LONDON (Alliance News) - Stocks ended higher on Thursday following steep losses in the previous session, as investors welcomed the US and China returning to the negotiating table for trade talks. The FTSE 100 index closed up 0.8%, or 58.51 points, at 7,556.38. The FTSE 250 ended up 0.8%, or 153.14 points, at 20,473.49, and the AIM All-Share closed down 0.2%, or 2.20 points, at 1,078.24.The Cboe UK 100 closed up 1.1% at 12,814.52, the Cboe UK 250 closed up 0.8% at 18,594.17, and the Cboe UK Small Companies closed flat at 12,157.72."Today has seen a reversal of fortunes for many markets, as traders reacted to news of a potential resurrection in trade talks between China and the US. Some of the biggest losers this week have stemmed from a shift into the safe-haven dollar, with commodities tumbling and traders moving out of stocks," said IG market analyst Joshua Mahony.China has accepted an invitation from the US for a new round of trade talks to be held in late August.China's Ministry of Commerce said that a Chinese delegation led by Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen will travel to the US for trade talks to be held with US Under Secretary of Treasury for International Affairs David Malpass.A further positive arose as the Turkish lira extended gains for a third day on news of a USD15 billion financial support package from Qatar.Furthermore, in a bid to deter short-selling in the nation's currency, Turkey's banking regulator said it would limit banks' currency swap transactions."Nerves are a little calmer and for that reason we are seeing funds flow back into eurozone stocks. A crisis is rarely solved quickly, and traders are likely to remain cautious. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan can't rely on quick fixes forever, and eventually the slump in the lira will catch up with Turkey in the form of higher inflation," said David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets.On the London Stock Exchange, Russian steelmaker
Evraz ended the session as the worst blue chip performer, down 5.9% after the stock went ex-dividend meaning new buyers no longer qualify for the latest payout.
Kingfisher closed down 4.8% after the DIY retailer stellar UK performance failed to please investors as shares slipped on the back of weak trading in the company's French unit.The company increased its UK total sales in the period from May to July by 3.5% to GBP3.26 billion from GBP3.15 billion, with like-for-like sales increasing 1.6%.However, Kingfisher's performance in France struggled from "weaker footfall". Total sales were flat at GBP1.19 billion, with like-for-like down 1.0%, but Castorama sales decreased 3.1% to GBP648 million from GBP668 million.
Informa closed down 1.2% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the events and business information group to Equal Weight from Overweight. In the FTSE 250,
On the Beach ended as the best performer, up 16% after the online travel agent's subsidiary On the Beach Travel bought Classic Collection Holidays for GBP20 million. Classic Collection sells luxury beach holiday packages through an independent network of more than 1800 third party travel agencies and homeworkers. The payment will comprise GBP14.6 million in cash on completion, GBP2.7 million in cash which will be deferred for 12 months post completion, and GBP2.7 million payable via 607,747 On the Beach shares.
Marshalls closed up 14% after the paving stones maker said it has started the second half of 2018 well after seeing off bad weather to produce a strong interim performance. Recent trading, in June and July, Marshalls said, has been "very strong", with revenue for the two months 21% higher year-on-year. This comes after Marshalls posted revenue of GBP244.3 million for the six months to June, up 12% year-on-year, with pretax profit also increasing 12% to GBP32.5 million. Marshalls raised its interim dividend to 4.00p per share, having returned 3.40p to shareholders a year prior. At the other end of the midcap index,
Moneysupermarket.com ended as the worst performer, down 5.2% amid a report from Reuters saying e-commerce giant Amazon.com is considering entering into the UK price comparison website market.The news agency said Amazon has been sounding out some of Europe's insurers to see if they would contribute products to such a site. Three industry executives told Reuters they had held talks with Amazon about the possible launch of a site.In addition, blue-chip insurer
Admiral, which owns the Confused.com website, closed down 0.6%. The pound was higher against the dollar quoted at USD1.2727 at the London equities close, compared to USD1.2692 at the close on Wednesday, after well-received UK retail sales data. UK retail sales rebounded strongly in July, exceeding expectations, thanks to store promotions and robust online sales.Retail sales rose 0.7% month-on-month in July, in contrast to a 0.5% fall in June, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Thursday. Sales were forecast to increase by 0.2%.On a yearly basis, overall retail sales volume growth accelerated to 3.5% in July from 2.9% a month ago. Economists had expected sales to grow at a stable rate of 2.9%."Many consumers stayed away from some high street stores in July, but online sales were very strong, supported by several retailers launching promotions," ONS Senior Statistician Rhian Murphy said."Food sales remained robust as people continued to enjoy the World Cup and the sunshine," added Murphy.Although, Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Laith Khalaf highlighted that the UK retail sector is still beset with underlying problems despite the feel-good factor from this summer's heatwave and euphoria over the England national team's progress at the World Cup."The consumer environment still looks challenging, with big rises in energy and fuel costs hitting household budgets against a backdrop of weak wage growth. The August interest rate rise is also going to increase borrowing costs for many, and though debt is still cheap, in such a constrained consumer environment that may well be enough to dampen activity," said Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Laith Khalaf. In Paris the CAC 40 ended up 0.9%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt ended up 0.7%. The euro was firm against the dollar at USD1.1392 at the European equities close, against USD1.1326 late Wednesday. In economic news from the continent, the euro area trade surplus decreased for a third straight month in June, albeit slightly, preliminary data from Eurostat showed. The seasonally adjusted trade surplus fell to EUR16.70 billion from EUR16.90 billion in May. Economists had expected the figure to remain unchanged at May's level. Exports rose 1.6% month-on-month and imports grew 1.8%. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the trade surplus decreased to EUR22.50 billion from EUR25.70 billion in the same month last year.Stocks in New York were higher at the London equities close. The DJIA was up 1.4%, the S&P 500 index up 0.9% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.8%.In US economic news, new residential construction rebounded by much less than expected in the month of July, the Commerce Department revealed in a report.The report said housing starts rose by 0.9% to an annual rate of 1.168 million in July after plunging by 12.9% to a revised rate of 1.158 million in June.Economists had expected housing starts to soar by 7.4% to an annual rate of 1.260 million from the 1.173 million originally reported for the previous month.In US corporate news, retail giant Walmart reported a net loss for the second quarter as higher revenues were offset by a one-time charge, among other items.However, both revenue and adjusted earnings per share topped analysts' estimates, while Walmart US same-store sales recorded the strongest growth in more than ten years.Total revenue rose 3.8% to USD128.0 billion in the three month to the end of July from USD123.4 billion last year. Excluding currency, total revenue increased 3.6% to USD127.8 billion.Walmart's second-quarter net loss was USD861.0 million, or USD0.29 per share, compared to net income of USD2.90 billion or USD0.96 per share in the same period last year.Looking ahead, Walmart now expects 2019 net sales to increase 2% in constant currency, compared with the prior guidance for an increase in a range of 1.5% to 2%.Brent oil was higher quoted at USD71.07 a barrel at the London equities close from USD70.33 at the close on Wednesday. Gold was down quoted at USD1,179.35 an ounce at the London equities close against USD1,182.37 late Wednesday. The precious metal fell to an intraday low of USD1,160.73 overnight - its lowest since January 2017. The economic events calendar on Friday has inflation data from the eurozone and Canada at 1000 BST and 1330 BST respectively. A light UK corporate calendar on Friday has half year results from independent cruise port operator Global Ports Holding.
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