Next Share News (NXT)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Another weak reading of the Chinese economy, this time of the service sector, depressed UK share prices at the open Wednesday. Oil and the pound also both continued to decline, with Brent below USD36 a barrel, while gold added to its recent gains.

Royal Mail led FTSE 100 gainers, up 1.8%, after being upgraded by Barclays.

Sainsbury's was up 1.0%, after the stock's 5.2% decline on Tuesday, following the announcement of its takeover approach to Home Retail Group, which was leading FTSE 250 decliners, down 6.8% after rising 34% on Tuesday.

Share in chip-maker ARM Holdings were down 3.4%, on a report that major customer Apple is cutting iPhone production.

Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: down 0.6% at 6,100.36
FTSE 250: down 0.4% at 17,131.43
AIM ALL-SHARE: flat at 734.56
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Hang Seng: closed down 1.0% at 20,980.81
Nikkei 225: closed down 1.0% at 18,191.32
DJIA: closed up 0.1% at 17,158.66
S&P 500: closed up 0.2% at 2,016.71
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GBP: down at USD1.4637 (USD1.4651)
EUR: flat at USD1.0729 (USD1.0725)

GOLD: up at USD1,082.28 per ounce (USD1,078.11)
OIL (Brent): down at USD35.88 a barrel (USD36.36)

