Pets at home Share News (PETS)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares in London opened lower Thursday, with ex-dividend stocks such as Centrica and J Sainsbury weighing on the leading indices, more than offsetting some well-received blue-chip trading updates.

Paper and packaging firm Mondi was the top FTSE 100 gainer, up 2.4%, after saying underlying operating profit grew in the first quarter as strong contributions from some divisions offset lower selling prices in others.

At noon, the Bank of England releases its interest rate decision, meeting minutes and Quarterly Inflation Report, with the central bank's comments on a potential Brexit likely to attract attention.

Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: down 0.8% at 6,114.84
FTSE 250: down 0.4% at 16,653.02
AIM ALL-SHARE: flat at 726.77
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Hang Seng: down 0.8% at 19,889.44
Nikkei 225: closed up 0.4% at 16,646.34
DJIA: closed down 1.2% at 17,711.12
S&P 500: closed down 1.0% at 2,064.46
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GBP: down at USD1.4413 (USD1.4473)
EUR: soft at USD1.1413 (USD1.1438)

GOLD: flat at USD1,270.51 per ounce (USD1,272.84)
OIL (Brent): up at USD47.44 a barrel (USD47.07)

(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Thursday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times in BST)

10:00 EU industrial production
11:00 Ireland consumer price index
12:00 UK BoE interest rate decision and asset purchase facility
12:00 UK BoE MPC minutes
12:00 UK BoE Quarterly Inflation Report
13:30 US initial and continuing jobless claims
13:30 US export and import price indices
13:30 Canada new housing price index
15:30 US EIA natural gas storage
16:30 US Fed Boston President Rosengren speech
18:30 US Fed's George speech
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The UK economy grew at a subdued pace in the three months to April, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research said. Gross domestic product climbed 0.3%, slower than the 0.4% expansion seen in three months ended March. "UK economic growth continues to be subdued compared with the rates we saw at the end of last year," Jack Meaning, Research Fellow at NIESR, said. He said some of this slowdown is undoubtedly a result of heightened uncertainty around the impending EU referendum, and so is likely to be temporary should the UK decide to remain in the EU after June 23rd.
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The house price balance in the UK was down slightly in April, the latest reading from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed - coming in at 41%. That's down from 42% in March, although it handily beat forecasts for a reading of 35%.
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Uncontrolled immigration into Britain has been too high under European Union rules, former London mayor Boris Johnson has said. The most high-profile figure in the Leave campaign said the current system had driven politicians to "dishonesty" because they were unable to control the numbers entering the country. On his first day on the road with the Vote Leave battle bus, Johnson said that he believed the UK should be able to turn away people arriving without a job offer as happened in the US and Australia.
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Japan posted a current account surplus of JPY2.980 trillion in March, the Ministry of Finance said - up 6.9% on year. The headline figure exceeded forecasts for JPY2.965 trillion yen, and it was up from JPY2.434 trillion yen in February. The trade balance reflected a surplus of JPY927.2 billion, also beating expectations for JPY906.0 billion and up from JPY425.2 billion in the previous month. Exports were down 11.4% on year to JPY6.331 trillion, while imports dropped 16.6% to JPY5.404 trillion.
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UK Prime Minister David Cameron will urge the international community to accelerate global action to "expose, punish and drive out corruption in all walks of life" at an international anti-graft summit in London on Thursday. "Corruption is an enemy of progress and the root of so many of the world's problems," Cameron said ahead of the summit, which follows last month's publication of the leaked Panama Papers detailing assets held in offshore tax havens. Leaders of major economies including the US, Germany and Russia will not attend the summit. It also remains unclear if officials from any of the world's well-known tax havens, such as Panama, the British Virgin Islands or Bermuda, will attend the summit or speak there.
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The amount of money paid worldwide in bribes is between USD1.5 trillion and USD2 trillion, or about 2% of the value of the world's economic output, the head of the International Monetary Fund said. Christine Lagarde quoted the figure from recent IMF research in an open letter published one day before the start of an anti-corruption summit in London. She said the amount is an estimate of the total value of bribes paid annually in both developing and developed countries. Lagarde wrote that corruption - defined as an abuse of public office for private gain - "undermines trust in government and erodes the ethical standards of private citizens."
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A debate in the Brazilian Senate on impeaching President Dilma Rousseff dragged on into the early hours of Thursday, after the Supreme Court rejected her appeal to block the vote. If 41 of the 81 members approve, Rousseff faces a 180-day suspension to start immediately. Around 50 have said they would vote for impeachment. She cleared her personal effects from the presidential office late Wednesday in apparent anticipation of the decision, local news outlets reported.
