Legal & General Share News (LGEN)

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London are set to open cautiously higher on Wednesday, with no new developments in the US-China trade war overnight but traders wary that tensions could notch up once again following a volatile few days.In early UK company news, Standard Life Aberdeen reported a reduction in outflows, while Flutter Entertainment said it is pleased by its performance in the US, and UK energy regulator Ofgem said price caps will be lowered this coming winter. IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 index of large-caps to open 16.11 points higher at 7,187.80 on Wednesday. The FTSE 100 index closed down 52.16 points, or 0.7%, at 7,171.69 on Tuesday."European futures are looking a little flat ahead of the open on Wednesday as investors watch on nervously for any further escalation in the trade war between the US and China," said Craig Erlam at Oanda."We've gone from being hopeful a couple of weeks ago that talks in Shanghai would aid progress towards a deal and the removal of tariffs, to new tariffs, China no longer buying US agricultural goods and the US labeling China a currency manipulator. That's some escalation in a little over a week."In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street rebounded after sharp losses in the previous session, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending up 1.2%, the S&P 500 up 1.3%, and Nasdaq Composite up 1.4%. The Dow had fallen 2.9% and the S&P 3.0% on Monday.However, in Asia on Wednesday, stocks were mixed. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index ended down 0.3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite is up 0.2%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is down 0.1%."Overnight, the PBoC set the reference point of the yuan at CNY6.9996, which was slightly weaker than expected, and in turn we saw stocks in Asia slide a little. We could be in for a bit of back and forth when it comes to the Chinese currency in the near-term, and it is likely to be a driver of volatility," said David Madden at CMC Markets. On Monday, the Chinese yuan slipped below the key level of CNY7 to the dollar, which lead to the US Treasury Department labelling China a currency manipulator. The US had not put China on the currency blacklist since 1994, and the designation could pave the way for further measures against China.Despite branding China a currency manipulator, the US on Tuesday said it remains open to negotiations in the hopes of reaching a trade deal, and will host a delegation from Beijing in Washington next month.In early UK company news on Wednesday, Standard Life Aberdeen said net outflows slowing in the first half of the year.Assets under management were up 5% to GBP577.5 billion at June 30, with net outflows at GBP15.9 billion, lower than GBP16.9 billion a year ago."Encouragingly this was helped by an improvement in the investment performance of key strategies with reduced net outflows from Absolute Return compared to H2 2018. However, despite this improvement in investment performance, demand for equities remains low across the wider market and we continued to see elevated equity net outflows," said Standard Life.Gross inflows slipped to GBP36.5 billion from GBP37.4 million.Income from continuing operations for the first half of the year came in at GBP1.68 billion, up from GBP1.08 billion a year ago, with pretax profit shooting up to GBP629 million from GBP127 million.Looking ahead, Standard Life said that the current environment for asset management is tough as macroeconomic and political uncertainty persists. However, the company said its strong balance sheet and cost controls should allow it to invest for growth and generate sustainable dividends.The asset manager paid an unchanged interim dividend of 7.3p.Insurance and financial services firm Legal & General said it delivered a "strong" set of interim results, and the company is well-prepared for "the full range of foreseeable Brexit outcomes".Operating profit increased 11% year-on-year to GBP1.01 billion, with pretax profit rising to GBP1.05 billion from GBP942 million a year ago. L&G achieved a return on equity of 20.2%, slightly lower than 20.3% a year ago.Legal & General Investment Management fee revenue was up to GBP425 million from GBP401 million a year ago, with assets under management reaching GBP1.14 trillion versus just GBP985 billion a year prior.Legal & General paid an interim dividend of 4.93p per share, up from 4.6p a year ago. "Legal & General's five businesses collectively delivered another strong set of results in H1 2019," commented Chief Executive Nigel Wilson.He continued: "We are well-prepared for the full range of foreseeable Brexit outcomes and we remain confident in our ability to deliver Inclusive Capitalism, growing value for shareholders, customers and the broader economy."Glencore reported a drop in earnings in what it said was a challenging half-year for its commodities.Further, Glencore is to put the Mutanda mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on care & maintenance by the end of 2019 due to reduced cobalt prices.Glencore's adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the six months to end-June came in at USD5.58 billion, down 32% on a year before, and well short of analyst consensus of USD5.94 billion.Bookmaker Flutter Entertainment, formerly known as Paddy Power Betfair, reported a strong performance in the US in the first half.Revenue for the half was up 18% to GBP1.02 billion, though pretax profit fell 24% to GBP81 million. Online revenue was up 8%, while Retail revenue fell 4% as solid growth in sports was offset by a reduction in machine revenue following changes to maximum fixed-odds betting terminal stakes. Flutter said its annual guidance is in line with market expectations, with annual underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation - excluding the US - expected between GBP420 million to GBP440 million. In the US, customer acquisition investment is likely to lead to an expected Ebitda loss of GBP55 million.US revenue in the half-year more than doubled to GBP160 million from just GBP61 million a year ago. In the UK, meanwhile, revenue slipped to GBP421.5 million from GBP426.1 million year-on-year."We have had another productive six months at Flutter Entertainment. All divisions are performing strongly on an underlying basis and have responded well to the challenges faced. We are pleased with the progress we are making to build a more diversified and sustainable business," said Chief Executive Peter Jackson."In the US, our FanDuel brand and product proposition enabled us to take 50% of the sports-betting market in New Jersey in H1. We are delighted with this performance and have been encouraged by the regulatory momentum that has seen 10 states regulate online sports betting since the repeal of PASPA," he added.The betting firm held its interim flat at 67p.Transport operator Go-Ahead Group said the UK Department for Transport has confirmed a further extension to the current Southeastern franchise, but the competition for the next franchise has been terminated. The current franchise will now run to April 1, 2020, rather than expiring on November 10, 2019. "It has also notified us that the competition for the next South Eastern franchise has been terminated," Go-Ahead said in a statement, adding the firm had put "a lot of hard work" into a "strong bid".Energy regulator Ofgem said energy caps are set to fall this winter to due lower wholesale costs. The default price cap will fall by GBP75, to GBP1,179 from GBP1,254 per year, for the winter period running October to March. As a result, energy bills will fall this winter for around 15 million households who are protected by the price caps, the regulator said.Ofgem said this is because wholesale energy prices have "significantly fallen" between February and June this year. In the economic calendar on Wednesday, there is UK Halifax house prices at 0830 BST.