(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Wednesday'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
10:00 EU Producer Price Index
12:00 US MBA Mortgage Applications
13:15 US ADP Employment
13:30 US Trade Balance
13:30 Canada International Merchandise Trade
14:45 US Markit Services and Composite PMI
15:00 US ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI
15:00 US Factory Orders
15:30 US EIA Crude Oil Stocks
19:00 US FOMC Minutes
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The services sector in China remained in expansion in December, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Caixin showed, with a 17-month low PMI score of 50.2. That's down from 51.2 in November, although it remains barely above the line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The composite index came in with a score of 49.4 in December, down from 50.5 in the previous month, turning to contraction.
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Shop prices in the UK continued to decline in December, the British Retail Consortium said, falling 2.0% on year. That follows a 2.1% decline in November. Grocery prices were the main culprit, skidding 1.0% on month in December and 5.0% on year.
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Ireland's service sector expanded at a slower pace in December compared to previous month, survey results from Markit showed. Nonetheless, the sector remained strong on improving client demand. The seasonally adjusted Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 61.8 in December from 63.6 in November. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector.
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The services sector in Japan remained in expansion in December, the latest survey from Nikkei revealed, with a PMI score of 51.5. That's down marginally from 51.6 in November. The composite index came in with a score of 52.2 in December, down from 52.3 in the previous month.
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South Korea and the US condemn an apparent hydrogen bomb test announced by North Korea. "North Korea's provocation is in clear violation of Security Council resolutions and a serious challenge to international peace and security," Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung Nam said, according to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency. The UN Security Council was reported to have scheduled a meeting for Wednesday morning in New York to discuss North Korea's surprise announcement.
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Kuwait recalled its ambassador from Iran amid a growing regional dispute surrounding Saudi Arabia's weekend execution of a dissident Shiite cleric. The Gulf emirate called in the Iranian ambassador and handed him an official protest over the storming of the Saudi embassy in Tehran by demonstrators after the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, Kuwait's official KUNA news agency reported.
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Cheap petrol and low interest rates powered record car sales in 2015 in the US, according to sales data issued by carmakers. The sector had 2015 sales of at least 17.42 million cars and light trucks, topping the 2000 record of 17.4 million, car industry publication Automotive News reported.
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US President Barack Obama cried in an emotional speech in which he announced an expansion of background checks on gun buyers, as he seeks to tighten regulations without the help of a Congress that has frequently frustrated his efforts. "The gun lobby may be holding Congress hostage, but they can't hold America hostage," he said. "We do not have to accept that carnage is the price of freedom." The measure targets sellers who have avoided registering as gun dealers, even though they are regularly doing so for profit, including online and at gun shows.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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BARCLAYS RAISES ROYAL MAIL TO 'OVERWEIGHT' ('EQUAL WEIGHT') - TARGET 575 (440) PENCE
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JPMORGAN CUTS HSBC TO 'UNDERWEIGHT' ('NEUTRAL') - PRICE TARGET 500 (580) PENCE
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TRADERS: JEFFERIES RAISES KINGFISHER TO 'BUY'
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TRADERS: CANACCORD RESUMES NEXT WITH 'BUY'
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BERNSTEIN CUTS BEAZLEY TO 'MARKET-PERFORM' (OUTPERFORM) - TARGET 360 (340) PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Banking giant HSBC Holdings ruled out a cyber attack as the cause of the system glitch which resulted in thousands of its customers being unable to access their online accounts for a second consecutive day on Tuesday, the Financial Times reported. Personal customers in the UK were not able to use HSBC's online service on Tuesday, following similar problems on Monday, when individuals were blocked from accessing mobile banking services.
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The chief executive of SSE criticised the UK's competition watchdog over its claim that big energy suppliers are overcharging customers, claiming the regulator has got its calculations wrong, the Financial Times reported. Alistair Phillips-Davies said the Competition & Markets Authority has failed to prove its case, accusing it of carrying out sub-standard work in its report into the energy industry. The CMA surprised many in the industry last summer when it ruled the 'Big Six' energy suppliers had overcharged customers to the tune of around GBP1.7 billion a year between 2010 and 2014.
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Sky said it is using Cisco's video software solutions to power its next-generation home entertainment system, Sky Q. Available in 2016, Sky Q is a family of advanced products. It connects wirelessly to create a new ecosystem that makes it easier for customers to access their favourite TV. With Sky Q, customers can watch on up to five screens simultaneously while recording four other channels. They can pause on one screen and continue viewing on another.
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WPP Group said it has acquired a majority stake in South Korean digital agency Vinyl I-Co Ltd, via is wholly owned company Grey Group. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed. WPP said that Vinyl-I, which is based in Seoul, has clients including Microsoft Corp, L'Oreal Group and Nike Inc, amongst others.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Card Factory said it has appointed Karen Hubbard as its chief executive designate, with effect from February 22. The greeting cards and gifts retailer hired Hubbard from discount retailer B&M European Value Retail, where she has been chief operating officer since 2014. Prior to this, she worked in a number of roles at Asda, the Wal-Mart Stores-owned UK supermarket chain, including heading its property, format development and multi-channel business. She will take over from Card Factory's current chief executive, Richard Hayes, in mid-April.
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Estate agent Countrywide is understood to have hired headhunters to identify a replacement for Chairman Grenville Turner, Sky News reported. Turner took over as chairman of the group in autumn 2014, having previously been the company's chief executive. The search for a replacement is at an early stage, Sky said, adding sources said there was no urgency to replace Turner given his strong reputation with the company's investors.
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Construction and civil engineering services company Costain Group said it has continued to perform well and is set to deliver 2015 results in line with its expectations. Costain's order book at the end of December stood at GBP3.9 billion, up from GBP3.5 billion a year earlier, including GBP1.1 billion in revenue secured for 2016.
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Tiles and flooring retailer Topps Tiles said its like-for-like revenue rose in the first quarter, albeit at a slower pace than a year earlier. Topps Tiles said its like-for-like revenue growth in the 13 weeks to January 2, its financial first quarter, was 4.4%, compared to 5.2% a year earlier.
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Gulf Keystone Petroleum said it has received a further payment from the Kurdistan regional government for the oil it exports out of Iraq, whilst fellow regional producer Genel Energy said it had received its second payment in two days.
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Falkland Oil & Gas late Tuesday took a step closer to completing the proposed all-share merger with fellow AIM-listed Rockhopper Exploration after its shareholders voted in favour of the deal.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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Apple is expected to reduce output of its latest iPhone models by around 30% in the January-March quarter compared with its original plans, Nikkei Asian Review reported. The report indicated that the US company had initially told parts makers to keep production of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus for the quarter at the same level as with their predecessors -- the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus -- a year earlier. But inventories of the two models launched last September have piled up at retailers in markets ranging from China and Japan to Europe and the US amid lackluster sales. Customers saw little improvement in performance over the previous generation, while dollar appreciation led to sharp price hikes in emerging markets.
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Micro-blogging social network Twitter is set to change one of its defining features, The Wall Street Journal reported, with a source familiar with the matter saying the company intends to ditch its 140-character limit per tweet in favour of a new 10,000-character rule. The change is expected to be announced by the end of March and was quickly the subject of stinging criticism from Twitter users, who claimed this could spoil the brevity and speed of the real-time service. The newspaper said the change could transform Twitter into a public blogging platform rather than one suited to quips and breaking news headlines.
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Wednesday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Stratmin Global Resources (re share capital reorganisation)
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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