Less Ads, More Data, More Tools Register for FREE
Sponsored Content
Sponsored Content

Pin to quick picksNEX.L Share News (NEX)

  • There is currently no data for NEX

Watchlists are a member only feature

Login to your account

Alerts are a premium feature

Login to your account

LONDON MARKET OPEN: Stocks open higher; hawkish ECB boosts euro

Mon, 23rd Jan 2023 09:09

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened higher on Monday, as investors were hopeful that cooling US inflation and weakening economic data will slow the pace of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

The FTSE 100 index opened up 15.31 points, 0.2%, at 7,785.90. The FTSE 250 was up 90.42 points, 0.5%, at 19,793.05 points, and the AIM All-Share was up 3.46 points, 0.4%, at 859.48.

The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 778.78, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 17,279.17, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.2% at 14,005.84.

"Relief that inflation is finally past its peak is palpable, and there has been rash of data showing central bank policies aimed at dampening down demand appear to be working," said Susannah Streeter, senior investments and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller on Friday said there is ample evidence that a steep climb in interest rates has damped demand and economic activity, and suggested the US central bank can further slow its rate hikes.

The Fed had been raising rates a pace of three quarters of a percentage point at a time before slowing this to half a percentage point at its December policy meeting.

Alongside recent data showing a slowing in US economic activity, inflation moderated to 6.5% in December from the 40-year high seen in June last year.

Waller warned that policymakers have "a considerable way to go" towards their 2% inflation goal, noting that the recent cooling was largely led by the drop in energy prices. A slight uptick in month-on-month core inflation - which excludes food and energy - was cause for caution, he noted.

Wall Street rallied on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending up 1.0%, the S&P 500 up 1.9% and the Nasdaq Composite up 2.7%.

The dollar was mostly soft against major currencies early Monday in London.

Sterling was quoted at USD1.2412, higher than USD1.2379 at the London equities close on Friday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY129.99, up slightly versus JPY129.88

The euro traded at USD1.0904, firm from USD1.0837. Crossing over the USD1.09 mark represents a nine-month high for the single currency, closing the gap on USD1.0936 seen last April.

The less hawkish tone from the US central bank was in stark contrast to comments from its European counterpart.

In an interview with Dutch broadcaster WNL on Sunday, ECB governing council member Klaas Knot said two further 50 basis point hikes should be expected in February and March.

"Expect us to not be done by then and that more steps will follow in May and June," Knot said, in comments reported by Reuters.

In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris was marginally higher, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.2%.

In London, housebuilders were on the rise, after Jefferies upgraded their price targets. Persimmon rose 1.4%, Taylor Wimpey was up 0.9%, Barratt added 1.2% and Redrow was up 1.1%.

Oil major Shell slipped 0.6% as Morgan Stanley cut the stock to 'equal weight' from 'overweight'.

Brent oil fetched USD87.32 a barrel early Monday, up from USD86.55 on Friday, while gold was quoted at USD1,919.98 an ounce, down from USD1,925.41.

In the FTSE 250, National Express was the top performer, adding 5.4%.

The transport provider said it has won a contract worth over EUR1 billion to operate the RE1 and RE11 Rhein-Ruhr-Express lines in Germany to 2033. It first took over the operation of the two lines in February 2022 through an emergency contract award.

Following the new contract award, National Express now operates all three asset-light Rhein-Ruhr-Express lots under long-term contracts. The company noted that the contract is worth EUR1 billion over the lifetime of the agreement.

National Express said that the contract establishes it as "the second largest rail transport company in the region, delivering an anticipated 20 million train kilometres in 2023".

Among London's smallcaps, Dignity rose 8.8%.

The funeral provider said its directors will unanimously recommend a 550 pene per share takeover offer to shareholders. The GBP281 million offer comes from a consortium including SPWOne V, Castelnau and Phoenix Asset Management Partners, who already own a 29% stake in the firm.

In a separate trading update, Dignity said it expects underlying revenue to have shrunk to no more than GBP275 million in 2022 from GBP312.0 million the year before. Underlying operating profit is expected to be no more than GBP20 million, less than half of GBP55.8 million in 2021. The poor performance was due to changes in pricing strategy and consumers opting for lower-priced products, in addition to an increase in Dignity's cost base.

Saga rose 2.2%.

The over-50s travel operator is seeking buyers for its in-house insurance underwriting business, the company said early Monday, confirming a report by the Sunday Times.

Saga said it is in discussions for a possible disposal of Acromas Insurance, the underwriter within its larger home and motor insurance business. However, Saga said it remains committed to providing insurance to its customers.

