Our latest Investing Matters Podcast episode with QuotedData's Edward Marten has just been released. Listen here.

Less Ads, More Data, More Tools Register for FREE

Pin to quick picksKingfisher Share News (KGF)

Share Price Information for Kingfisher (KGF)

London Stock Exchange
Share Price is delayed by 15 minutes
Get Live Data
Share Price: 249.40
Bid: 249.60
Ask: 249.80
Change: 0.00 (0.00%)
Spread: 0.20 (0.08%)
Open: 0.00
High: 0.00
Low: 0.00
Prev. Close: 249.40
KGF Live PriceLast checked at -

Watchlists are a member only feature

Login to your account

Alerts are a premium feature

Login to your account

LONDON BRIEFING: Lloyd's Of London Says Covid-19 More Costly Than 9/11

Thu, 14th May 2020 08:03

(Alliance News) - Insurance market Lloyd's Of London on Thursday warned of "historic losses across the global insurance industry" as a result of the Covid-19 health crisis.

Lloyd's said it will pay out between USD3.0 billion and USD4.3 billion to its global customers for the impact of the pandemic. It said this is on par with the 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001 and the combination of hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria in 2017.

However, it added: "Lloyd's believes that once the scale and complexity of the social and economic impact of Covid-19 is fully understood, the overall cost to the global insurance non-life industry is likely to be far in excess of those historical events."

Lloyd's Chief Executive Officer John Neal explained: "What makes COVID-19 unique is the not just the devastating continuing human and social impact, but also the economic shock. Taking all those factors together will challenge the industry as never before."

Here is what you need to know at the London market open:

----------

MARKETS

----------

FTSE 100: down 1.3% at 5,826.61

----------

Hang Seng: down 1.5% at 23,810.99

Nikkei 225: closed down 1.7% at 19,914.78

DJIA: closed down 516.81 points, 2.2%, at 23,247.97

S&P 500: closed down 1.8% at 2,820.00

----------

GBP: down at USD1.2187 (USD1.2222)

EUR: down at USD1.0807 (USD1.0845)

Gold: firm at USD1,715.43 per ounce (USD1,714.70)

Oil (Brent): unchanged at USD29.45 a barrel

(changes since previous London equities close)

----------

ECONOMICS AND GENERAL

----------

Thursday's Key Economic Events still to come

0930 BST UK Finance mortgage statistics

1100 BST Ireland consumer price index

1000 CEST France IEA oil market report

0830 EDT US import & export price indices

0830 EDT US unemployment insurance weekly claims report

1030 EDT US EIA weekly natural gas storage report

----------

A new test to determine whether people have ever been infected with coronavirus is 100% accurate, UK public health leaders have said. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has previously called antibody testing a "game-changer" as it may reveal how many people have had Covid-19 without any symptoms and so may be immune. Any reliable test may help speed up measures to ease the lockdown because people could go back to work confident they were not likely to get it again. Public Health England said last week scientific experts at its Porton Down facility had carried out an independent evaluation of a new antibody blood test developed by a Swiss pharmaceutical company. The examination found Roche's serology test was "highly specific" and had an accuracy of 100%. Professor John Newton, national coordinator of the UK Coronavirus Testing Programme, said although it was still unclear to what extent the presence of antibodies indicated immunity to Covid-19, it was a "very positive development", PA reported.

----------

House prices could take longer to recover than sales now that England's property market has been re-opened for business, a report from surveyors suggests. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said feedback suggests that a recovery in prices could take a little while longer than a bounce back in sales levels, with property professionals suggesting, on average, prices would take 11 months to recover, compared with nine months for sales. The findings were contained in Rics's UK-wide April survey, which said 35% of property professionals believed prices could be left up to 4% lower on the re-opening of the housing market, while more than 40% thought prices could fall by more than 4%.

----------

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the prospect of non-essential air travel from Ireland is months, rather than weeks, away. Everyone who arrives in the state to stay, whether Irish or from abroad, is being asked to self-isolate for 14 days to ensure that anyone with Covid-19 does not infect others. It comes amid calls for tougher laws to require people arriving into the country to tell authorities where they will be self-isolating. "We're an island nation and a globalised economy. We need to return to business and leisure travel at some point, but that really is premature at this stage," Varadkar said. "The EU and the aviation authorities are thinking about that and how we can return to safe air travel, but that is months rather than weeks away." The coronavirus death toll in Ireland rose to 1,497 on Wednesday after a further 10 deaths were announced.

