LONDON (Alliance News) - London shares are off to a positive start again, as the gains on Wall Street seen at the European close Tuesday continued and Asian markets have rallied Wednesday. The Shanghai Composite is up 2.1%, and the Nikkei 225 index in Japan closed up a remarkable 7.7%.
In response, Fidelity China Special Situations is up 3.2% in the FTSE 250.
Goldman Sachs has made a series of recommendation changes to home building and property-related stocks, adding Crest Nicholson to its Conviction Buy list. The stock is up 2.3%. Foxtons is up 4.1%, the top mid-cap performer.
In the FTSE 100, Hargreaves Lansdown is up 4.4% after reporting lower annual results but raising its dividend.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
----------
MARKETS
----------
FTSE 100: up 1.6% at 6,247.02
FTSE 250: up 1.3% at 17,213.16
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.3% at 736.87
----------
Hang Seng: up 3.7% at 22,034.84
Nikkei 225: closed up 7.7% at 18,770.51
DJIA: closed up 2.4% at 16,492.68
S&P 500: closed up 2.5% at 1,969.41
----------
GBP: down at USD1.5379
EUR: down at USD1.1160
GOLD: flat at USD1,122.55 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD49.53 a barrel
(changes since end of previous GMT day)
----------
ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
----------
Wednesday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times in BST)
09:30 UK Industrial and Manufacturing Production
09:30 UK Trade Balance
12:00 US MBA Mortgage Applications
13:15 Canada Building Permits and Housing Starts
13:55 US Redbook index
15:00 US JOLTS Job Openings
15:00 UK NIESR GDP Estimate
15:00 Canada BoC Interest Rate Decision
----------
British shop prices declined for the twenty-eighth consecutive month in August, defying expectations for a slower drop, the British Retail Consortium said. Shop prices fell 1.4% year-over-year in August, the same rate of decrease as in the previous month. Economists had forecast only a 0.2% drop for the month. Food price inflation rose marginally to 0.2% in August from 0.1% in the preceding month. At the same time, non-food prices declined at a faster pace of 2.4% in August, following a 2.3% fall in July. "A relatively benign economic environment and a fiercely competitive market will see retailers continue to respond to their customers with prices and promotions to maintain market share," BRC Director General, Helen Dickinson, said.
----------
Japan's consumer confidence improved more-than-expected in August after falling in the previous month, survey data from the Cabinet Office showed. The consumer confidence index rose by 1.4 points to 41.7 in August from 40.3 in July. Economists had expected the index to increase slightly to 40.5.
----------
The EU was set Wednesday to launch a fresh effort to tackle its migration crisis, including a controversial scheme to redistribute refugees among member states. The 28-country bloc has been struggling with its biggest influx of migrants and asylum seekers since World War II, which has stretched resources and sparked tensions between EU countries. "We are committed to accelerate and enhance our actions to face the migratory challenge, which is a European one," EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos told the European Parliament on Tuesday afternoon.
----------
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton apologized for using a private email server while US secretary of state, saying the decision was a "mistake". The admission in an interview with ABC News comes after she refused to apologize in separate interviews over the weekend and as questions about her email practices continue to dog her campaign.
----------
Republican lawmakers on Tuesday pledged an extensive debate on the international agreement on Iran's nuclear programme, even as US President Barack Obama secured enough support to avoid defeat on one of his key foreign policy achievements. The full Senate will begin debate Wednesday, Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said. Enough senators had signed on to support the deal as of Tuesday that Obama's Democrats could engage in a procedural measure to block a vote on a resolution against the Iran deal.
----------
Wayne Rooney became England's all-time goal scorer as his team beat Switzerland 2-0 in Euro 2016 qualifying. Rooney converted a second-half penalty for his 50th international goal, moving him past Bobby Charlton on the scoring list. "It's a great feeling," Rooney, 29, told ITV. "To finally do it is a dream come true."
