Less Ads, More Data, More Tools Register for FREE

Pin to quick picksKeller Share News (KLR)

Share Price Information for Keller (KLR)

London Stock Exchange
Share Price is delayed by 15 minutes
Get Live Data
Share Price: 1,208.00
Bid: 1,202.00
Ask: 1,212.00
Change: -10.00 (-0.82%)
Spread: 10.00 (0.832%)
Open: 1,242.00
High: 1,242.00
Low: 1,190.00
Prev. Close: 1,218.00
KLR Live PriceLast checked at -

Watchlists are a member only feature

Login to your account

Alerts are a premium feature

Login to your account

LONDON MARKET OPEN: Stocks head lower before Fed minutes

Wed, 05th Jul 2023 09:00

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened in the red on Wednesday, amid fears of slowing growth in China, and escalating tension between the two world's largest economies.

The FTSE 100 index opened down 28.10 points, 0.4%, at 7,491.62. The FTSE 250 was down 74.78 points, 0.4%, at 18,459.01, and the AIM All-Share was down 1.34 points, 0.2%, at 755.10.

The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.4% at 747.06, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.4% at 16,174.71, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.1% at 13,706.02.

In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.4%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.4%.

Financial markets in the US were closed on Tuesday for Independence Day.

In China, the Shanghai Composite closed down 0.7%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 1.5%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.4%.

Sentiment in Asia was hurt by the latest PMI data, which suggested China's economic recovery was weakening.

The Caixin services purchasing managers' index eased to 53.9 points in June from 57.1 in May. Falling closer to the 50-point no-change mark, it shows growth slowed in the sector.

"There had been hopes the Chinese economy would steam ahead post-pandemic providing relief from the inflationary pressures pushing down growth in other countries, but the initial surge in activity is ebbing away fast," Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Susannah Streeter commented.

Fears of slowing growth and recessions kept a lid on oil prices. Brent oil was trading at USD75.77 a barrel early Wednesday, down from USD76.13 at the time of the European equities close on Tuesday.

Investors will also be keeping a close eye on developments between the US and China, ahead of US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's visit to Beijing on Thursday.

The meeting comes after a tense few weeks, with a series of "tit-for-tat" trading curbs being announced by both countries. On Monday, China announced restrictions on rare metal exports, which are used in critical applications such as semiconductors.

"There are hopes [Yellen] will be able to calm increasingly troubled trade waters between the US and China when she holds meetings in Beijing tomorrow, but that may be wishful thinking," HL's Streeter commented.

"The rhetoric is being ramped up ahead of her visit, with warnings from an influential policy advisor, former vice commerce minister Wei Jianguo, that these controls were a heavy punch but 'just a start'."

The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo closed down 0.3%, with Japanese economic data also conforming to the trend of a growth slowdown.

The au Jibun Bank services PMI fell to 54.0 points in June, from a series record of 55.9 in May - signalling a solid, but slower, expansion in activity.

There will be the minutes from the latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting at 1900 BST.

The Federal Reserve had voted to keep interest rates unchanged at its June meeting, but stressed further hikes were still very much a possibility. According to CME's FedWatch tool, the market is pricing in an 89% chance of a 25 basis point hike at its meeting on July 26.

"It remains unclear why the Fed did pause and so the detail of the discussion may be informative on this. Markets will also be watching for any indication of what precisely policymakers will be looking for when deciding on whether a July rate hike is indeed necessary," said analysts at Lloyds Bank.

The dollar was stronger in early exchanges in Europe ahead of the minutes.

Sterling was quoted at USD1.2704 early Wednesday, lower than USD1.2728 at the London equities close on Tuesday. The euro traded at USD1.0885, lower than USD1.0900. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY144.66, up versus JPY144.46.

Gold was quoted at USD1,921.64 an ounce early Wednesday, lower than USD1,927.60 on Tuesday

In the FTSE 100, Legal & General fell 2.4%, despite citing "confidence" in achieving its five-year ambitions are unchanged.

The financial services and asset management company said a transition to a new accounting method will not hurt its "strategy, solvency or dividends". The IFRS 17 accounting standard for insurers was ushered in at the start of 2023.

"It only impacts the reporting of our annuity and protection businesses, changing the timing of recognition of earnings from these products but not the quantum," Legal & General said. It said it is on track to generate GBP8 billion to GBP9 billion of capital for the period between 2020 to 2024. L&G said it has transacted GBP6.8 billion worth of pension risk transfer transactions year-to-date.