Saga noted that Acromas underwrites 25% to 30% of its overall insurance business. Selling it would move the risk associated with those policies elsewhere.

On AIM, online clothing retailer Sosandar rose 11%.

Sosandar said it will start selling a collection of its products via Sainsbury's. The contract will begin online only before expanding to select stores later in the year. The partnership marks Sosandar's first in-store presence, allowing it to become a "truly omnichannel retailer".

This will "[further diversify] its route to market and [increase] brand awareness across its target demographic, whilst driving growth sales and [profit before tax]," Sosandar said.

Shares in J Sainsbury were up 0.7%.

It is set to be a quiet trading week in Asia, with Chinese markets shut to mark the Lunar New Year. The Hong Kong market will reopen on Thursday, while Shanghai will remain closed all week.

In Japan on Monday, the Nikkei 225 index closed up 1.3%, while the S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.1%.

Still to come on Monday's economic calendar, there is flash EU consumer confidence at 1500 GMT.

By Elizabeth Winter, Alliance News senior markets reporter

Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

More News
2 Jun 2023 12:16

Director dealings: National Express board invests, British Land CFO makes £0.1m sale

(Sharecast News) - British Land was on the list of director sells on Friday, after its chief financial officer sold more than £0.1m to cover his bills after he vested a number of performance shares.

Read more
26 May 2023 09:41

LONDON BROKER RATINGS: RBC cuts Halfords; Berenberg likes Sabre

(Alliance News) - The following London-listed shares received analyst recommendations Friday morning and Thursday:

Read more
10 May 2023 09:59

National Express to change name to Mobico in early June

(Alliance News) - National Express Group PLC on Wednesday said it will change its name to Mobico Group PLC from early June.

Read more
10 May 2023 07:55

LONDON BRIEFING: Compass sets share buyback; Melrose ups outlook

(Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 is expected to open marginally higher on Wednesday, following positive updates from some UK blue-chip companies and ahead of a US consumer price index reading.

Read more
10 May 2023 07:20

National Express announces name change to Mobico Group

(Sharecast News) - National Express announced its decision to change its name to Mobico Group.

Read more
3 May 2023 14:51

UK shareholder meetings calendar - next 7 days

Thursday 4 May 
AIB Group PLCAGM
Aviva PLCAGM
Aviva PLCGM re capital reduction
BAE Systems PLCAGM
Bivictrix Therapeutics PLCAGM
Domino's Pizza Group PLCAGM
Glanbia PLCAGM
Grafton Group PLCAGM
Hammerson PLCAGM
Howden Joinery Group PLCAGM
Hurricane Energy PLCCourt Meeting & GM re takeover by Prax Exploration & Production PLC  
Indivior PLCAGM
IMI PLCAGM
Irish Residential Properties REIT PLCAGM
ITV PLCAGM
Jardine Matheson Holdings LtdAGM
Johnson Service Group PLCAGM
LungLife AI IncAGM
Mincon Group PLCAGM
Mondi PLCAGM
Moneysupermarket.com Group PLCAGM
Morgan Sindall Group PLCAGM
Spirent Communications PLCAGM
Personal Group Holdings PLCAGM
Phoenix Group Holdings PLCAGM
Rathbones Group PLCAGM
SIG PLCAGM
Ten Entertainment Group PLCAGM
Travis Perkins PLCAGM
Witan Investment Trust PLCAGM
Friday 5 May 
abrdn Smaller Companies Income Trust PLCAGM
Holders Technology PLCAGM
HSBC Holdings PLCAGM
InterContinental Hotels Group PLCAGM
James Fisher & Sons PLCAGM
Man Group PLCAGM
Rightmove PLCAGM
UK Oil & Gas PLCAGM
Monday 8 May 
no events scheduled 
Tuesday 9 May 
Caledonia Mining Corp PLCAGM
Direct Line Insurance Group PLCAGM
Foxtons Group PLCAGM
Hostelworld Group PLCAGM
IWG PLCAGM
Just Group PLCAGM
Midwich Group PLCAGM
Osirium Technologies PLCAGM
Windward LtdAGM
Wednesday 10 May 
abrdn PLCAGM
Antofagasta PLCAGM
Cenkos Securities PLCAGM
Ecora Resources PLCAGM
H&T Group PLCAGM
Harbour Energy PLCAGM
Jupiter Fund Management PLCAGM
Literacy Capital PLCAGM
Luceco PLCAGM
Marshalls PLCAGM
National Express Group PLCAGM
Renewables Infrastructure Group LtdAGM
Rentokil Initial PLCAGM
Seplat Energy PLCAGM
Spirax-Sarco Engineering PLCAGM
TClarke PLCAGM
  
Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Read more
19 Apr 2023 12:15

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Stocks falter on US hike expectations and UK CPI

(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 traded lower on Wednesday at midday, hurt by a stubbornly high UK inflation reading and expectations for more interest rate hikes by both the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve.