----------

German inflation was slightly stronger in April than initially expected, according to figures from Destatis. Consumer price inflation was 0.9% annually in April, a notch higher than the provisional result of 0.8%. Nonetheless, April's inflation rate remained substantially weaker than in March, with the previous month's inflation rate having been 1.4%.

----------

BROKER RATING CHANGES

----------

BERENBERG RAISES HSBC TO 'HOLD' (SELL) - PRICE TARGET 390 (430) PENCE

----------

JEFFERIES CUTS GREENCORE TO 'HOLD' ('BUY') - TARGET 165 (235) PENCE

----------

HSBC RAISES KINGFISHER TO 'HOLD' ('REDUCE') - TARGET 180 (150) PENCE

----------

COMPANIES - FTSE 100

----------

Wealth manager Hargreaves Lansdown said it intends to make payouts in line with its dividend policy for the 2020 financial year as it "performed strongly" in the first four months of calendar 2020. In the four months to April 30, Hargreaves recorded net new business of GBP4.0 billion and added 94,000 new clients. Year-to-date total revenue was up 13% to GBP448.1 million, supported by record dealing volumes. Assets under administration fell to GBP96.7 billion at the end of April from GBP105.2 billion at the end of 2019. "This is a strong rebound from the difficult macro and political environment for retail investment flows during the first half of the financial year," the fund supermarket said. Hargreaves Lansdown's financial year ends June 30. Net new business growth was driven by "the usual factors" of clients using their tax allowances during the ISA season, ongoing wealth consolidation onto its platform from existing clients, and flows into cash management service 'Active Savings'. This growth was further accelerated by significant market falls in early March, as existing clients added money to their accounts and new clients joined Hargreaves Lansdown "to take advantage of the opportunity to invest at lower prices".

----------

Persimmon said its restart of construction work is going "smoothly". The housebuilder will open its sales offices in England on Friday, with social distancing and hygiene measures in place. Persimmon began a phased return to work in England and Wales on April 27, and the process is continuing smoothly and to plan, it said, with the week beginning May 4 seeing 65% of production capacity restored. The group's businesses in Scotland remain in shut however. In the eight weeks ended May 10, Persimmon secured 1,351 gross private sales reservations, with a total of 1,300 legal completions being made in the same period. Cancellation levels remain in line with historic trends.

----------

Royal Dutch Shell said all conditions for the final investment decision on a new liquefied natural gas processing unit at Nigeria LNG have been met. Nigeria LNG is a joint venture, 49% owned by state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum, 26% by Shell through its subsidiary Shell Gas, 15% by Total and 10% by ENI. Conditions for the FID included formal commitment from the organisations slated to provide financing for the project. Once operational, the new unit Train 7 will add 8 million tonnes per annum of capacity to the Bonny Island facility, taking the total to around 30mtpa. "While remaining mindful of prevailing macro-economic challenges, Shell continues to see NLNG as a great resource that can deliver value to the people of Nigeria and investors alike," said Maarten Wetselaar, director of Shell Integrated Gas & New Energies, adding: "Natural gas is a core component of our strategy to provide more and cleaner energy solutions."

----------

COMPANIES - FTSE 250

----------

Books and stationery retailer WH Smith said it had a "good" first half but it has seen sales all but wiped out in April due to Covid-19. Revenue was up 7% in the six months to February to GBP747 million, though down 1% on a like-for-like basis. The travel unit - comprising shops in train stations and airports selling snacks and magazines - saw revenue growth of 19%, or 2% like-for-like, while the high street arm saw a 5% fall in sales, down 4% on a like-for-like basis. Pretax profit for the half slipped to GBP63 million from GBP65 million a year ago. "There was very little impact of Covid-19 on our first half results, however inevitably the performance in the second half will be very different," said Chief Executive Carl Cowling. Covid-19 has taken a toll on the firm since March, as governments imposed travel restrictions and stay-at-home orders in order to stem the virus's spread. In April, group total revenue was down 85% on the same period last year, as expected, with travel revenue down 91% and high street revenue down 74%. The board will not be making an interim dividend payment, WH Smith said. It paid out an interim dividend of 17.2p a year ago.

