Legal & General Share News (LGEN)

LONDON (Alliance News) - UK share prices and the pound were back on the slide Tuesday, after equities had ended a four-day winning streak on Monday but sterling had remained stable.

Early Tuesday, the pound was back below USD1.32, as Conservative MPs prepared for the first vote on leadership candidates. Amid the UK political instability, the Bank of England will release its financial stability report, followed by another attempt at market calming by Governor Mark Carney at 1100 BST.

Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: down 0.2% at 6,510.35
FTSE 250: down 0.9% at 15,978.30
AIM ALL-SHARE: down 0.2% at 712.57
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Hang Seng: down 1.2% at 20,807.42
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.7% at 15,669.33
DJIA and S&P 500: market closed for holiday.
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GBP: down at USD1.3174 (USD1.3324)
EUR: flat at USD1.1129 (USD1.1144)

GOLD: down at USD1,343.29 per ounce (USD1,351.08)
OIL (Brent): down at USD49.34 a barrel (USD50.15)

(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Tuesday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times in BST)

08:45 Italy Markit services PMI
08:50 France Markit services and composite PMI
08:55 Germany Markit services and composite PMI
09:00 EU Markit services and composite PMI
09:30 UK Markit services PMI
10:00 EU retail sales
10:30 UK Financial Stability Report
11:00 BoE Governor Mark Carney press conference
14:45 US ISM New York index
15:00 US factory orders
15:00 US IBD/TIPP economic optimism
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Conservative MPs are to cast their votes in the first ballot in the Tory leadership race after Boris Johnson threw his weight behind fellow Leave campaigner Andrea Leadsom. The former London mayor - who saw his own leadership hopes dashed after a devastating personal attack by Michael Gove - said she had "the zap, the drive and the determination" to lead the country. Ahead of the first ballot, a poll by the ConservativeHome website of 1,214 party members gave Leadsom a narrow lead with 38%, one point ahead of Home Secretary Theresa May - widely seen as the frontrunner - on 37%.
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Labour deputy leader Tom Watson is to hold emergency talks with trade union leaders in a last ditch attempt to end the impasse over Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the UK opposition party. At a one-to-one meeting at Westminster on Monday, Watson told Corbyn he could not carry on as party leader without the backing of the party's MPs, who last week voted overwhelmingly in favour of a vote of no confidence in him. In the wake of the failure of this latest attempt to break the deadlock, Labour sources said that union leaders had "reached out" to Watson to see if they could find a negotiated settlement. "It is the last throw of the dice," the deputy leader told MPs.
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Business leaders have stepped up pressure on the government to end the uncertainty facing EU nationals working in the UK following the referendum result. In an open letter, five business groups also called for planned infrastructure projects such as airport expansion, house building, rail and energy schemes to be given the go-ahead.
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Ireland's service sector activity expanded strongly at the end of the second quarter, survey figures from Markit Economics showed. The services Purchasing Managers' Index dropped to 61.2 in June from 61.7 in the previous month.
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China's private sector activity expanded at the weakest pace in four months in June, survey data from Markit Economics showed. The Caixin composite output index, which covers both manufacturing and services, dropped to 50.3 in June from 50.5 in May. This was the lowest reading in four months but the score above 50 indicates growth. Services companies reported stronger expansion of business activity in June, while manufacturing output declined at the sharpest pace since February.
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Japan's service sector activity deteriorated in June, led by the fastest decline in new orders in nearly five years, results of a survey by Markit Economics showed. The services purchasing managers' index, or PMI, fell to 49.4 in June from 50.4 in May.
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Australia retained its record low interest rate for the second straight month as policymakers await inflation data due later this month. The board of the Reserve Bank of Australia governed by Glenn Stevens maintained the cash rate at 1.75%. The outcome of the meeting came in line with expectations.
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A suicide bomber struck a police station in Indonesia, killing himself and injuring an officer, police said. The motorcyclist detonated his explosives when he was approached by the officer at the Surakarta city police department in Central Java, national police said.
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A suicide bomber killed four security officers and injured five others near one of Islam's holiest sites in the Saudi city of Medina, according to reports. The bomber detonated his explosives after being stopped outside the Prophet's Mosque, the reports said. The mosque is the burial place of the Prophet Muhammad and Medina the second-holiest city in Islam after Mecca. Suicide blasts also struck two other Saudi cities on Monday. The strikes come as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan ends.
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US President Barack Obama and his former secretary of state Hillary Clinton are to fly together Tuesday from the White House to a rally for the presumptive presidential nominee of the left-leaning Democratic Party. Clinton served as Secretary of State from 2009-13, after losing the 2008 Democratic nomination to Obama in a bruising intra-party battle. Obama formally endorsed Clinton only on June 9, after she had secured a narrow but clear victory over Senator Bernie Sanders. The White House announced late Monday that Clinton and Obama would travel together from Washington to Charlotte, North Carolina.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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SOCGEN CUTS BRITISH LAND CO TO 'HOLD' ('BUY') - TARGET 650 (810) PENCE
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SOCGEN CUTS LAND SECURITIES TO 'HOLD' ('BUY') - TARGET 1070 (1270) PENCE
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TRADERS: JPMORGAN CUTS PRUDENTIAL TO 'UNDERWEIGHT' ('NEUTRAL')
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TRADERS: JEFFERIES CUTS LEGAL & GENERAL TO 'HOLD' ('BUY')
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TRADERS: SOCGEN RAISES PROVIDENT FINANCIAL TO 'BUY' ('HOLD')
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TRADERS: JEFFERIES CUTS KINGFISHER TO 'HOLD' ('BUY')
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TRADERS: BERNSTEIN CUTS KINGFISHER TO 'MARKET-PERFORM' ('OUTPERFORM')
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TRADERS: BARCLAYS CUTS WHITBREAD TO 'UNDERWEIGHT' ('EQUAL WEIGHT')