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The stakes are high Thursday as Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump seeks to woo the party leaders he has been quick to attack on the campaign trail as the fractured Republican Party looks toward November elections. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and other top Republicans are to meet with Trump at the Republican National Committee headquarters after the billionaire real estate mogul essentially secured the party's presidential nomination earlier this month when his remaining rivals dropped out of the presidential race. Ryan last week said he was not ready to endorse Trump, despite calls by Republican chairman Reince Priebus for party unity following a brutal primary campaign.
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A military cordon prevented an opposition protest to demand a referendum against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, leaving opposition leader Henrique Capriles slightly injured in the process. Protestors left from eastern Caracas intending to walk to the headquarters of the National Electoral Council in central Caracas. They had to find alternative routes as police and the military blocked their path. Police used tear gas to disperse demonstrators when they tried to use a highway to bypass the blockade. Capriles, who was leading the protest, was sprayed by police with pepper spray, injuring his eyes, opposition leader Julio Borges said.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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Liberum Ups Royal Dutch Shell Target To 1,904p From 1,758p, Keeps Buy
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PANMURE INITIATES PETS AT HOME WITH 'BUY' - TARGET 271 PENCE
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GOLDMAN RAISES POLYMETAL TO 'BUY' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 870 (770) PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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ITV said it has made a good start to 2016, with revenue up 14% in its first quarter, helped by a strong performance in its ITV Studios and online, pay and interactive segment. In a statement ahead of the broadcaster's annual general meeting, ITV said total revenue rose 14% to GBP755 million in the three months to the end of March from GBP665 million a year before. This included flat net advertising revenue, 44% growth in the ITV Studios segment and 17% growth in its online, pay and interactive segment.
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Paper and packaging company Mondi said underlying operating profit grew in the first quarter as strong contributions from some divisions offset lower selling prices in others. The Anglo-South African group said underlying operating profit for the quarter to the end of March was EUR269.0 million, 14% higher than the EUR236.0 million it made a year earlier. Consumer Packaging, Uncoated Fine Paper and the group's South African arm all made strong contributions in the quarter, Mondi said, offsetting lower selling prices in some Packaging Paper segments and margin pressures on its Fibre Packaging business.
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AstraZeneca said it has been granted an orphan drug designation by the US Food and Drug Administration for selumetinib as an adjuvant treatment of patients with stage III or IV differentiated thyroid cancer. The company said that selumetinib is being tested for its ability to help with the uptake of radioactive iodine, currently recommended for treating differentiated thyroid cancer, with the potential to add it as a treatment option for patients who do not respond well to radioactive iodine.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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TalkTalk Telecom Group reiterated its guidance for the year ahead, as it reported a fall in pretax profit in its most recently ended financial year, due to one-off costs related to a cyber attack late last year and to its restructuring programme. The telecommunications provider reported a pretax profit of GBP14 million for the year to end-March, down from GBP32 million the year before, as a rise in revenue to GBP1.83 billion from GBP1.80 billion was offset by exceptional items totalling GBP83 million. TalkTalk proposed a dividend of 10.58 pence, taking its total dividend to 15.87 pence, up from the 13.80 pence it paid the previous year. It expects to pay a dividend for its current year "at least in line" with this level.
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The UK's Office of Rail & Road said it has approved the applications made by Virgin Trains East Coast and FirstGroup for new train services on the East Coast Main Line between London and Edinburgh. Virgin Trains East Coast is 90%-owned by Stagecoach Group. Stagecoach noted the office's grant of FirstGroup's application to run open-access services between London and Edinburgh with firm rights from May 2021. This will likely impact revenue for Virgin Trains East Coast services.
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Hikma Pharmaceuticals reiterated its revenue expectations for 2016 as it said it made a "good start to the year". In a statement ahead of the company's annual general meeting, Hikma said it continues to expect full year revenue in the range of USD2.0 billion to USD2.1 billion, including ten months of revenue from its acquired Roxane business. This compares to revenue of USD1.44 billion in 2015.
