RYA.L Share News (RYA)

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened higher on Tuesday with Burberry leading the FTSE 100 index after the fashion house said it made a strong start to its financial year, while in the FTSE 250, fizzy drinks maker AG Barr fell after issuing a profit warning. The FTSE 100 was up 11.83 points, or 0.2%, at 7,543.55. The FTSE 250 was up 18.12 points, or 0.1%, at 19,602.26. The AIM All-Share was flat at 919.53. The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.1% at 12,763.63. The Cboe UK 250 was flat at 17,483.45, and the Cboe UK Small Companies was flat at 11,114.91.In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 index in Paris and DAX 30 in Frankfurt were flat and down 0.1% respectively. Burberry Group was the star blue-chip at the open, up 8.0% after reporting a good start to its financial year as Chief Creative Officer Riccardo Tisci continues to make his mark on the fashion house. The company said it saw an excellent consumer response to Tisci's work with new collections delivering strong double-digit percentage growth compared to last year's collections. For the 13 weeks to June 29, Burberry reported retail revenue of GBP498 million, up 4% from GBP479 million in the first quarter last year. Comparable store sales were up 4%, with growth led by new products. In the Europe, the Middle East and Africa region, comparable store sales grew by a low-single digit percentage, supported by tourist spending, which particularly benefited the UK. In the key Asia Pacific region, where Burberry normally sees strong demand for its items, comparable store sales grew by a high single-digit percentage driven by Mainland China, up by the mid-teens. Burberry maintained its financial 2020 guidance for broadly stable revenue and adjusted operating margin at constant exchange rates including cumulative cost savings of GBP120 million.ITV was up 2.7% after Liberum raised the broadcaster to Buy from Hold. CRH was up 1.2% after the Irish building materials firm said it agreed to sell its European Distribution unit for EUR1.64 billion in cash to private equity firm Blackstone.At the other end of the large cap index, Experian was the worst performer, down 2.2% despite saying it started its financial year well, in line with expectations and leaving its annual guidance unchanged. For the three months to June 30, the credit checking firm reported total revenue growth of 7% at constant exchange rates and organic revenue growth of 6%. At actual exchange rates total growth was 4%. In the North America region, organic revenue increased by 8%. Total revenue growth was 9%, which the company said reflected the contribution from its recent acquisition of AllClear ID. In the UK and Ireland, total and organic revenue growth were both flat at constant currency. At constant currency, total revenue growth across EMEA-Asia Pacific region was 6%, while organic revenue declined by 1%.Lloyds Banking Group was down 1.3% after JPMorgan cut the lender to Neutral from Overweight. In the FTSE 250, Aston Martin Lagonda was up 2.5% after Jefferies raised the DB9 sports car maker to Hold from Underperform.Languishing at the bottom of the midcaps, AG Barr was down 26%, after the soft drinks maker issued a profit warning following disappointing sales of its Rockstar energy and Rubicon juice drinks. Moreover, disappointing spring and early summer weather, specifically in Scotland and the north of England, exacerbated its woes. AG Barr said it expects revenue for the 26 weeks to July 27, to be in the region of GBP123 million, which represents a 10% decline from GBP136 million in 2018. As a result, the company expects annual profit to decline by up to 20% due to low first half volumes."It is also anticipated that there will be some exceptional costs incurred in the current financial year as we take action to regain momentum," AG Barr added. Ryanair Holdings was up 2.1% despite the Irish airline saying delays to deliveries of Boeing's troubled 737 MAX aircraft will hurt passenger numbers next year and plans to cut or close bases at some airports as a result. FTSE 250-listed peers easyJet and Wizz Air were the best midcap performers, up 3.3% and 2.5% respectively. Large-cap International Consolidated Airlines, which owns British Airways, was up 2.4%.The pound was quoted at USD1.298 Tuesday, lower than USD1.2518 at the London equities close Monday. The economic calendar on Tuesday has UK claimant count and average earnings at 0930 BST, eurozone trade balance at 1000 BST and US retail sales and US import and export price indexes at 1330 BST. The US Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index follows at 1355 BST. Top US and Chinese trade negotiators are due to speak by telephone in the coming days, but no face-to-face talks have been scheduled yet, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday.That would be the second call in two weeks by senior officials from Washington and Beijing as the thaw in fraught trade negotiations continues."We expect to have another principal-level call this week," Mnuchin told reporters on Monday. "To the extent we make significant progress, there's a good chance we'll go there later."Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart last month agreed to resume trade talks after discussions collapsed in early May when the American side accused Beijing of reneging on key commitments.As a result, Trump raised duty rates on USD200 billion in Chinese imports but agreed last month not to move forward with another USD300 billion in import duties.In the US earnings calendar on Tuesday, banks JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Wells Fargo will report earnings on Tuesday before the New York opening bell. Consumer products firm Johnson & Johnson will also issue second quarter earnings Tuesday.