S&P 500 down 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite 0.5% lower.
In early UK company news on Monday, Cineworld reported a "strong" opening weekend in the UK.
"This weekend's performance went beyond our expectations as customers were eager to return to the movies and enjoy the full movie experience, including the traditional popcorn which led to strong concession income," the cinema operator said.
While outdoor hospitality was able to re-open in England on April 12, indoor entertainment, such as cinemas and museums, were only able to resume business on Monday last week.
In the US, 97% of cinemas have resumed operations, Cineworld said. In its Rest of World region, Poland and Israel will be opening at the end of the coming week, and the company anticipates that most if its cinemas will be open by the end of the month.
"With the releases next week of Cruella, and A Quiet Place 2, we expect next weekend's results to be strong. When combined with improving consumer confidence and the success of the vaccination rollout, we expect a good recovery in attendance over the coming months, noting the record breaking success of F9 in the Asian market," said Chief Executive Mooky Greidinger.
IT services provider Kainos reported a sharp jump in full-year revenue and hiked its dividend.
Revenue for the financial year ended March 31 rose 31% to GBP234.7 million from GBP178.8 million, Kainos said. Digital Services revenue grew 32% and Workday Practice revenue grew by 30%.
"We have delivered a very strong business performance, reflecting strong sector demand, the ongoing trust and support of our customers and the dedication of our people," said Kainos.
Bookings rose 6%, and Kainos reported contracted backlog growth of 15%. It had period-end net cash of GBP80.9 million, nearly double the GBP40.8 million a year ago.
Pretax profit for the year more than doubled to GBP50.3 million from GBP23.2 million.
Kainos hiked its total dividend to 28.2 pence from just 3.5p in the 2020 financial year.
"The pandemic has demonstrated that our sector is resilient, but it has also demonstrated that the future is unpredictable. Notwithstanding our confidence, challenges remain. Countries and customers are exiting lockdown at different speeds and with varying degrees of success. The effects of the pandemic will linger for many years and we need to remain vigilant," the company said.
Hilton Food Group reported a good start to the year as it continues to explore growth opportunities.
Trading since January 4 has been in line with internal expectations, the food packing business said, following a strong start to the year with momentum continuing in a number of markets.
It has made "good progress" in Europe, where demand for the firm's products has increased due to virus restrictions in most countries and home consumption continuing as a result. In Scandinavia, turnover has grown, though Sweden has been held back by a lack of availability of Swedish meat.
In Central Europe, growth has been driven by red meat and fresh food, while Australia has continued to see "strong growth".
"The group's financial position remains strong, having put in place committed facilities to cover announced expansion plans. Hilton continues to explore opportunities in which to invest and to grow the business both domestically and in overseas markets and we are also exploring a number of growth options with our existing customers," Hilton Food said.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.4156 early Monday, soft on USD1.4169 at the London equities close on Friday.
In some positive news on the vaccine front, a study by Public Health England has found the Pfizer Covid-19 jab is 88% effective against the Indian variant after two doses.
Both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs were found to be almost as effective against symptomatic disease from the B1617.2 strain as they are against the Kent variant after the second dose. However, they were only 33% effective three weeks after the first dose.
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock described the outcome as "groundbreaking", while PHE said it expects to see even higher levels of effectiveness against hospital admission and death.
The possibility of all coronavirus restrictions being lifted next month is "looking good", the chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency said.
The euro traded at USD1.2189 early Monday, firm against USD1.2186 late Friday. Against the yen, the dollar fell to JPY108.76 versus JPY108.94.
Japan opened its first mass vaccination centres in a bid to speed up a cautious Covid-19 inoculation programme with just two months until the virus-postponed Tokyo Olympics.
Gold was quoted at USD1,882.83 an ounce early Monday, higher than USD1,875.10 on Friday. Brent oil was trading at USD66.97 a barrel, firm on USD66.64 late Friday.
By Lucy Heming; lucyheming@alliancenews.com
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