(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London are seen opening higher on Tuesday following gains in Asian equities, rebounding from a historic fall by markets around the world on Monday.
In early UK company news, asset manager Standard Life Aberdeen reported a drop in annual earnings and warned of a turbulent 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Events and publishing firm Informa reported a solid set of annual results, while pizza-delivery franchise Domino's Pizza Group appointed a new chair.
IG futures indicate the FTSE 100 index is to open up 204.93 points at 6,170.70. The blue-chip index closed down 496.78 points, or 7.7%, at 5,965.77 on Monday. Stocks in the index had around GBP144 billion wiped off their value as the FTSE 100 closed below 6,000 points and suffered its biggest intraday fall since 2008.
Standard Life Aberdeen kept its dividend unchanged as it reported a drop in assets under management.
For 2019, fee-based revenue was down 13% to GBP1.63 billion from GBP1.87 billion in 2018 and adjusted pretax profit fell to GBP584 million from GBP650 million. Net outflows were reduced to GBP17.4 billion from GBP40.9 billion.
Standard Life's assets under management in 2019 slipped to GBP544.6 billion from GBP551.6 billion in 2018. The figure beat the company-compiled consensus forecast of GBP529.1 billion, however.
Standard Life declared an unchanged total annual dividend of 21.6 pence.
"The outlook for the markets and our industry in 2020 is turbulent with the additional complexity of COVID-19. Importantly we are focused on what we can control, namely delivering for our clients, customers, colleagues and shareholders; diversifying our revenues; investing for the future and maintaining financial discipline," said Chief Executive Keith Skeoch.
Informa said 2019 brought a sixth consecutive year of growth in revenue, free cash flow, and dividends.
For 2019, revenue rose 22% to GBP2.89 billion from GBP2.37 billion in 2018, and pretax profit was up 13% to GBP318.7 million from GBP282.1 million.
Informa lifted its full-year dividend by 7.3% to 23.5 pence from 21.9p in 2018.
The company said it would not be providing any market guidance due to the coronavirus outbreak. Informa has had to postpone some of its events and exhibitions since January for health and safety reasons, it said.
"In 2020, our subscriptions-related businesses, representing around 35% of group revenue, continue to trade well, underpinned by strong renewal rates, at 90% on average, and consistent low to mid-single digit growth in annualised contract values. However, like a number of businesses, we are seeing an impact from the outbreak of COVID-19 within our Events portfolio. We are making all the decisions necessary to look after colleagues and customers and ensure the long-term strength of our brands and customer relationships," Informa said.
Domino's Pizza Group appointed Matt Shattock as its new chair effective from next Monday. He is currently chair of Jim Beam bourbon maker Beam Suntory and has held roles at Cadbury and Unilever in the past. The ongoing search for a new CEO and chief financial officer will be led by Shattock, the company added.
"I couldn't be more excited to be joining Domino's as chairman. This is a good business today but with its powerful brand and some of the best franchisees in the world, it has the potential to be an outstanding business. My priorities will be building the new executive leadership, while also getting out to know the business, meeting colleagues and engaging with our franchisees to build a constructive relationship," Shattock said.
The dramatic equity market sell-off on Monday came as economists slashed their forecasts and mulled the prospects of a global recession amid a drop in oil prices.
Brent was quoted at USD36.97 a barrel Tuesday morning, firm from USD36.22 at the London close on Monday, though still down 20% from USD46.00 late Friday.
In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended at historic lows, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 7.8%, the S&P 500 down 7.6% and the Nasdaq Composite down 7.3%. The Dow finishing more than 2,000 points lower in its worst session since 2008 - following a 15-minute halt to trading early in the session triggered by a 7% drop.
US President Donald Trump on Monday said his administration would be meeting with lawmakers to discuss economic relief measures to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus outbreak spreading through the US.
"We're going to be meeting with House Republicans, (Senate leader) Mitch McConnell, everybody, and discussing a possible payroll tax cut, or substantial relief," he said.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.9%. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended up 1.6%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is up 1.8%.
"Most Asian equity indices rebounded following Monday's bloodbath and US equity futures rallied as US President Donald Trump announced that the White House and Congress will meet on Tuesday to consider 'very substantial' economic relief measures, which may include a payroll tax cut," said SwissQuote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3041 early Tuesday, down from USD1.3119 at the London close Monday. The euro was quoted at USD1.1350, down from USD1.1462.
Amid the slight rebound in market sentiment, safe havens such as the yen and gold gave back some recent gains.
Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at USD104.66 Tuesday morning, up from JPY102.10 late Monday. Gold was quoted at USD1,658.66 an ounce, down from USD1,668.05.
Chinese consumer inflation rose 5.2% on-year in February, slightly down from 5.4% the month before, which was the highest since October 2011. The reading was in line forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey.
The economic events calendar on Tuesday has eurozone fourth-quarter GDP readings at 1000 GMT.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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