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Fashion retailer SuperGroup posted growth in total and like-for-like revenue for the financial year to April 23, with a particularly strong performance in the fourth quarter, as one of its founders stepped down to lead a design consultancy. The owner of the Superdry brand said total group revenue for the year to April 23 was GBP589.5 million, up 21% year-on-year from GBP486.6 million. Total retail revenue grew 25% over the year to GBP416.1 million from GBP334.1 million.
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Interdealer broker Tullett Prebon said revenue grew in the first four months of 2016, though trading conditions remain mixed. The company said revenue for the four months to the end of April was GBP291.0 million, 2.0% higher than the GBP285.0 million reported a year earlier, but down 1.0% in constant currencies. Tullett added its acquisition of the hybrid voice broking and information arm of rival interdealer broker ICAP has progressed to plan and it continues to expect the deal will complete in 2016.
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Sports Direct International said it has extended its put option agreement over shares in mid-cap department store retailer Debenhams. Sports Direct, which first disclosed the put option over 128.9 million shares in Debenhams in January 2015, said the agreement with Goldman Sachs International has been extended by one year. The option covers a 10.5% stake in Debenhams.
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Daily Mail & General Trust said Chief Executive Martin Morgan will leave the company with effect from the end of June after 27 years with the company, to be succeeded by Paul Zwillenberg. Morgan will step down from the board of DMGT and also of Euromoney Institutional Investor with effect from the end of May, and leave DMGT at the end of June. He will undertake an advisory role for a year started from January 2017. Zwillenberg is currently global leader of the Media Sector for London-based the Boston Consulting Group. Earlier in his career Zwillenberg had been managing director of dmg media Digital.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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Adidas announced it has agreed with Chelsea Football Club to terminate their partnership agreement. The agreement will now end on June 30, 2017, six years early. Adidas has been sponsor and sportswear supplier for Chelsea Football Club since 2006. As compensation for the early termination of the contract, Adidas will receive a payment in 2017 that will already positively impact the group's profit in the second quarter of 2016. Adidas expects the impact on its net income is expected to be in the mid-double-digit million euro range.
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Cement giant LafargeHolcim, formed by the combination of French Lafarge and Swiss peer Holcim, reported its first-quarter net loss was CHF47 million, compared to prior year's income of CHF378 million francs. The prior year results included a gain of CHF432 million pre-tax from the divestment of assets to Cemex and a minority shareholding in Siam City Cement, Thailand. On a like-for-like basis, sales edged up 0.1%.
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French lender Credit Agricole Group reported that its net income group share for the first-quarter of 2016 fell to EUR818 million from EUR1.23 billion in the first quarter of 2015. Underlying net income group share was EUR1.24 billion, stable compared with the first quarter of 2015.
Crédit Agricole's revenue was EUR7.16 billion, a decrease of 10.9% compared with the first quarter of 2015.
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German utility RWE said its net income for the first quarter fell 59% to EUR879 million from EUR2.17 billion in the same period last year. However, EBITDA rose 4.9% to EUR2.31 billion and the operating result increased 7.1% to EUR1.8 billion. This was partly attributable to energy trading, which made an unusually high earnings contribution. External revenue declined 5.9% to EUR13.66 billion from EUR14.51 billion in the prior-year quarter.
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Vivendi reported its earnings attributable to Vivendi SA shareowners for the first-quarter amounted to EUR862 million compared to EUR33 million for the first quarter of 2015, reflecting a EUR576 million capital gain before taxes related to the sale of the remaining interest in Activision Blizzard in January 2016 and the reversal of a reserve for EUR240 million following settlement of the Liberty Media litigation. Revenue remained stable at EUR2.491 billion, while it was down 1.4% at constant currency compared to the first quarter of 2015.
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Nissan Motor and Mitsubishi Motors confirmed that they are discussing various matters including capital cooperation, but nothing has been decided. Earlier, reports said that Nissan Motor was considering buying about a one-third stake in Mitsubishi Motors for about JPY200 billion to become the latter's single largest shareholder.
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Thursday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

ITV
Direct Line Insurance Group
Lloyds Banking Group
Restaurant Group
Serco Group
Tullett Prebon
Communisis
Cairn Energy
French Connection Group
Fidelity European Values
Hikma Pharmaceuticals
SIG
Unite Group
Wireless Group
Vesuvius
Mondi
John Laing Group
IP Group
Highcroft Investments
esure Group
Deltex Medical Group
Netplay TV
Candover Investments
New Europe Property Investment
Tomco Energy
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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