----------

COMPANIES - GLOBAL

----------

Deutsche Telekom hailed its first-quarter performance, with the telecommunications firm booking earnings growth despite the Covid-19 pandemic. In the three months ended March, net revenue rose 2.3% year-on-year to EUR19.94 billion from EUR19.49 billion. Net profit was 1.8% higher annually, coming in at EUR916 million from EUR900 million. "Despite the global spread of the coronavirus and the consequent restrictions imposed in many countries since March, Deutsche Telekom had a strong start to the 2020 financial year," the company said.

----------

Uber Technologies is offering USD6 billion in stock in its takeover bid for meal delivery group Grubhub, a source familiar with the talks told AFP. The two firms were not in agreement on a deal that would unite two of the three largest US players in the food delivery segment, according to the source who declined to be identified. The USD6 billion share offer was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. Grubhub shares, which had jumped nearly 30% on the reports of a tie-up earlier this week, slipped back 3.7% on Wednesday, giving it a market capitalisation of USD5.34 billion. Uber shares rose 1.9% on Wednesday for an equity value of USD57.26 billion.

----------

Thursday's Shareholder Meetings

Safestyle UK

Serco

Direct Line

Next

Computacenter

Prudential

Quilter

Just Eat Takeaway.com

Gresham Technology

Flutter Entertainment

Spire Healthcare Group

Telit Communications

Genel Energy

Cairn Energy

Forterra

Triple Point Social Housing REIT

Horizonte Minerals

European Assets Trust

Eurocell

TI Fluid System

----------

By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.

More News
27 Mar 2024 16:13

EARNINGS AND TRADING: Solid State ups outlook; Quartix trading in line

(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of earnings and trading updates by London-listed companies, issued on Wednesday and not separately reported by Alliance News:

Read more
27 Mar 2024 09:40

LONDON BROKER RATINGS: Sainsbury's, Petershill Partners upped to 'buy'

(Alliance News) - The following London-listed shares received analyst recommendations Wednesday morning and Tuesday:

Read more
26 Mar 2024 09:40

LONDON BROKER RATINGS: Dr Martens cut to 'sell'; BofA likes Tullow

(Alliance News) - The following London-listed shares received analyst recommendations Tuesday morning and Monday:

Read more
26 Mar 2024 08:08

LONDON BRIEFING: Flutter hails US success; Smiths names new CEO

(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 opened lower on Tuesday, as a slow start to the week continues, with investors having simmering global tensions to be mindful of.

Read more
25 Mar 2024 16:51

LONDON MARKET CLOSE: Renewed global tensions put pressure on stocks

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London started the week in bad shape and closed lower on Monday, as investors sat on their hands amid rising global tensions.

Read more
25 Mar 2024 15:49

London close: Stocks slip back after last week's peak

(Sharecast News) - London markets finished in the red on Monday, having traded below the waterline through the session after reaching a peak at the end of last week.

Read more
25 Mar 2024 12:09

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Stocks make tepid start to new week

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were down at midday on Monday, giving back some gains from last week, when equities were boosted by central bank decisions and accompanying statements which investors saw as dovish.

Read more
25 Mar 2024 09:04

LONDON MARKET OPEN: FTSE 100 treads water, FTSE 250 declines

(Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 in London traded flat early Monday, while the pound remained below the USD1.26 mark, as Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey suggested rate cuts may happen soon.

Read more
25 Mar 2024 08:45

TOP NEWS: Kingfisher eyes more stores but predicts further profit dip

(Alliance News) - Kingfisher PLC on Monday targeted cost savings and more stores as it attempts to stem a drop in profitability which it predicted would fall again in the new financial year.

Read more
25 Mar 2024 07:59

LONDON BRIEFING: AstraZeneca wins US approval, Kingfisher profit down

(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 is set to open lower on Monday, giving back some of last week's progress, when equities were boosted by hope of interest rate cuts.

