(Alliance News) - Stocks in London were called to open higher on Friday, after trading in Asia rallied on news the US Senate passed a debt ceiling bill to avoid a US default.
US senators voted to suspend the federal debt limit, capping weeks of fraught negotiations to eliminate the threat of a disastrous credit default just four days ahead of the deadline set by the Treasury.
Economists had warned the country could run out of money to pay its bills by Monday - leaving almost no room for delays in enacting the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which extends the government's borrowing authority through 2024 while trimming federal spending.
Hammered out between Democratic President Joe Biden and the Republicans, the measure passed the Senate with a comfortable majority of 63 votes to 36 a day after it had sailed through the House of Representatives.
In early corporate news in London on Friday, airlines Wizz Air and Ryanair both reported higher passengers and load factors in May. Dechra agreed to a takeover offer.
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 0.5% at 7,526.6
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Hang Seng: up 4.3% at 19,001.52
Nikkei 225: closed up 1.2% at 31,524.22
S&P/ASX 200: closed up 0.5% at 7,145.10
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DJIA: closed up 153.30 points, or 0.5%, at 33,061.57
S&P 500: closed up 41.19 points, 1.0%, at 4,221.02
Nasdaq Composite: closed up 165.70 points, 1.3%, at 13,100.98
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EUR: up at USD1.0773 (USD1.0737)
GBP: up at USD1.2534 (USD1.2523)
USD: up at JPY138.91 (JPY138.88)
Gold: down at USD1,977.98 per ounce (USD1,978.50)
(Brent): up at USD75.08 a barrel (USD74.35)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS
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Friday's key economic events still to come:
11:00 IST Ireland gross domestic
08:30 EDT US employment report for May
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Strikes by UK railway workers will continue on Friday, causing fresh travel disruption for passengers. Members of the Rail, Maritime & Transport union employed by train operators across England will walk out in a long-running dispute over jobs, pay and conditions. Train companies are warning that services will be affected by the action, which comes almost a year after the RMT held its first strike in the same dispute. General secretary Mick Lynch paid tribute to RMT members, saying they were determined to continue defending their conditions as well as demand a decent pay rise.
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US President Biden quipped that he got "sandbagged" after he tripped and fell – but was uninjured – while onstage at the US air force academy graduation. Biden had been greeting the graduates in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the front of the stage with salutes and handshakes, and turned to jog back towards his seat when he fell. He was helped up by an air force officer as well as two members of his US Secret Service detail. Onlookers, including some members of the official delegation onstage, watched in concern before Biden, who at the age of 80 is the oldest president in US history, returned to his seat to view the end of the ceremony.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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Barclays raises Flutter Entertainment price target to 15,500 (14,000) pence - 'equal weight'
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Barclays cuts British American Tobacco price target to 3,300 (4,000) pence - 'overweight'
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JPMorgan cuts Anglo American price target to 3,150 (3,350) pence - 'overweight'
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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NatWest completed the disposal of part of its shareholding in Irish lender Permanent TSB Group. The overall size of the disposal by the Minister for Finance of Ireland and NatWest was 54.6 million TSB shares at EUR2.03 per share, representing a 10% stake in Permanent TSB. Each sell half of that and each receive EUR55.2 million. NatWest now holds 90.9 million shares, a 17% stake. CEO Alison Rose said: "This transaction represents further positive progress on our phased withdrawal from the Republic of Ireland."
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Dechra Pharmaceuticals and EQT X EUR SCSp & EQT X USD reach a takeover agreement for the Cheshire-based veterinary pharmaceutical company. Under the terms of the agreement, each Dechra shareholder will be entitled to receive 3,875p in cash. This is lower than a previous offer made by EQT, which offer 4,070p per share. The acquisition values Dechra at GBP4.46 billion.
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Wizz Air said it carried 5.0 million passengers in May, up 22% from 4.1 million passengers a year before. Total capacity rose to 5.6 million seats, up 14% from 4.9 seats. The airline reported a load factor of 90.2%, up from 84.2%. "Wizz Air continued to grow its network and improve its customer offering in May," the Budapest-based company said.
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OTHER COMPANIES
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Ryanair said the number of passengers in May was 17.0 million, up 10% from 15.4 million a year earlier. The budget airline's load factor improved to 94% from 92%. On a 12-month rolling basis the number of passengers improved by 39% to 171.9 million from 123.8 million, whilst load factor improved to 94% from 84%. Ryanair operated over 94,400 flights in May 2023, but noted that over 300 flights were cancelled due to air traffic controller strikes in May.
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International Consolidated Airlines' British Airways has been fined almost GBP1 million by the US government over claims it failed to pay refunds for cancelled flights. The US Transportation Department said in a legal document the airline did not "provide timely refunds to passengers" for abandoned or rescheduled flights to and from the country during the coronavirus pandemic. British Airways said it had "acted lawfully at all times" after being hit with the USD1.1 million fine on Thursday, and refuted the claims. A consent order from the department read: "From March to November 2020, British Airways' website instructed consumers to contact the carrier via phone to 'discuss refund options', including for flights the carrier cancelled or significantly changed. However, consumers were unable to get through to customer service agents when calling the carrier for several months during this period because British Airways failed to maintain adequate functionality of its customer service phone lines. There was also no way to submit a refund request through the carrier's website during this period."
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Dublin-based agronomy services firm Origin Enterprises buys British Hardwood Tree Nursery for an undisclosed amount. BHT is a wholesale supplier of bare root trees, shrubs, hedgerow plants and planting accessories to the forestry, farming, estate management, corporate and landscaping sectors. CEO Sean Coyle commented: "The addition of British Hardwood Tree Nursery complements recent acquisitions and further strengthens the group's amenity, environmental and ecological portfolio. Tree planting will continue to play an important role to help tackle climate change and restore biodiversity."
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Gateley Holdings said it expects to report annual revenue growth and profit in line with expectations. Gateley is a Birmingham, England-based legal and professional services group. Gateley said it expects to report revenue of at least GBP161 million in the year ended April 30, up about 17% year-on-year from GBP137.2 million a year earlier. It also expects underlying adjusted pretax profit to be in line with market expectations. At the year end, Gateley said it had net cash of GBP4.3 million.
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By Sophie Rose, Alliance News reporter
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