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(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are called lower on Thursday, with a stack of UK corporate updates keeping investors busy until the afternoon's eagerly-anticipated US inflation reading.
The FTSE 100 has endured a less-than-stellar week so far, falling 0.5% since Friday. It could fall further if the US inflation data comes in hotter-than-expected.
US annual inflation is expected to fade to 8.0% in October from 8.2% in September, according to FXStreet cited consensus. The dollar was stronger ahead of the data, with the pound below the USD1.14 mark.
The reading comes in the wake of the US midterm elections. Results from the poll are still being counted.
As Americans impatiently awaited the final outcome of the US midterm elections on Thursday, as President Joe Biden celebrated what he said was his party's success in fending off a Republican "red wave."
"It didn't happen," the 79-year-old Biden said at a news conference Wednesday in his first speech since the polls closed. "It was a good day, I think, for democracy."
Republicans appeared likely to win the majority in the House of Representatives, but with a much smaller victory than they had hoped for - and that pollsters forecast.
If current predictions hold true, Tuesday's midterm elections could mark the best performance by a sitting president in two decades.
Here is what you need to know ahead of the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: called down 0.4% at 7,269.25
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Hang Seng: down 2.0% at 16,030.36
Nikkei 225: down 1.0% at 27,446.10
S&P/ASX 200: down 0.5% at 6,964.00
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DJIA: closed down 646.89 points, 2.0%, at 32,513.94
S&P 500: closed down 79.54 points, 2.1%, at 3,748.57
Nasdaq Composite: closed down 263.03 points, 2.5%, at 10,353.18
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EUR: down at USD1.0022 (USD1.0049)
GBP: down at USD1.1384 (USD1.1416)
USD: up at JPY146.26 (JPY146.00)
Gold: down at USD1,709.31 per ounce (USD1,713.97)
Oil (Brent): down at USD92.56 a barrel (USD93.74)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS
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Thursday's key economic events still to come:
11:00 GMT Ireland CPI
09:30 GMT UK mortgage and landlord possession statistics
13:30 GMT US CPI
13:30 GMT US unemployment insurance claims report
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UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hosts his Irish counterpart Micheal Martin, with renewed focus on talks to end a dispute over post-Brexit trade in Northern Ireland. The two leaders meet with signs that frosty ties are thawing over the issue that has paralysed politics in Northern Ireland and put London at loggerheads with Brussels. In a sign of renewed commitment to resolving the row, Sunak will become the first UK prime minister to open the British-Irish Council summit since 2007. Downing Street said Sunak will say he is "determined" to help restore the power-sharing assembly in Belfast "as soon as possible". The Northern Ireland Protocol was signed separately from the Brexit trade and cooperation deal that cemented the UK's departure from the European in January 2021. But its implementation has proven a particular flashpoint for disagreement between the EU, member state Ireland and the UK.
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House prices ground to a halt in October after more than two years of growth, according to surveyors. Rising mortgage costs are fuelling caution among buyers, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said. But rents are expected to continue heading upwards, amid an imbalance between demand from tenants and the supply of homes to let. Across the UK as a whole, a net balance of 2% of property professionals reported house prices falling rather than rising. This brought to an end a sequence of positive readings running for 28 months.
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A strike by transport workers in London is causing travel chaos with many services closed. Members of the Rail, Maritime & Transport union and Unite are involved in a long-running dispute over jobs and pensions. Nine out of 11 London Underground lines were shut down on Thursday morning, according to Transport for London's website.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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Barclays raises 3i Group price target to 2,025 (1,860) pence - 'overweight'
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Credit Suisse raises Drax Group to 'neutral' ('underperform') - price target 570 (625) pence
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Berenberg raises Conduit price target to 570 (540) pence - 'buy'
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Haleon lifted its annual guidance after an improved third quarter. The Sensodyne and Panadol owner said its yearly margin will get a boost from foreign exchange effects. For the third quarter of 2022, it reported revenue growth of 16% year-on-year to GPB2.89 billion from GBP2.49 billion. Pretax profit, however, slipped to GBP495 million from GBP507 million. Selling, general and administration ticked up to GBP1.20 billion from GBP997 million year-on-year. The GSK spin-off consumer healthcare products company blamed the dip on standalone costs and adverse foreign exchange rates, specifically related to the Swiss franc and US dollar strength. However, it has seen a benefit from "recent favourable translational FX movements". It expects its adjusted operating margin to be "slightly above last year at actual exchange rates". The adjusted operating margin last year was 22.8%. Haleon also now expects organic revenue growth for the full-year to be between 8.0% and 8.5%.
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AstraZeneca swung to a third quarter pretax profit of USD922 million from a loss of USD2.00 billion the previous year. This came as revenue rose to USD10.98 billion from USD9.87 billion. The pharmaceutical firm explained that revenue growth was seen across all disease areas but noted that in its Oncology division it grew by 24% year-on-year. Looking ahead to the full-year, AstraZeneca now expects core earnings per share to increase in the high twenties to low thirties percentage range at constant exchange rates against the prior year. Previously, the firm had guided for a mid-to-high twenties increase.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Books and stationary retailer WH Smith PLC boasted a significant recovery in its revenue performance for the financial year ended August 31. Revenue surged to GBP1.40 billion from GBP886 million the previous year thanks to a robust recovery across its travel markets. The revenue figure is the highest annual top-line number reported by the firm since 2006, it added. WH Smith swung to a pretax profit of GBP63 million in the year, from a loss of GBP116 million a year prior. As a result of its strong trading and its confidence in the future, the company declared the resumption of a final dividend at 9.1 pence.
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OTHER COMPANIES
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London-based pub chain Young & Co's Brewery sas a slight dip in profit in the six months ended September 26 as the business returns to normality. Total profit - which includes trading from 56 sites part of the Ram Pub Co segment sold in August 2021 - fell to GBP19.1 million from GBP20.0 million the year prior. However, the firm's pretax profit from its continuing operations climbed to GBP23.9 million from GBP22.2 million. Revenue rose 25% to GBP186.5 million from GBP149.6 million. Young & Co's noted that revenue on a like-for-like basis was also 6.2% ahead of a pre-pandemic comparative. It declared an interim dividend of 10.26 pence, 20% higher than its last interim dividend.
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By Heather Rydings; heatherrydings@alliancenews.com
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