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(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are called to open slightly higher on Thursday, after a slew of earnings from a range of FTSE 100 companies.
Eyes are firmly on a key US inflation reading on Thursday. According to FXStreet-cited consensus, the headline annual personal consumption expenditures inflation rate is to ease to 2.4% in January, from 2.6% in December. The core reading, the Fed's preferred inflationary gauge, is to ebb to 2.8% from 2.9%.
"The Fed will probably cut the rates this year, yet a cut before summer won't be on the agenda if inflation doesn't continue to ease. Three Fed members repeated yesterday that the timing and the pace of policy easing will depend on data. Activity on Fed funds futures gives around 64% chance for a June cut before the data. Bets could go either way. A figure in line or ideally softer than expected should keep the FEd doves betting for the first rate cut to happen in June, whereas a stronger-than-expected figure could strengthen the hawks' hand and push the expectation of the first cut to… July," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
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 7,637.60
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Hang Seng: up 0.3% at 16,584.83
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.1% at 39,166.19
S&P/ASX 200: closed up 0.5% at 7,698.70
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DJIA: closed down 23.39 points, 0.1%, at 38,949.02
S&P 500: closed down 8.42 points, 0.2%, to 5,069.76
Nasdaq Composite: closed down 87.56, 0.6%, at 15,947.74
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EUR: down at USD1.0833 (USD1.0835)
GBP: up at USD1.2659 (USD1.2656)
USD: down at JPY149.69 (JPY150.73)
Gold: up at USD2,036.89 per ounce (USD2,033.68)
(Brent): up at USD81.86 a barrel (USD81.78)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS
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Thursday's key economic events still to come:
08:30 EST Canada GDP
07:30 CET France nonfarm payrolls
08:45 CET France CPI
08:45 CET France GDP
08:45 CET France household consumption
08:45 CET France PPI
08:00 CET Germany retail sales
09:55 CET Germany unemployment
13:00 CET Germany CPI
11:00 GMT Ireland CPI
10:00 CET Italy industrial sales
09:00 CET Spain CPI
10:00 CET Spain current account
09:00 CET Switzerland GDP
09:00 CET Switzerland KOF leading indicators
09:30 GMT UK mortgage approvals
08:30 EST US personal consumption expenditures
08:30 EST US initial jobless claims
09:45 EST US Chicago PMI
10:00 EST US pending home sales
10:30 EST US EIA natural gas stocks
11:00 EST US Kansas City Fed composite index
11:00 EST US Kansas City Fed manufacturing index
12:00 EST US 15-year fixed rate mortgage average
20:10 EST US New York Fed President John Williams speaks
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UK house sales were 15% higher in recent weeks than the same period a year ago as mortgage rates started to fall, a new survey has suggested. Zoopla found that agreed sales jumped as demand from buyers was up by 11% and the number of homes for sale 21% higher than a year ago. The survey, which covers the four weeks to February 18, found that house prices only dropped 0.5% compared to a year earlier. The reduction has mellowed since October when prices dropped 1.4% on average across the UK. "The housing market has proved very resilient to higher mortgage rates and cost of living pressures," said Zoopla executive director Richard Donnell. "More sales and more sellers shows growing confidence amongst households and evidence that 4-5% mortgage rates are not a barrier to improving market conditions."
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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RBC raises Hikma Pharma price target to 2,375 (2,175) pence - 'sector perform'
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Jefferies cuts Rio Tinto price target to 6,000 (6,500) pence - 'buy'
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Berenberg cuts Reckitt price target to 5,800 (6,240) pence - 'hold'
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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London Stock Exchange said total income in 2023 climbed 8.2% to GBP8.38 billion from GBP7.74 billion a year earlier. Pretax profit fell 3.7% to GBP1.20 billion from GBP1.24 billion. On the back of the results, LSEG upped its dividend by 7.5% to 115.0p from 107.0p. It also said it plans to execute up to GBP1 billion of buybacks in 2024. In 2023, the company returned GBP1.2 billion through buybacks. CEO David Schwimmer said: "2023 was another strong year for LSEG. We continued our track record of broad-based growth, despite an uncertain environment, and delivered on all the targets we set at the time of the Refinitiv acquisition. We also significantly improved our products and services, further strengthened our leadership team and made great progress on creating a high-performance culture throughout the organisation."
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Howden Joinery reported revenue of GBP2.31 billion in 2023, down 0.3% from GBP2.32 billion a year earlier. Pretax profit dropped 19% to GBP327.6 million from GBP405.8 million. It said that this included GBP17 million of additional costs relating to a 53rd week, before these costs pretax profit was down 15%. On the back of the results, Howden upped its dividend by 1.9%, bringing the total dividend for the year to 21.0p, up from 20.6p. Looking ahead, the company said it is on track with its outlook for 2024. CEO Andrew Livingston said: "Our robust balance sheet underpins our strategy as we invest in growth, including expanding our manufacturing and supply chain capabilities, and returning surplus capital to shareholders. While we are cautious about the macro-economic and geo-political environment, given the encouraging start to the year and the agility of our business model, the Board is confident in the outlook for 2024."
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Spire Healthcare reported a 13% increase in revenue to GBP1.36 billion from GBP1.20 billion a year earlier. Pretax profit surged to GBP34.6 million from GBP3.9 million. On the back of the results, upped its final dividend to 2.1p, from 0.5p. Since the year end, Spire Healthcare said it has continued to trade in line with management expectations. It added that management remains confident of reaching the medium-term targets. CEO Justin Ash said: "This is a strong set of results, delivered during a period of macroeconomic uncertainty and in an inflationary environment, demonstrating that our strategy and execution is working. The high-quality diagnosis and treatment we provide in our hospitals continued to meet the demand for fast access to care throughout 2023, while we broadened our range of services to meet more of people's healthcare needs out-of-hospital, in the community and at home. This enabled us to care for over one million patients for the first time, over the year." Separately, Spire Healthcare said its Chief Financial Officer Jitesh Sodha has decided to step down after five years. He will step down following the company's annual general meeting, to be held in May. Following this he will continue in the business reporting to CEO Justin Ash until February 2025 to ensure a smooth transition for the company and to support a number of strategic initiatives and projects. It also named Deputy CFO Harbant Samra as is new finance chief.
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OTHER COMPANIES
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Seplat Energy reported results for 2023. In the year, revenue climbed to USD1.06 billion, up 12% from USD951.8 million a year earlier. Pretax profit fell 6.4% to USD191.2 million from USD204.4 million. The total dividend for the year was lifted to 15 US cents. Production averaged 47,758 barrels of oil per day, up 8.3% from 44,104 boepd recorded in 2022, and within original guidance. For 2024, Seplat is guiding for production to be between 44 kboepd and 52 kboepd .
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By Sophie Rose, Alliance News senior reporter
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