----------
BROKER RATING CHANGES
---------
GOLDMAN CUTS TAYLOR WIMPEY TO 'NEUTRAL' ('BUY') - TARGET 235 (215) PENCE
----------
GOLDMAN RAISES CREST NICHOLSON TO 'CONVICTION BUY LIST' ('NEUTRAL'); PRICE TARGET 790 (590) PENCE
----------
GOLDMAN CUTS REDROW TO 'NEUTRAL' ('BUY') - TARGET 563 (494) PENCE
----------
GOLDMAN RAISES FOXTONS TO 'NEUTRAL' ('SELL') - TARGET 259 (221) PENCE
----------
NUMIS RAISES HILTON FOOD TO 'BUY' ('ADD') - TARGET 534 PENCE
----------
N+1 Cuts Goals Soccer Centres To Sell From Hold, Price Target at 160p
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 100
----------
GlaxoSmithKline and partner Theravance announced the initial results from the Study to Understand Mortality and MorbidITy, or SUMMIT, trials conducted on the Relvar/Breo Ellipta drugs for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The drugmaker said the risk of dying taking the drug dose was 12.2% lower than on placebo over the study period, which is not statistically significant and therefore meant the drug did not meet its primary endpoint. In addition, the treatment missed its two secondary endpoint goals of reducing the rate of lung function decline or the risk of experiencing an on-treatment cardiovascular event, such as a stroke, angina or heart attack.
----------
Housebuilder Barratt Developments said its pretax profit, revenue and house sales were all higher in the year to the end of June, prompting the company to return substantially more money to shareholders, including a special dividend. The company said it will pay a 10.0 pence per share special dividend. In addition to a total ordinary dividend payout of 15.1p, up from 10.3p a year earlier, the total payout to shareholders will be 25.1 pence per share, more than double the 10.3 pence it paid the year before and meaning its total capital return for the year is GBP250.0 million, up from GBP102.0 million.
----------
Sports Direct International said that trading so far in its new financial year has continued to be in line with management expectations. In a trading update ahead of its annual general meeting being held Wednesday, the sporting goods retailer said that there has been no material change in the financial position of the group since the end of its last financial year and that trading from April 27 to September 8 was in line.
----------
SABMiller said Gavin Hattersley has been appointed as chief executive of MillerCoors, the US joint venture between SABMiller and Molson Coors Brewing Co. Hattersley, who has been serving as interim CEO since July 1 and was also chief financial officer of Molson Coors, is replacing Tom Long who retired in June.
----------
Hargreaves Lansdown reported a 6% drop in pretax profit as margins came under pressure, with the fall attributed to the fund supermarket's move to cut charges for clients, lower interest margins on client cash and lacklustre stock markets. The fund supermarket, which sells financial products to retail clients, said it made a GBP199.0 million pretax profit in the year ended June 30, compared with GBP209.8 million in the prior year. The company raised its dividend for the year to 33 pence per share from 32.0p.
----------
A Boeing Co. 777-200 operated by British Airways, a unit of International Consolidated Airlines Group, suffered a major engine failure as it was beginning its takeoff in Las Vegas, triggering a fire and requiring an emergency evacuation, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The failure occurred in the left engine as the aircraft was accelerating on the runway for takeoff late on Tuesday. There were 159 passengers and 13 crew on the flight. Seven passengers received medical treatment for minor injuries.
----------
Royal Dutch Shell has shelved its Louisiana-to-Texas Westward Ho pipeline project following years of delays, a spokeswoman has confirmed to Reuters. Kimberly Windon, a spokeswoman for the oil major, said that following a "thorough review and as a result of changing market conditions" the company has decided not to proceed with the project. Westward Ho was first proposed in 2011 with a top capacity of 900,000 barrels per day and had been due to start in late 2015.
----------
HSBC Holdings and Santander are two of the banks organised into subsidiaries in different countries that have won a key change to proposed global rules targeted at ending bailouts of large banks by taxpayers, the Financial Times reported. According to the report, the Financial Stability Board has decided to hold such groups to the same standards as rivals such as JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs.
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 250
----------
Entertainment One said it traded in line with its expectations in its first quarter, seeing revenue rise 1% on a reported basis, driven by a strong performance in its Television segment that offset a weaker performance in Film. At constant currency and on a pro-forma basis, meaning adjusted to include acquisitions, revenue fell 2% in the quarter to end-June. The company said its full-year underlying earnings continue to be in line with its expectations, although it cautioned that its reported revenues and earnings remain subject to continued pressure from the appreciation of sterling.
