Lloyds Share News (LLOY)

(Alliance News) - London stocks continued to decline on Wednesday ahead of a highly-anticipated interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve, while trade war fears re-emerged amid a breakdown in talks between the US and China.The large-cap index was 51.81 points, or 0.7%, lower at 7,594.96 Wednesday midday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index down 38.10 points, or 0.2%, at 19,736.72, while the AIM All-Share was up 0.1% at 933.45.The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.8% at 12,874.36. The Cboe UK 250 was down 0.3% at 17,576.13, while the Cboe UK Small Companies was flat at 11,031.86.In Paris, the CAC 40 stock index was flat while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was 0.2% higher in early afternoon trade."European markets are easing back once again today, as faint hopes of potential breakthrough in US-China trade talks disappeared once again. Despite plans for a day of negotiations, the breakdown in talks highlights a lack of progress in a trade spat that will likely rumble on for months yet," said Joshua Mahony at IG.Trade talks between top US and Chinese officials concluded in Shanghai late Wednesday afternoon, according to diplomatic sources, after Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He over the course of two days. The meeting marked the twelfth round of trade talks since the US-China trade war broke out last year. There was little expectation, however, of a resolution of the trade war at the summit.On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump also downplayed the chances of progress and insisted that the US has the upper hand because economic growth is slowing in China.Traders are also cautious ahead of the latest monetary policy decision due from the US central bank at 1900 BST, with the Federal Reserve widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points. Following the decision, a press conference will be held with Chair Jerome Powell. "With markets pricing a 79% chance of a 25-basis point cut, there is still an outside chance of a dramatic 50-basis point shift today. However, with core PCE inflation on the rise, unemployment running around multi-year lows, and core durable goods jumping to a near three-year high, the pressure to act is a radical manner seems to have eased in recent weeks," said IG's Mahony.Ahead of the Fed's move, Wall Street is pointed to an update start with the Dow Jones on course to gain 0.3%, the S&P seen up 0.2% and the Nasdaq set for a 0.3% rise. After the market close on Tuesday, Apple reported a rise in third quarter revenue, spurring shares to rise 4.2% in after-hours trade.Revenue for the iPhone maker's third quarter ended June 29 was USD53.81 billion, up 0.9% year-on-year from USD53.26 billion, boosted by Services revenue which climbed 13% to USD11.45 billion from USD10.17 billion, as well as 48% growth in Wearables, Home & Accessories to USD5.53 billion from USD3.73 billion. Chief Executive Tim Cook said: "This was our biggest June quarter ever - driven by all-time record revenue from Services, accelerating growth from Wearables, strong performance from iPad and Mac, and significant improvement in iPhone trends."Before the US market opens on Wednesday, results are due from industrial conglomerate GE. And, in the economic events calendar, the precusor to Friday's job report, ADP employment change, is out at 1315 BST.In Europe, preliminary figures showed the eurozone economy expanded only modestly in the second quarter.Gross domestic product rose 0.2% in both the euro area and the EU28 quarter-on-quarter in the three months to June 30. This follows an expansion of 0.4% in the euro area and 0.5% in the EU28 in the first quarter.On an annual basis, GDP was up 1.1% in the euro area and 1.3% in the EU28. In the first quarter, the eurozone economy had grown 1.2% and the EU28 by 1.6% from a year before.Separately, Eurostat said annual euro area inflation is estimated at 1.1% in July, slower than the 1.3% rate reported for June. "Clearly, the economy is expanding at a slow cruising speed that seems too low for inflation to increase quickly towards the ECB target," said ING. "And that gives the Bank more ammunition to act in the autumn."The euro was quoted at USD1.1146 at midday, flat compared to the equities close on Tuesday. In London at midday, some ill-received earnings were dragging on the FTSE 100. St Jamess Place, down 5.8% to take the title of worst performer in the index, reported record funds under management but left its interim dividend unchanged due to a challenging operating environment. St James's Place ended the half with GBP109.3 billion in funds under management, which represents a record for the company. At the same point last year, the wealth manager held GBP96.6 billion in funds under management.Despite this, the company kept its dividend flat at 18.49 pence per share in recognition of the "challenges in the shorter-term operating environment". Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey slipped 4.8% after the construction firm said profit in the first half of 2019 dipped. For the six months to the end of June, the FTSE 100-listed housebuilder reported a pretax profit of GBP299.8 million, down 0.4% from GBP301.0 million. Looking ahead, Taylor Wimpey expects its performance for 2019 to be in line with forecasts, with volumes for the year set to be higher than in 2018 but in an environment with flat pricing and increased build cost pressure, with margins to be lower.Lloyds Banking was down 4.4% as the lender took further payment protection insurance provisions.In the six months to June 30, Lloyds's pretax profit slipped 7.1% to GBP2.90 billion from GBP3.12 billion the year before. The bank's net interest income declined 3.0% to GBP6.15 billion from GBP6.34 billion, while total net income slipped 1.7% to GBP8.82 billion. The bank has upped its PPI provisions, meanwhile, to GBP650 million from GBP550 million last year. Lloyds said it took a PPI charge of GBP550 million in the second quarter - following a GBP100 million provision in the first - due to a "significant increase in information request volumes" ahead of the August 29 claims deadline."A higher than expected charge this quarter will hold back full year capital generation, and is likely to have negative consequences for shareholder returns this year. The bank will hope this is a final Parthian shot from the miss-selling scandal which has cost it billions, and with August's deadline for claims fast approaching, the regular extra provisions will hopefully be an unpleasant memory by Christmas," said Nicholas Hyett, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.The stocks clustered at the bottom of the index were offsetting a strong session for retailer Next which climbed 8.4% on upgraded guidance. Full price sales in the second quarter were up 4.0% on a year ago, having been expected to fall 0.5%. This lead to full price sales growth in the first half coming in at 4.3%. Online lead the way in the half, with sales up 12%, while bricks-and-mortar stores saw sales fall 3.9%.For the financial year ending in January 2020, Next now expects full price sales to grow 3.6% year-on-year, versus previous guidance of a 1.7% rise. Accordingly, Next has lifted its pretax profit guidance to GBP725 million from previous guidance of GBP715 million.Another stock to see its shares surge on upgraded guidance was FTSE 250-listed Computacenter, with the firm gaining 11%.The IT services provider said it expects full year profit to be "materially" higher than the current market forecasts of nearly 8% growth on the year prior. The improved performance follows the mid-cap reporting a "strong" first quarter, with this momentum being continued into the remainder of the first half of the year within its Technology Sourcing unit. However, this was unable to make up for Intu Properties' 23% slide.For the six months ended June, the shopping centre owner's net asset value per share fell 19% to 252 pence from 312 pence the year prior. Meanwhile, net rental income fell 8.0% to GBP205.2 million from GBP223.1 million the year before.Intu axed its interim dividend for 2019, having paid out 4.6 pence per share the year prior. This is in line with its decision to not pay a final dividend for 2018 in order to reduce debt levels. Also, joining the Lakeside shopping centre owner at the bottom of the index was luxury car maker Aston Martin Lagonda, down 12% as its set of interim results only added to recent woes. Aston Martin posted a pretax loss for the six months to June of GBP78.8 million, after a pretax profit of GBP20.8 million the same period a year prior. Revenue fell 4% to GBP407.1 million, with total wholesale volumes increased by 6% to 2,442 units. This comes after Aston Martin shares slumped last week on a downgrade to its wholesale guidance. Since listing at 1,900 pence in October last year, the stock has tumbled a staggering 74%.