RDSA.L Share News (RDSA)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Stocks in London ended mixed on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 pulled down by heavyweight oil and mining stocks.The FTSE 100 index closed down 51.32 points, or 0.7%, at 7,471.75. The FTSE 250 ended up 85.65 points, or 0.4% at 19,993.67, and the AIM All-Share closed up 4.43 points, or 0.5% at 962.99.The Cboe UK 100 closed down 0.7% at 12,673.63, the Cboe UK 250 up 0.4% at 17,869.65, and the Cboe UK Small Companies up 0.8% at 11,572.89."The FTSE eased back from 6-month highs reached in the previous session, pulled down by miners. Miners traced the price of metals lower as concerns grow that China will ease up on its economic stimulus efforts, in turn reducing its demand for metals," said City Index analyst Fiona Cincotta. The FTSE 350 Mining sector index, which houses London's large cap miners, closed down 1.7%. On the London Stock Exchange, Land Securities ended the best blue chip performer, up 3.1% after Deutsche Bank raised the property company to Buy from Hold.Associated British Foods closed up 2.1% after the sugar producer and owner of fast fashion retailer Primark delivered a "robust" set of half-year results and raised its interim dividend.Revenue for the 24 weeks to March 2 rose 1% to GBP7.53 billion, though pretax profit slipped to GBP515 million from GBP603 million a year ago. Pretax profit was hindered by GBP79 million in exceptional items, with AB Foods having booked no such charges a year ago.On an adjusted basis, profit was largely in line with a year prior at GBP627 million. Sales at clothing chain Primark were 4.4% ahead of a year ago, said AB Foods, driven by increased retail selling space partially offset by a 1.5% decline in like-for-like sales. Primark's operating margin came in at 11.7% versus 9.8% a year ago, resulting in a 25% year-on-year rise in adjusted operating profit to GBP426 million."Primark's expansion across the Atlantic is of particular importance. The American market offers huge growth potential, and with only a handful of stateside stores up and running, there's plenty of room left. A successful US roll-out has the potential for huge rewards, and the early signs are promising. The Brooklyn store, which opened last July, continues to exceed expectations," said Hargreaves Lansdown analyst George Salmon.AB Foods said its outlook for the current financial year is unchanged, with earnings per share expected to be in line with the year before.The company declared an interim dividend of 12.05 pence, up 3% on last year's 11.70p.At the other end of the large cap index, Anglo American ended the worst performer, down 3.9% after JPMorgan downgraded the miner to Neutral from Overweight.The US bank said the miner's shares no longer look as cheap, warned its 2020 earnings may be cut and thinks capital returns could come under pressure.BP closed down 2.1% and Royal Dutch Shell 'A' and Shell 'B' ended down 1.9%, despite stable oil prices. Brent oil was quoted at USD74.48 a barrel at the London equities close, flat from USD74.46 at the same time the prior day. "Though Brent Crude pared its losses as the day went on, sitting just under USD74.50 per barrel, BP and Shell still gave back all of Tuesday's growth and then some, the oil colossi tumbling around 2% apiece," Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said. Antofagasta ended down 1.7%. The Chilean copper miner reaffirmed 2019 guidance after reporting a first-quarter performance in line with expectations.In the three months to March, Antofagasta's copper production rose 23% on the year before to 188,600 tonnes, but was down 14% on the final quarter of 2018.This met expectations, with the year-on-year rise due to higher ore throughput and expected higher grades. However, the fall from the previous three months was caused by maintenance at the Los Pelambres and Centinela mines and lower grades.Copper sales rose 31% year-on-year to 178,900 tonnes, but declined 18% quarter-on-quarter.In addition, Anglo-Australian miners BHP and Rio Tinto closed down 1.5% and 1.8%, respectively. The pound was quoted at USD1.2945 at the London equities close, marginally higher than USD1.2932 at the close Tuesday.In political news, Theresa May's deputy has insisted the Tories and Labour are making a "genuine attempt" to find a Brexit solution but warned compromises were needed from both sides.Cabinet Office minister David Lidington said cross-party talks between negotiating teams had been "constructive" although had yet to find a solution which would attract majority support in the Commons."There was no positive news over ongoing cross-party talks from between Conservatives and Labour and the longer the news blackout remains, the harder it will be for the pound to recoup its recent losses," said analysts at OFX. On the economic front, UK public sector borrowing in March was GBP900 million higher than the same month a year ago, though borrowing in the latest financial year remained at a 17-year low.Public sector net borrowing, excluding public sector banks, in March was GBP1.7 billion, GBP900 million more than the same month a year prior. As a result, borrowing in March 2018 remained the lowest March borrowing since 2006, the Office for National Statistics said.Borrowing in the latest full fiscal year to the end of March, was GBP24.7 billion, GBP17.2 billion less than in the previous financial year and the lowest financial borrowing for 17 years.Elsewhere, the UK government formally launched its search to find the next governor of the Bank of England.Canadian Mark Carney has been at the helm of the central bank since the summer of 2013 and will step down at the end of January 2020. He previously agreed a seven month extension to his current contract to help ensure a "smooth" Brexit process.Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said he believes the role of governor is "more important than ever" due to a "rapidly evolving economy".Among those tipped to succeed Carney include Andrew Bailey, head of the UK Financial Conduct Authority, BoE Chief Economist Andy Haldane, former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan, and Shriti Vadera, chair of Santander UK.In Paris the CAC 40 ended down 0.3%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt ended up 0.6%. The euro stood at USD1.1191 at the European equities close, down from USD1.1205 late Tuesday. Major stock indices in New York were flat at the London equities close, failing to sustain momentum after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed at fresh record highs on Tuesday. In corporate news, Boeing reported first quarter earnings that matched analyst estimates.The company's earnings came in at USD2.15 billion, or USD3.75 per share. This compares with USD2.48 billion, or USD4.15 per share, in last year's first quarter.Excluding items, Boeing reported adjusted earnings of USD1.99 billion, or USD3.16 per share, for the period.Analysts had expected the company to earn USD3.33 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.However, the aerospace giant pulled its full-year guidance due to uncertainty surrounding the grounding of its 737 MAX aircraft."Due to the uncertainty of the timing and conditions surrounding return to service of the 737 Max fleet, new guidance will be issued at a future date," Boeing said.Boeing shares were up 1.3% in New York. AT&T was down 4.0% on Wall Street after the telecom giant reported first quarter earnings that met estimates but recorded weaker than expected revenue.Occidental Petroleum Corp was down 3.0% after the oil and gas firm made a superior offer for Anadarko Petroleum Corp to that made by peer Chevron Corp earlier in April.Occidental is offering USD76 per Anadarko share, 20% higher than the offer made by Chevron. Anadarko was up 11%. Just under two weeks ago, Chevron offered USD65 per share for Anadarko, with shareholders getting 0.3869 Chevron shares at USD16.25 in cash per Anadarko share held. Chevron was down 2.1%. Still to come in the US earnings calendar, social media company Facebook will report after the closing bell in New York.Gold was quoted at USD1,275.45 an ounce at the London equities close, up from USD1,268.70 late Tuesday.Highlights in the economic events calendar on Thursday are the Bank of Japan's interest rate decision at 0300 BST and US durable goods orders at 1330 BST. The UK corporate calendar on Thursday has first-quarter results from lender Barclays and from gold miner Acacia Mining. There are also trading statements from information and analytics company RELX, housebuilder Taylor Wimpey and floor coverings retailer Carpetright.