----------
COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
----------
Ryanair Holdings said it has raised its full-year profit guidance as it delivered stronger-than-expected peak summer traffic and prices. The Irish low-cost airline said that it has raised its full-year net profit guidance by a quarter to fall between EUR1.18 billion and EUR1.23 billion, from its previously-guided range of EUR940 million to EUR970 million.
----------
Monitise said Elizabeth Buse has resigned just months after she was named its sole chief executive, as the mobile banking and payments company also reported a significantly larger loss in its recently completed financial year. Citing personal reasons, Buse said she is stepping down so that she can return to the US. The former Visa executive became sole chief executive of Monitise in March when former co-CEO Alastair Lukies left the company he founded. Lee Cameron, the company's deputy CEO and chief commercial officer, has been named as the successor to Buse. The company, which designs the mobile apps banks make available to their customers, said it made a GBP227.4 million pretax loss in the year ended June 30. That widened from the GBP63.4 million pretax loss reported for the prior financial year, as Monitise recognised GBP94.3 million in goodwill, capitalised development costs and other intangible and fixed assets impairments.
----------
Insurance claims outsourcing company Quindell said it has agreed a deal to acquire the 50.1% stake it does not own in PT Healthcare Solutions Corp in an all-share deal. Quindell said it will cover the consideration for the stake with the issue of 9.5 million new shares. Quindell shares closed at 99.00 pence on Tuesday, making the deal worth about GBP9.4 million.
----------
Metro Bank has started talks with advisers as it steps up preparations to launch a GBP1 billion float on the London stock market, Sky News reported. Sky said Metro has invited pitches from investment banks to work on an initial public offering, which could come as soon as the first quarter of 2016. The flotation could target around GBP300 million in fundraising, Sky said, for the London and South East-focused high street lender.
----------
COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
----------
The chief of the United Airlines holding company quit amid a federal criminal probe of possible favours given to a former government airport executive. "Jeff Smisek has stepped down from his roles as chairman, president and chief executive officer, and as a director. These changes are effective immediately," United Continental Holdings said. Two other executives involved in government affairs also have quit, the company said.
----------
Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings has bid about USD2 billion for United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin Corp struggling to maintain its position as the premier supplier of rockets to the Pentagon, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter.
The two sides are in advanced talks about a deal. A deal hasn't been finalized, and could be derailed by last-minute hurdles. But, an announcement could come as early as next week, the report said.
----------
Alibaba Group Holding said it has established Alibaba Sports Group together with Sina Corp and Yunfeng Capital to transform China's sports industry through Internet-enabled technologies. Alibaba Sports Group will be majority-owned by Alibaba Group, and Daniel Zhang, Alibaba Group's chief executive officer, will serve as chairman of Alibaba Sports Group. Alibaba Sports Group expects to integrate e-commerce, media, marketing, video, home entertainment, cloud computing and other Internet-enabled technologies to form a sports platform that will participate in different aspects of the professional sports industry, including sports copyrights, sports media, events, ticketing, etc.
----------
The European Commission said it has approved the acquisition of Alstom's energy businesses by General Electric under the EU Merger Regulation, subject to divestment of central parts of Alstom's heavy duty gas turbines business to Ansaldo. The decision comes following an in-depth review by the Commission. The EUR12.5 billion takeover of the energy related business of French engineering company Alstom by General Electric of the US brings together two of the largest players active in electricity generation equipment worldwide. The approval is conditional upon the divestiture of central parts of Alstom's heavy duty gas turbines business to Ansaldo of Italy.
----------
Wednesday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs
Supergroup
Polar Capital Technology Trust
Tricorn Group
Trakm8
Betfair Group
Miton Worldwide Growth Investment Trust
New India Investment Trust
Pets At Home Group
Sports Direct International
Stewart & Wight
Alent
----------
By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite
Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
30 Mar 2015 09:46
