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(Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 in London is set to open up on Wednesday, while New York equities closed mixed overnight and Asian stocks trended lower amid a lack of macro catalysts.
"Yesterday was one of those days where we needed to fit a narrative to the market moves as the moves weren't triggered by meaningful data or comments," said Swissquote Bank analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya.
"Appetite in US stocks remains supported by robust earnings and Fed optimism, but the earnings expectations look somehow inflated, while the Fed optimism is fragile and data-dependent – meaning that the market could be lacking enough confidence to send these indices to fresh record highs before we have more detail on the US inflation update that is due next week."
In early corporate news, Informa increased the value of its 2024 share buyback programme to GBP500 million on a positive earnings outlook, while boohoo reported a widening annual loss.
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 0.2% at 8,331.17
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Hang Seng: down 0.7% at 18,343.00
Nikkei 225: closed down 1.6% at 38,202.37
S&P/ASX 200: closed up 0.1% at 7,804.50
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DJIA: closed up 31.99 points, 0.1%, at 38,884.26
S&P 500: closed up 6.96 points, 0.1%, at 5,187.70
Nasdaq Composite: closed down 16.69 points, 0.1%, at 16,332.56
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EUR: down at USD1.0748 (USD1.0774)
GBP: down at USD1.2491 (USD1.2542)
USD: up at JPY155.21 (JPY154.49)
Gold: up at USD2,316.40 per ounce (USD2,315.72)
(Brent): down at USD82.57 a barrel (USD82.90)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS
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Wednesday's key economic events still to come:
15:00 BST US wholesale inventories
16:00 BST US Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson speaks
18:30 BST US Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook speaks
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John Swinney will be sworn in as the new First Minister of Scotland on Wednesday and is expected to appoint his cabinet on the same day. The ceremony at the Court of Session in Edinburgh will involve the Perthshire North MSP making his statutory declarations, after which he will be granted his official title of First Minister and Keeper of the Scottish Seal. He pledged to devote himself to the job after winning a Holyrood vote meaning he will become the seventh person to be first minister since the Scottish Parliament was established 25 years ago, following an unopposed selection process a week after predecessor Humza Yousaf resigned.
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The US halted a shipment of bombs to Israel last week after it failed to address Washington's concerns over plans to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a senior US official said Tuesday. President Joe Biden's administration made the decision when it appeared Israel was on the verge of a major ground operation into Rafah, which Washington has strongly opposed. Israeli and US officials had been discussing alternatives but "those discussions are ongoing and have not fully addressed our concerns," the senior US official said. The White House also said Tuesday that key ally Israel must reopen Gaza's Rafah border crossing with Egypt, while expressing hope that a ceasefire deal with Hamas was within reach. Israel sent tanks into the southern Gaza city of Rafah and seized control of the crossing, a key aid passage, while warning it will deepen its operation if truce talks fail to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas. Biden declined to answer questions on the ceasefire talks and the operation in Rafah as he met his Romanian counterpart in the Oval Office, merely smiling at reporters.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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UBS raises Centrica to 'buy' (neutral) - price target 170 (165) pence
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Informa said it increased its share buyback programme for 2024 by 50% to GBP500 million. In a market update, the business information publisher and events organiser said all business were delivering ahead of or in line with annual targets. It expects 2024 revenue will be at the the upper end of its GBP3.45 billion to GBP3.50 billion guidance range, while adjusted operating profit is expected to be at the upper end of GBP950 million to GBP970 million guidance range.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Renishaw said third quarter revenue fell on-quarter to GBP172.4 million from GBP166.0 million. The provider of manufacturing technologies, analytical instruments and medical devices said statutory pretax profit in the first three quarters ended March 31 fell 26% to GBP86.8 million from GBP117.3 million a year earlier, while on an adjusted basis, it fell 22% to GBP86.8 million from GBP111.8 million. Looking ahead, it expects full-year revenue in the range of GBP680 million to GBP700 million, compared to previous guidance of GBP675 million to GBP715 million, while it expects adjusted pretax profit in the range of GBP122 million to GBP135 million from previous guidance of GBP122 million to GBP147 million.
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OTHER COMPANIES
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Fast fashion firm boohoo said pretax loss in the financial year ended February 29 widened to GBP159.9 million from GBP90.7 million a year earlier, hurt by a 17% fall in revenue to GBP1.46 billion from GBP1.77 billion. boohoo said the decline in revenue was due to a focus on profitability and difficult market conditions. Operating costs fell 16% to GBP698.8 million from GBP832.0 million, while gross merchandise value declined 13% to GBP1.81 billion from GBP2.09 billion. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell 7.4% to GBP58.6 million from GBP63.3 million. It swung to a negative net cash position at February 29 of GBP95.0 million from positive GBP5.9 million a year earlier. Looking ahead, boohoo said it is targeting gross merchandise value growth in the year ahead and continued improvement in adjusted Ebitda margin. It said it was confident of a 6% to 8% Ebitda margin target in the medium term, while it also said it is on track for GBP125 million in annualised cost savings for its financial 2025.
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By Greg Rosenvinge, Alliance News senior reporter
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