Among the midcaps, Keller Group jumped 6.5%

The geotechnical engineering firm said it expects its full-year underlying operating profit to be "materially ahead" of market expectations, though the increase in earnings will be moderated by the latest interest rate hikes.

"Trading in the first half has remained strong and we anticipate a record performance in the period," it said.

Due to the timing and phasing of certain contracts, it expects profit to be more evenly weighted between the first and second half.

Operational improvements in its North American foundations business have helped to recover operating margins, and Suncoast is expected to deliver an improved performance despite lower production volumes. Keller did note challenges from the "recessionary backdrop" in Europe, however, which is causing margin erosion and delays to some projects.

On AIM, Supreme rose 10% as it reported a year of robust trading in the 12 months to March 31, and raised its expectations for the current year.

The Manchester-based firm that manufactures and distributes battery, lighting and vaping products said revenue rose 19% year-on-year to GBP155.6 million from GBP130.8 million, though pretax profit fell 11% to GBP14.4 million from GBP16.3 million.

Supreme also announced a "significant" vaping distribution agreement. It has been selected as the master distributor for the UK vape brands, ElfBar and Lost Mary. Supreme expects the deal to generate between GBP25 and GBP30 million in revenue in financial 2024.

The company now expects trading in the year to be "significantly ahead" of market consensus of GBP159 million in revenue, and adjusted Ebitda of GBP22.6 million.

Still to come on Wednesday's economic calendar, there's a slew of services PMI prints, including from the EU, Germany, UK and France.

By Elizabeth Winter, Alliance News senior markets reporter

Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

More News
11 Oct 2016 06:36

Keller Inks GBP60 Million Ground Improvement Contract In Egypt

Read more
23 Sep 2016 15:06

UK Dividends Calendar - Next 7 Days

Read more
25 Aug 2016 15:05

UK Dividends Calendar - Next 7 Days

Read more
9 Aug 2016 10:46

Keller wins £50m Abu Dhabi contract

(ShareCast News) - Ground engineering company Keller and a partner have won a £50m construction contract in Abu Dhabi. The contract comprises ground improvement works and will be conducted in a 50-50 consortium, and work is expected to start immediately will be completed by the third quarter of 2

Read more
1 Aug 2016 11:03

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Oil Weighs On Stocks As Pound Crushed By UK PMI

Read more
1 Aug 2016 08:40

Keller Group earnings down as Asian market remains depressed

(ShareCast News) - Geotechnical contractor Keller Group posted its results for the six months to 30 June on Monday, with record first half revenue of £850m, up 12%, but guided markets towards the lower end of the Board´s range of expectations. The FTSE 250 firm had an operating profit before excepti

Read more
25 Jul 2016 15:11

UK Earnings, Trading Statements Calendar - Next 7 Days

Read more
3 Jun 2016 15:04

UK Dividends Calendar - Next 7 Days

Read more
25 May 2016 21:00

Financials, big oil, miners pace gains in London

(ShareCast News) - Financials and big oil continued to power ahead at the middle of the week as the threat from two of the market´s most recent bugbears appeared to receed a little. On Wednesday, Athens managed to clinch a deal to relieve the government´s lack of financial liquidity, while in the UK

Read more
25 May 2016 15:20

Director dealings: Coca-Cola private equity backers can shares

(ShareCast News) - Coca-Cola HBC directors Anastasios and Christo Leventis, major shareholders connected with the New Argen private equity group, confirmed they had sold £15.4m worth of shares. Christo sold 735,968 at a price of 1,315p apiece, reaping £9.68m, while fellow non-executive Anastasios of

Read more
25 May 2016 10:28

DIRECTOR DEALINGS: Keller Group Non-Executive Buys 10,000 Shares

Read more
24 May 2016 10:19

EXTRA: Keller On Track For 2016 But Interim Loss Seen In Asia Pacific

Read more
24 May 2016 08:55

Revenue, earnings slightly ahead at Keller Group

(ShareCast News) - As investors gathered for Keller Group's annual general meeting on Tuesday morning, the ground engineering specialist revealed its numbers were ahead of last year in year-to-date trading. The FTSE 250 firm said there have been no significant changes in market trends since it repor

Read more
24 May 2016 07:02

Keller Trading In Line In First Four Months, Order Book Stronger

Read more
17 May 2016 15:11

AGM, EGM Calendar - Week Ahead

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.