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Persimmon posted strong results in the first half of its financial year, but said it was too soon to tell how the result of the UK vote to end European Union membership will affect the UK new homes market. Thehousebuilder said both its average sales price and number of legal completions rose in the six months ended June 30, with legal completion volumes up 6.0% to 7,238 from 6,855 for the same period a year earlier, whilst average sales price rose 6.0% to GBP205,500 from GBP194,378. As a result, revenue rose by 12% to GBP1.489 billion from GBP1.33 billion.
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The chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland Group has said the government's planned sale of its controlling stake in the company has been delayed for at least two years due to Britain's vote to leave the European Union, the Financial Times reported. Ross McEwan said the Brexit decision had been a "real hit to the bank", speaking to LBC Radio. "This will be a setback; let's be honest. I think at least a couple of years it will be pushed back." McEwan was referring to the UK government's target of raising GBP29.0 billion from selling the majority of its 73% stake in RBS over the next five years.
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Life insurer and investment manager Standard Life was forced to stop retail investors from selling out of one of its property funds after the Brexit vote sparked significant cash outflows, the FT reported. The company's GBP2.9 billion commercial property fund will have to sell properties to raise cash before any money can be redeemed after the move, the FT said. The fund is the third-largest open-ended property fund for retail investors.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Construction and infrastructure group Balfour Beatty said it has been awarded a GBP170.0 million contract to upgrade the baggage screening and handling systems for Heathrow Airport. The project was awarded through the Heathrow Airport Ltd "delivery integrator framework" to which Balfour Beatty was appointed in 2014, and will involve upgrading and installing baggage screening and handling systems at Heathrow's eastern baggage facility.
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Budget airlines Ryanair Holdings and Wizz Air Holdings both reported annual growth in passenger numbers and load factor in June. Irish carrier Ryanair said it carried 10.6 million customers in June, which is an 11% increase on the 9.5 million carried in the same month a year earlier. Load factor rose by 1 percentage point to 94% from 93%. Central and Eastern European-focused carrier Wizz Air said passenger numbers increased by 16% in June to 2.0 million from 1.7 million in the same month the year before. Load factor rose by 0.8 percentage point to 91.7% from 91.0%.
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Marshalls said its underlying indicators remain positive, notwithstanding the uncertainty caused by the result of the UK referendum on EU membership, after revenue for the first half came in ahead of the same period a year earlier. The concrete paving manufacturer said its revenue for the six months ended June 30 was GBP202.0 million, up 2.0% from the GBP199.0 million reported for the same period a year earlier, which reflects a stronger sales performance in May and June compared with the first four months of the year. UK revenue in May and June was up 5.0% compared with 2015 comparatives, Marshalls said.
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St Modwen Properties said pretax profit in the first half fell year-on-year despite revenue rising and the company said will take a cautious stance on development following the Brexit vote. "Following the referendum held on June 23, we are now operating in a period of uncertainty in relation to many factors that impact the property market. Whilst it is too early to accurately predict how the UK property market will respond, until we have more clarity we believe it is appropriate to take a more cautious approach to the delivery of our development strategy," said Chief Executive Bill Oliver.
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Chipmaker Imagination Technologies Group said it swung to a loss amid the restructuring undertaken over the year to the end of April, while revenue also declined. Imagination said it made a pretax loss of GBP63.2 million in the financial year to April 30, swung from a GBP2.2 million profit a year earlier. The loss was driven by exceptional charges booked for restructuring within the group to cut costs and refocus activities. Imagination is seeking to sell its Pure consumer electronics business, as well as other non-core activities, as it focuses on its graphics & multimedia, processing, and connectivity chips businesses. Revenue fell to GBP120.0 million from GBP156.8 million the year prior, with licensing revenue more than halving and royalty revenue lower.
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Staffing, training and outsourcing company Staffline Group said trading in the first half of 2016 was in line with its expectations. Staffline said it has continued to perform well, with strong demand from new and existing customers, and said it has seen no fall in demand following the UK's vote to leave the EU on June 23.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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French banking giant BNP Paribas said it expects to record an after-tax gain of EUR565 million in the second quarter on the sale of its shares in Visa Europe. The company said the gain will have a "negligible positive impact" on the bank's common equity Tier 1 ratio. Visa bought its European counterpart Visa Europe for EUR21.2 billion in cash and stock and last month announced the completion of the acquisition.
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The former chief of the South Korean branch of Volkswagen was summoned for questioning by local prosecutors Tuesday in connection with the emissions scandal that broke last year. Park Hong Hoon, who led Audi Volkswagen Korea from 2005 to 2013, is currently a material witness, but could become a suspect, Yonhap News Agency cited prosecutors as saying. Park, 63, told reporters he was "not involved" with the scandal that saw cars equipped with a defeat device to produce lower emissions during testing than were emitted during normal driving.
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Toshiba and US partner Western Digital will commit JPY1.5 trillion or USD14.6 billion over three years toward stepping up flash memory production at their jointly run Japanese plant, in a bid to widen global market share, Nikkei reported.
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Siemens said its researchers have developed a new type of electric motor that, with a weight of just 50 kilograms, delivers a continuous output of about 260 kilowatts - five times more than comparable drive systems. The record-setting propulsion system successfully completed its first public flight at Schwarze Heide Airport near Dinslaken, Germany, where it - almost silently - powered an Extra 330LE aerobatic airplane.
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Tuesday's Shareholder Meetings

Chariot Oil & Gas
Daily Internet
E2V Technologies Group
Northern Investors Company
Young & Co's Brewery
BSD Crown
Aberdeen Japan Investment Trust
Software Radio Technology
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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