LXB.L Share News (LXB)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares have opened higher Tuesday, in London's first response to a weak-than-expected jobs report in the US on Friday that seemed to push back prospects for a US interest rate hike.

Shares in British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group were the leading FTSE 100 losers early Tuesday, down 2.0%, after JPMorgan cut the stock to Neutral from Overweight, while raising Ryanair to Overweight from Neutral. Shares in Ryanair, which also reported strong traffic growth in March early Tuesday, were up 1.1%.

Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 1.2% at 6,912.73
FTSE 250: up 1.0% at 17,432.98
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.6% at 719.15
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Hang Seng: market closed for holiday.
Nikkei 225: closed up 1.3% at 19,640.54
DJIA: closed up 0.7% at 17,880.85
S&P 500: closed up 0.7% at 2,080.62
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GBP-USD: up at USD1.4902
EUR-USD: flat at USD1.0934

GOLD: down at USD1,213.10 per ounce
OIL (Brent): down at USD57.44 a barrel

(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Tuesday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times in GMT)

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
09:30 EU Sentix Investor Confidence
10:00 EU Producer Price Index
13:50 US Fed Minneapolis's Narayana Kocherlakota speech
13:55 US Redbook index
15:00 US IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism
16:00 US JOLTS Job Openings
20:00 US Consumer Credit Change
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UK economic growth held steady in the three months to the end of March and is expected to gather momentum in the coming quarter, the Confederation of British Industry said. The CBI's Growth Indicator, a survey of 764 businesses in the UK, showed an overall reading of +18% for the three months to March, meaning private sector growth was nearly unchanged from the +19% measurement shown in the three months to the end of February. But the CBI said businesses expect UK growth to strengthen in coming months, with the balance of expectations for growth in the three months from April to June at +25%. This will be driven by a pick-up in business and professional and consumer services activity in the manufacturing sector, the CBI said.
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IRELAND MAR SERVICES PMI 60.9 VS.61.4 IN FEBRUARY: MARKIT
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The International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde on Sunday welcomed Greece's commitment to make the loan payment due this week. She held informal talks with the Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis on the Greek government's reform program. Greece is due to repay an IMF instalment of EUR460 million on Thursday. There were concerns ahead of the talks that the government may chose to meet its pension and wage obligations over the loan repayment.
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Employment in the US rose by much less than expected in the month of March, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Friday. The report said non-farm payroll employment rose by 126,000 jobs in March following a downwardly revised increase of 264,000 jobs in February. Economists had expected employment to increase by about 245,000 jobs compared to the addition of 295,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month. Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the unemployment rate held at a six-year low of 5.5% in March, unchanged from February and in line with economist estimates.
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Growth in the US's services sector slowed in March for the first time this year, according to the results of an industry survey released on Monday. A slowdown in production contributed to the decreased pace of growth, though March also saw a pick up in new orders. Prices and employment expanded in the month as well. The Institute for Supply Management said its index of non-manufacturing activity came in at 56.5 for March. This was down from the level of 56.9 seen in the previous month.
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India's central bank kept its key rate unchanged and vowed to maintain its accommodative monetary policy stance. The Reserve Bank of India governed by Raghuram Rajan decided to retain its repo rate at 7.50% and the reverse repo rate at 6.50%. The bank reduced its key rates by 25 basis points each in January and March.
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Australia's central bank left its key rate unchanged as widely expected by economists and policymakers said further easing may be appropriate over the period ahead in order to foster sustainable growth in demand and inflation consistent with the target. The policy board of the Reserve Bank of Australia led by Governor Glenn Stevens maintained its key rate at 2.25%.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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JPMORGAN CUTS IAG TO 'NEUTRAL' ('OVERWEIGHT') - PRICE TARGET 8.50 (5.50) EUR
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TRADERS: MACQUARIE CUTS AMEC TO 'UNDERPERFORM'
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JP Morgan Raises Ryanair To Overweight From Neutral, Price Target Upped To EUR13 From EUR8.50
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JP Morgan Initiates Wizz Air At Overweight, Price Target 1,700p
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CITIGROUP INITIATES WIZZ AIR WITH 'BUY' - TARGET 2250 PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Rio Tinto said it has completed the off-market buy-back tender of Rio Tinto Ltd shares, increasing the total buyback to AUD560 million due to strong demand. The FTSE 100-listed Anglo-Australian miner said the buyback, which was increased to AUD560 million from AUD500 million, was made at AUD48.44 per share, a 14% discount to the market price. Rio Tinto Ltd bought back a total of 11.6 million shares. The on-market buy-back of Rio Tinto PLC shares, due to continue until the end of the year, will total approximately USD1.58 billion, the company said. So far, it has repurchased a total of USD189 million worth of shares.