Read more
25 Mar 2024 07:04

Kingfisher issues another profits warning as 2023/24 earnings slump

(Sharecast News) - B&Q owner Kingfisher on Monday warned current-year profit would fall short of expectations after it posted weaker earnings for 2023-24 as the home improvement market continued to lag behind demand for housing.

Read more
18 Mar 2024 16:09

UK earnings, trading statements calendar - next 7 days

Tuesday 19 March 
Atalaya Mining PLCFull Year Results
Close Brothers Group PLCHalf Year Results
DFS Furniture PLCHalf Year Results
Eagle Eye Solutions Group PLCHalf Year Results
Essentra PLCFull Year Results
Fintel PLCFull Year Results
Litigation Capital Management LtdHalf Year Results
Midwich Group PLCFull Year Results
Mpac Group PLCFull Year Results
MP Evans Group PLCFull Year Results
Pebble Group PLCFull Year Results
Personal Group Holdings PLCFull Year Results
Sabre Insurance Group PLCFull Year Results
Staffline Group PLCFull Year Results
Tissue Regenix Group PLCFull Year Results
Trustpilot Group PLCFull Year Results
Yu Group PLCFull Year Results
Zotefoams PLCFull Year Results
Wednesday 20 March 
Computacenter PLCFull Year Results
EKF Diagnostics Holdings PLCFull Year Results
Eurocell PLCFull Year Results
FDM Group PLCFull Year Results
Investec PLCTrading Statement
IQGeo Group PLCFull Year Results
Kenmare Resources PLCFull Year Results
Prudential PLCFull Year Results
VietNam Holding LtdHalf Year Results
Thursday 21 March 
Aptitude Software Group PLCFull Year Results
Aquis Exchange PLCFull Year Results
Centamin PLCFull Year Results
Direct Line Insurance Group PLCFull Year Results
Dowlais Group PLCFull Year Results
Energean PLCFull Year Results
Gulf Keystone Petroleum LtdFull Year Results
Hostelworld Group PLCFull Year Results
Ithaca Energy PLCFull Year Results
M&G PLCFull Year Results
National World PLCFull Year Results
Next PLCFull Year Results
Secure Trust Bank PLCFull Year Results
Tribal Group PLCFull Year Results
Friday 22 March 
Dunedin Enterprise Investment Trust PLCFull Year Results
JD Wetherspoon PLCHalf Year Results
Phoenix Group Holdings PLCFull Year Results
SkinBioTherapeutics PLCHalf Year Results
Monday 25 March 
Amaroq Minerals LtdFull Year Results
Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon PLCFull Year Results
Central Asia Metals PLCFull Year Results
Gamma Communications PLCFull Year Results
Henry Boot PLCFull Year Results
Impact Healthcare REIT PLCFull Year Results
Kingfisher PLCFull Year Results
Pennon Group PLCTrading Statement
Princess Private Equity Holding LtdTrading Statement
RTC Group PLCFull Year Results
Tandem Group PLCFull Year Results
Ocean Harvest Technology Group PLCFull Year Results
Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust PLCFull Year Results
Virgin Wines UK PLCHalf Year Results
US Solar Fund PLCFull Year Results
  
Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com
  
A full 21-day events calendar is provided each day with a subscription to Alliance News UK Professional.
  
Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Read more
7 Mar 2024 10:07

UPDATE: Marks & Spencer confirms Co-CEO Bickerstaffe to leave in July

(Alliance News) - Marks & Spencer Group PLC on Thursday said Co-Chief Executive Officer Katie Bickerstaffe will leave the company after the annual general meeting in July.

Read more
6 Mar 2024 21:08

PRESS: Marks & Spencer Co-CEO Bickerstaffe to leave for Kingfisher

(Alliance News) - Marks & Spencer's Co-Chief Executive Officer Katie Bickerstaffe is set to leave the company, Sky News reported on Wednesday evening.

Read more
26 Feb 2024 09:07

LONDON BROKER RATINGS: Jefferies raises ITM Power to 'buy'

(Alliance News) - The following London-listed shares received analyst recommendations Monday morning and Friday:

Read more

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.

Quickpicks are a member only feature

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.