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(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are called to tread water on Friday, after a busy week of economic data and interest rate decisions.
Focus on Friday will be on the latest US job report, though before that, there is a eurozone gross domestic product reading at 1000 GMT.
In early news, Mattioli Woods has accepted a GBP432 million takeover offer from Pollen Street.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: called up marginally at 7,694.70
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Hang Seng: up 1.2% at 16,417.83
Nikkei 225: closed up 0.2% at 39,688.94
S&P/ASX 200: closed up 1.1% at 7,847.00
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DJIA: closed up 130.30 points, 0.3%, at 38,791.35
S&P 500: closed up 52.60 points, 1.0%, to 5,157.36
Nasdaq Composite: closed up 241.83 points, 1.5%, to 16,273.38
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EUR: up at USD1.0947 (USD1.0934)
GBP: up at USD1.2810 (USD1.2793)
USD: down at JPY147.87 (JPY148.09)
Gold: up at USD2,161.03 per ounce (USD2,155.87)
(Brent): up at USD83.45 a barrel (USD82.80)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS
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Friday's key economic events still to come:
08:30 EST Canada unemployment
08:30 EST Canada capacity utilization
11:00 CET eurozone unemployment
11:00 CET eurozone GDP
08:45 CET France current account
08:45 CET France trade balance
11:00 GMT Ireland industrial production
08:30 EST US nonfarm payrolls
13:00 EST US Baker Hughes oil rig count
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Industrial production in Germany improved in January from December, but remained down on an annual basis, said the Federal Statistical Office. Industrial production in January improved by 1.0% monthly, swinging from a revised 2.0% decline in December and beating FXStreet-cited market consensus of a 0.6% rise. Annually, however, production fell 5.5% in January, quickening from a 3.5% fall in December. Meanwhile, producer price deflation continued to slow in January. The producer price index fell by 4.4% annually in January, slowing from a revised 5.1% pace of deflation a month earlier. FXStreet-cited market consensus had expected an 6.6% decline in PPI.
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Theresa May said she will not fight the next UK general election, bringing a 27-year career in Parliament to an end. The former UK prime minister revealed her decision to stand down as MP for Maidenhead on Friday, saying she would focus on championing causes including the fight against modern slavery. May, 67, has been a consistent campaigner on modern slavery and human trafficking, and launched her Global Commission in October, backed by the UK and Bahrain governments. She was first elected as MP for Maidenhead in 1997, and served as home secretary under David Cameron between 2010 and 2016 before succeeding him as prime minister.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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Barclays cuts PZ Cussons to 'equal weight' (over weight) - price target 111 (205) pence
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Barclays raises AG Barr to 'equal weight' - price target 522 pence
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JPMorgan raises ITV price target to 112 (105) pence - 'overweight'
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Mondi and its packaging peer DS Smith have reached an agreement in principle that will see Mondi take over DS Smith in a proposed all-share deal. In a statement dated Thursday, but was released on Friday, Mondi said the possible merger that would create a company worth more than GBP10 billion is subject to regulatory clearance and mutual confirmatory due diligence. In terms of the agreement, Mondi shareholders would own 54%, while their DS Smith counterparts would hold 46%. Based on Mondi's closing share price of 1,381 pence on February 7, the day before Mondi launched its takeover bid, the terms of the combination would represent an implied value of 373 pence per DS Smith share and a premium of 33% to DS Smith's closing share price of 281 pence per share on February 7. The panel on takeovers & mergers had extended the deadline to enable the parties to continue their discussions on the merger. Mondi has until April 4 to make a firm offer for DS Smith. The due date was originally March 7. Mondi first talked up the idea of a possible bid for DS Smith on February 8.
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Informa reported that revenue in 2023 climbed to GBP3.19 billion from GBP2.26 billion a year earlier. Its pretax profit surged to GBP492.1 million from GBP168.8 million. On the back of the results, Informa upped its dividend by 84% on-year to 18.0p. Looking ahead to 2024, Informa is targeting high single digit revenue growth, double-digit growth in adjusted operating profit and a further increase in operating margin. Updated 2024 guidance is revenue of GBP3.45 billion to GBP3.50 billion, adjusted operating Profit GBP950 million to GBP970 million and free cash flow of over GBP720 million. Chief Executive Stephen Carter said: "Informa's final results confirm further outperformance in 2023 and continuing momentum and growth in 2024."
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Frasers said that since it bought Matches, a luxury clothing retailer, the business has consistently missed its business plan targets and has continued to make material losses. "Whilst Matches' management team has tried to try to find a way to stabilise the business, it has become clear that too much change would be required to restructure it, and the continued funding requirements would be far in excess of amounts that the group considers to be viable," Frasers said. In light of this, Frasers will put the Matches group into administration.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Just Group insurance service result of GBP118 million, up from restated GBP99 million a year earlier. It swung to an investment return of GBP2.17 billion from a loss of GBP5.19 billion. The firm also swung to a net investment result of GBP273 million from a loss of GBP454 million. Pretax profit swung to GBP172 million from a loss of GBP494 million. On the back of the results, Just Group upped its dividend by 20% annually to 2.08p from 1.73p. CEO David Richardson said: "We are delighted with our financial performance in 2023, a record year for the group, and are confident of exceeding our medium term profit growth pledge. As such, we now expect to achieve our target of doubling profits in three years instead of the originally intended five. Given the multiple opportunities available and strong structural growth drivers in our chosen markets, we have never been more confident in our ability to deliver sustainable and compounding growth."
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OTHER COMPANIES
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Mattioli Woods has accepted a GBP432 million takeover offer from Pollen Street Capital funds. Under the terms of the Acquisition, Mattioli Woods Shareholders will receive 804p in cash. This represents a 34% premium to the closing price of 600p per share on March 7. Mattioli CEO Ian Mattioli said: "We have a strong track record of combining like-minded businesses that share the same culture and ethos of putting clients first. The team at Pollen Street Capital share our passion for delivering exceptional client outcomes and have demonstrated their ability to partner with entrepreneurial financial services business. I believe that with Pollen Street Capital's support and access to capital we can accelerate the delivery of our strategy and provide our clients with the proactive advice and bespoke investment solutions they require."
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By Sophie Rose, Alliance News senior reporter
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