Marks & Spencer Share News (MKS)

LONDON (Alliance News) - With global sentiment knocked on renewed fears of a US-China trade spat, the FTSE 100 was firmly in the red at midday on Wednesday.The dollar-earner heavy index was unable to benefit as the pound hit a five-month low following weaker-than-expected UK inflation data for April, with a rate hike from the Bank of England - having already been pushed back from May - now looking more unlikely in August.The FTSE 100 index was down 0.7%, or 56.56 points, at 7,820.89 Wednesday midday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was down 0.7%, or 138.81 points, at 21,052.63. The AIM All-Share index was down 0.4% at 1,090.63.The Cboe UK 100 index was down 1.0% at 13,269.19. The Cboe UK 250 was down 0.7% at 19,303.31, and the Cboe UK Small Companies down 0.3% at 12,883.43.Global sentiment was dented after US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he was "not really" pleased with the US-China trade talks so far and that there was a "substantial chance" his planned summit with North Korean leader Kin Jong-un in June may not work out."The biggest drag on the FTSE 100 is understandably associated with the continued potential for a trade war, with mining firms such as Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore being joined by Royal Dutch Shell amid speculation that OPEC could ease their supply restrictions given elevated prices," said IG market analyst Joshua Mahony.Anglo American was down 4.8%, the worst performer in the FTSE 100, while Antofagasta down 2.2%, Glencore down 2.1%, Shell 'A' shares down 2.7% and 'B' shares down 2.5%.London's blue-chip index was lower even despite the pound tumbling to a five-month low against the dollar - a move which would usually boost the index due to its exposure to overseas earnings - after April's inflation reading came in below expectations.UK consumer prices climbed 2.4% year-on-year in April, having been expected to remain in line with the 2.5% increase seen in March. Month-on-month, consumer prices gained 0.4% compared to the expected increase of 0.5%."Inflation falling for the third month in a row further dents any hopes of a late-summer rate rise from the Bank of England. The Bank's currently thought likely to put rates up in August. But it looks to me like 2018 will be another year of the Goldilocks economy - not too hot to stoke inflation and force interest rates higher, and not too cold to induce any panic among policymakers," said Ben Brettell, senior economist at Hargreaves Lansdown."I think we might not see a rate rise for the rest of the year. When they do rise, they'll do so only gradually, and peak at much lower levels than in previous cycles," Brettell added.Core inflation that excludes energy, food, alcoholic beverages and tobacco, slowed to 2.1% from 2.3% a month ago.Meanwhile, input price inflation rose to a four-month high of 5.3% in April from 4.4% in March. Nonetheless, this was slower than the expected 5.9%.The Office for National Statistics also showed on Wednesday British house price inflation held steady in March after easing in the previous two months. The house price index climbed 4.2% year-over-year in March, the same rate of rise as in February, which was revised down from a 4.4% increase reported earlier.Sterling was quoted at USD1.3348 Wednesday midday - having hit an intraday low USD1.3346, the worst level since late December last year - down compared to USD1.3437 at the London equities close on Tuesday.Stocks in mainland Europe at midday were also sharply lower, with the CAC 40 in Paris down 1.1% and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt 1.5% lower.Preliminary figures from IHS Markit showed Germany's private sector activity expanded at the weakest pace in twenty months in May, as its composite output index dropped to 53.1 in May from 54.6 in April. Nonetheless, any reading above 50 indicates growth in the sector.The services Purchasing Managers' Index fell to a 20-month low of 52.1 in May from 53.0 in the previous month. Meanwhile, it was forecast to remain stable at 53.0.The manufacturing PMI came in at a 15-month low of 56.8 in May, down from 58.1 in April. The expected score for the month was 57.9.Stock prices in New York on Wednesday were pointed to a lower open, set to extend Tuesday's losses.The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called down 0.3%, with the S&P 500 pointed 0.2% lower and the Nasdaq Composite off 0.5%. The three indices closed down 0.7%, 0.3% and 0.2% respectively on Tuesday.To come in the economic events calendar, there is a manufacturing PMI reading from the US at 1445 BST. Later, minutes from the last Federal Open Market Committee meeting are released at 1900 BST."Last month the US central bank confirmed they were confident the inflation target would be achieved, but were less optimistic about growth. Traders are pencilling in an interest rate hike next month, but they remain divided about how many more rate hikes we could see beyond June," said David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets.The best performer in London's FTSE 100 on Wednesday was Marks & Spencer, 3.7% higher despite a drop in annual profit.Revenue rose 0.7% to GBP10.70 billion for the year to March 31, up from GBP10.62 billion last year, but pretax profit dropped 62% to GBP66.8 million from GBP176.4 million.Adjusted pretax profit still fell 5.4% to GBP580.9 million, hit by a decrease in its Food gross margin, which fell "more than expected" by 140 basis points during the year. Nonetheless, adjusted profit came in slightly higher than the GBP573.0 million consensus figure.Standard Chartered was 1.5% higher after the Financial Times reported that Barclays has been seeking a combination with the emerging markets-focused bank.The newspaper, citing "people close to the situation", said directors were already in "private" talks, but no formal or informal approach has been made. Barclays was down 1.1%.At the top of the FTSE 250 was Softcat, 8.4% higher after it said it expects to report annual results above expectations following a strong third quarter.The group said it continued to trade well across all segments during the quarter ended April 30, with market conditions and customer demand both remaining strong.Britvic was 6.9% higher after it said interim profit dipped as revenue rose, with it "too soon to guide" on the likely impact of the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy but early indications broadly as anticipated. Revenue for the 28 weeks to April 15 rose 4.5% to GBP733.2 million, though pretax profit slipped to GBP41.8 million from GBP50.1 million last year. The company booked restructuring costs of GBP21.6 million in the period.At the bottom of the index was Dairy Crest, 8.5% lower after the dairy products maker said its performance during its recently-ended financial year was "robust" despite significant price inflation.Dairy Crest - which owns the Cathedral City, Clover, Frylight and Country Life brands - reported a pretax profit of GBP179.2 million for the financial year ended March, multiplying from GBP40.3 million the prior year. The result was predominantly helped by an exceptional gain in relation to its pension fund of GBP130.9 million. Adjusted pretax profit grew 3% to GBP62.3 million from GBP60.6 million.The company also raised GBP70 million on Wednesday in order to expand its cheese unit, as it placed 14.1 million shares at a price of 495.00 pence each.