Read more
19 Apr 2023 08:19

National Express quarterly revenue rises; begins cost-saving programme

(Alliance News) - National Express Group PLC on Wednesday said its first quarter was in line with expectations, as it launched a productivity improvement and cost reduction programme amid concerns about continued uncertainty in the transport industry.

Read more
19 Apr 2023 07:18

UK, German help drive rise in National Express Q1 revenue

(Sharecast News) - Transport operator National Express reported a rise in first-quarter revenues driven by an improvement in UK buses and German rail.

Read more
6 Apr 2023 15:43

UK dividends calendar - next 7 days

Friday 7 April 
Safestore Holdings PLCdividend payment date
Monday 10 April 
Barratt Developments PLCex-dividend payment date
RIT Capital Partners PLCex-dividend payment date
Tuesday 11 April 
Dunelm Group PLCdividend payment date
Gore Street Energy Storage Fund PLCdividend payment date
Hays PLCdividend payment date
JPMorgan Global Growth & Income PLCdividend payment date
Mobius Investment Trust PLCdividend payment date
Renishaw PLCdividend payment date
Ricardo PLCdividend payment date
Wednesday 12 April 
Assura PLCdividend payment date
Goodwin PLCdividend payment date
LondonMetric Property PLCdividend payment date
Personal Assets Trust PLCdividend payment date
Schroder European Real Estate Investment Trust PLCex-dividend payment date
Thursday 13 April 
Alfa Financial Software Holdings PLCspecial ex-dividend payment date
Alpha FX Group PLCex-dividend payment date
BlackRock Latin American Investment Trust PLCex-dividend payment date
Capital & Regional PLCex-dividend payment date
Carr's Group PLCex-dividend payment date
Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLCdividend payment date
DFS Furniture PLCex-dividend payment date
Diageo PLCdividend payment date
Foxtons Group PLCex-dividend payment date
Franchise Brands PLCex-dividend payment date
Grafton Group PLCex-dividend payment date
GSK PLCdividend payment date
Harbour Energy PLCex-dividend payment date
ITV PLCex-dividend payment date
Johnson Service Group PLCex-dividend payment date
JPMorgan Asia Growth & Income PLCex-dividend payment date
JPMorgan Japan Small Cap Growth & Income PLCex-dividend payment date
Just Group PLCex-dividend payment date
Kenmare Resources PLCex-dividend payment date
Kerry Group PLCex-dividend payment date
Kingspan Group PLCex-dividend payment date
Law Debenture Corp PLCdividend payment date
Lloyds Banking Group PLCex-dividend payment date
Manchester & London Investment Trust PLCex-dividend payment date
National Express Group PLCex-dividend payment date
Old Mutual Ltdex-dividend payment date
Persimmon PLCex-dividend payment date
Rotork PLCex-dividend payment date
Scottish American Investment Company PLCdividend payment date
Smurfit Kappa Group PLCex-dividend payment date
Softcat PLCex-dividend payment date
TP ICAP Group PLCex-dividend payment date
Trifast PLCdividend payment date
Unite Group PLCex-dividend payment date
  
Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Read more
17 Mar 2023 09:32

LONDON BROKER RATINGS: UBS likes LSEG; BofA lifts Weir Group

(Alliance News) - The following London-listed shares received analyst recommendations Friday morning and Thursday:

Read more
13 Mar 2023 07:54

LONDON BRIEFING: HSBC buys UK arm of failed Silicon Valley Bank

(Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 was called down on Monday morning, as the fall out from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank continues, with HSBC Holdings stepping in to buy SVB's UK arm.

Read more
9 Mar 2023 09:15

LONDON BROKER RATINGS: Liberum cuts National Express to 'sell'

(Alliance News) - The following London-listed shares received analyst recommendations Thursday morning:

Read more
9 Mar 2023 07:12

Liberum cuts National Express to 'sell' on leverage woes

(Sharecast News) - Liberum downgraded National Express on Thursday to 'sell' from 'hold' and cut the price target to 115p from 155p as it said leverage remains its key concern.

Read more
2 Mar 2023 16:54

LONDON MARKET CLOSE: FTSE 100 higher as CRH shines, sterling weakens

(Alliance News) - Stocks in London were largely, but tentatively, higher at the close on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 boosted by a strong performance from building materials firm CRH and a weaker pound.

Read more

Track Your Investments

Register for FREE

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.

Quickpicks are a member only feature

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.