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ITV is understood to be in talks to acquire the television arm of film production company The Weinstein Co in a deal that would be worth up to USD950 million, The Times reported. The deal, if completed, would include an upfront payment of up to USD400 million, the paper said, citing reports in The Hollywood Reporter, with further payments based on future growth to potentially double the total consideration.
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Shire announced that it has reached an agreement with the US Food and Drug Administration on a clear regulatory path for SHP465, an investigational oral stimulant medication being evaluated as a potential treatment for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD in adults. Shire said it has agreed with the FDA to conduct a short-term efficacy and safety study in pediatric patients with ADHD. While Shire intends to pursue an adult indication, the FDA is requesting this additional pediatric data to better understand the potential effects of SHP465 on children with ADHD in the event of use in this population.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Capital & Counties Properties said the establishment of the Earls Court Partnership Ltd joint venture with Transport for London has been completed. The FTSE 250-listed property company said the partnership has been completed following the grant of leases and transfers of land into the partnership.
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Micro Focus: Trading Continued To Trade In Line With Guidance At Constant Currency
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Ryanair Holdings said its traffic increased year-on-year in March and said its load factor rose by 10 percentage points. The Irish budget carrier said its traffic increased to 6.67 million customers in March, up 28% from the 5.2 million customers it carried a year earlier. The company said its rolling annual traffic to March grew 11% to 90.5 million. Ryanair said its load factor also improved significantly in the month year-on-year, up to 90% from 80% a year ago.
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Flybe Group said it expects to report full-year results in line with market expectations following a return to growth in the final quarter of its financial year to the end of March. The European regional carrier said it expects to be around breakeven on its adjusted pretax profit, excluding the GBP26 million cost of its Embraer E195 jets and any impact from US dollar loan revaluation. But the adjusted pretax profit would include the GBP10 million writedown on its Finland joint venture and the GBP6 million provision made on flight delays. The company said it delivered 15% additional capacity in the fourth quarter, with load factors held flat amid similar 15% passenger growth. Overall, revenue in the fourth quarter increased by 5%.
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LXB Retail Properties said it has exchanged contracts on its Biggleswade and Rushden investments on a forward-funding basis and intends to use the proceeds from the two disposals to return cash to shareholders. LXB said it is selling its entire investment in Biggleswade, primarily the A1 Retail Park, for GBP58.5 million, with a further GBP10.2 million due upon practical completion of the deal and a further GBP11.3 million due linked to the final investment appraisal. The company also has struck a deal to sell the Rushden Lakes leisure and shopping site in Northamptonshire to The Crown Estate for GBP70 million, reflecting an underlying overall yield of 4.65% for the retail elements.
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Identity data company GB Group said it expects to beat market expectations for its financial year to the end of March on the back of strong organic and acquisition-driven growth. GB said it expects its adjusted operating profit for the year to be GBP10.2 million, up around 46% from the GBP7.2 million posted a year earlier and ahead of market consensus. According to Morningstar, the consensus forecast for pretax profit for the company is GBP9.5 million.
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First Property Group said it expects results for its recently completed financial year to be in line with market expectations. The property fund manager and investor said that trading and pretax profit for the year ended March 31 are both expected to be in line with what the market has been forecasting. In addition, the group said it had some GBP12 million in cash at the end of the financial year, giving it the capacity to make new investments.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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Confirming media speculation, US logistics giant FedEx Corp and European peer TNT Express said they have reached an agreement for FedEx to buy TNT for an all-cash public offer of EUR8 per TNT share. The transaction represents an implied equity value of EUR4.4 billion for TNT Express. The offer represents a premium of 33% over TNT's closing price of EUR6 per share in Amsterdam on Thursday. The transaction has been unanimously recommended by TNT Express' executive board and supervisory board. PostNL also has irrevocably confirmed to support the offer and tender its 14.7% shareholding in TNT.
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South Korean conglomerate Samsung Electronics said it expects operating profit for the first quarter to decline 31% year-over year and sales to fall 12%. However, operating profit is projected to grow sequentially. The operating profit forecast tops current analysts' expectations, while sales guidance is below estimates. The company is scheduled to report financial results for the first quarter in late April. Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung is now projected to report its sixth consecutive quarter of decline in earnings.
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Chemicals giant DuPont Co said that activist investment firm Trian Fund Management LP's proposal to break up the company would cost USD4 billion. DuPont said that Trian is pushing a value-destructive agenda to break up the company and add excessive debt to DuPont, which the board believes will result in a less competitive company with weaker prospects for value creation. The agenda carries extensive risks as well as estimated upfront monetary impact of USD4 billion and estimated ongoing increased costs of USD1 billion annually.
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Tuesday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Helius Energy
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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