LONDON (Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were lower at midday on Friday, with the FTSE 100 lower as the pound gained after the European Union granted the UK an extension on the article 50 deadline to leave the bloc.The FTSE 100 index was 74.20 points lower, or 1.0%, at 7,281.14 at midday. The FTSE 250 was down 138.82 points or 0.7%, at 19,208.89, while the AIM All-Share index was down 0.3% at 920.37.The Cboe UK 100 index was down 1.0% at 12,362.49. The Cboe UK 250 was down 0.6% at 17,198.34, and the Cboe UK Small Companies up 0.1% at 11,253.45."The UK index found itself even worse off, back below 7,300 after dropping 1% thanks to a reversal from its commodity stocks, and the pound's rebound following Thursday's Brexit extension drama in Brussels," said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell. The pound was quoted at USD1.3147 at midday, up from USD1.3048 at the London equities close Thursday, after the European Union granted the UK a Brexit delay, though one shorter than requested.EU leaders have agreed that Britain will depart the bloc on May 22 if UK lawmakers approve Prime Minister Theresa May's divorce deal. The original departure date was March 29.At a late night press conference, the prime minister made clear she intended to make another attempt to get her Brexit deal through the Commons.If May succeeds, the EU leaders agreed to extend the Article 50 withdrawal process until May 22 to enable the government get the necessary legislation through Parliament. But if she fails to do so, the UK will have until April 12 to set out its next steps, with a longer extension on offer only if Britain takes part in European Parliament elections in May."Though the agreement with the EU - that Britain can extend the article 50 deadline until the day before European elections in May if MPs agree to the current Brexit proposal, or that it can submit a request for a longer delay until April 12 - boosted the pound, it fundamentally provided only a short reprieve as the country remains without a resolution about its future. Under the circumstances the markets will have no option but to remain volatile and dominated by Westminster headlines in the weeks to come," said City Index analyst Fiona Cincotta. On the London Stock Exchange, Smiths Group was up 0.2% after the engineer boosted its interim dividend and outlined plans to spin-out its struggling medical unit by the end of 2020.Smiths set out plans to demerge its Smiths Medical business and separately list it in the UK, with the process expected to complete in the second half of 2020. The firm has already began searching for a Smiths Medical CEO and "does not foresee any potential roadblocks in executing the demerger".Smiths proposed a 14.1 pence per share interim dividend, up 2.2% from 13.8p the year prior."There is a trend for companies to have a tighter focus and not be all things to all people. Separating business divisions can help the parent company be leaner and meaner, and for the orphaned operations to have a new life of their own with potentially more entrepreneurial decisions by management," noted AJ Bell's Russ Mould. At the other end of the large cap index, Aviva was down 2.5% after the insurer said Chair Keith Williams will depart in May to take up the same role at FTSE 250-listed postal operator Royal Mail.Williams is already deputy chair at Royal Mail but will take over from Les Owen as chair on May 22, following the release of annual results for the financial year ending March 25. Royal Mail said Williams is a "highly regarded" business leader. Royal Mail was down 2.0%. Williams will leave Aviva on May 23, following the insurer's annual general meeting. Aviva's Senior Independent Director Glyn Barker will become interim chair while a permanent replacement is sought.In the FTSE 250, Sanne Group was up 1.7% after the hedge fund administrator said profit rose in 2018 due to robust growth from its Alternatives business, as well as new business wins. Sanne posted a pretax profit of GBP23.7 million for 2018, up 5.8% from GBP22.4 million the year before. Revenue totalled GBP143.0 million, up 26% from GBP113.2 million in 2017, including 52% revenue growth from its Europe, Middle East & Africa Alternatives segment to GBP71.8 million from GBP46.8 million. New business wins in the year came to GBP24.5 million versus GBP20.9 million in 2017. The company has declared a final dividend of 9.2p per share, taking the total dividend for the year up 9.5% to 13.8p per share from 12.6p per share.Elsewhere, Debenhams was down 36% after the troubled department store chain said it launched a consent solicitation with its bondholders in order to seek permission to raise GBP200 million by amending the terms of its loan notes. Debenhams launched the solicitations with holders of its 5.25% senior notes due 2021. It expects the process to remain open until Thursday. The amendments to the notes will allow the company to secure new money providing liquidity headroom for Debenhams' future funding needs and delivering stability, the retailer said. Meanwhile, major shareholder Sports Direct International continued to put pressure on Debenhams, offering to buy its Danish business Magasin Du Nord for GBP100 million in cash, but only if Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley is put in charge of the rest of Debenhams. Under Sports Direct's proposal, Debenhams would have a 12-month option to buy back Magasin Du Nord at the price at which it was sold to Sports Direct. Sports Direct was up 0.9%.In Paris the CAC 40 was down 0.9%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was down 0.4%. The euro stood at USD1.1303 at midday, down from USD1.1346 at the European equities close Thursday, following disappointing PMI readings from the continent."A series of worse-than-expected economic releases from Europe have sounded the alarm bell not just for the bloc, but also the global economy, by providing further evidence of a worldwide slowdown in economic activity. These industry surveys are keenly followed, and unlike employment or GDP figures they are commonly seen as leading indicators due to the nature of their composition which is heavily weighted to future expectations," said XTB analyst David Cheatham. The eurozone is on course for only modest growth in the first quarter of 2019 after manufacturing output worsened in March, IHS Markit said.The flash eurozone composite output Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 51.3 in March from 51.9 in February, though did remain above the line of 50 which separates expansion from contraction. The March reading was the third-lowest since November 2014, IHS Markit noted.Service sector activity slipped to 52.7 from 52.8 - still expansion - while manufacturing sector decline steepened considerably, with the flash PMI coming in at 47.6 in March from 49.3 in February.This fall in manufacturing dragged down the composite reading, said IHS Markit, and while the services sector showed "resilience", it remained around its worst growth pace since late 2016.In addition, IHS Markit showed German manufacturing activity slumped further in March as the country's composite output index tumbled to a near six-year low.The flash German composite output Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 51.5 in March from 52.8 in February. Though the score fell from the previous month and represented the slowest growth in 69 months, any reading above 50 indicates expansion, while one below signals contraction.The flash manufacturing PMI slumped to a 79-month low of 44.7 in March from 47.6 in February."Due to the country's large level of exports, German manufacturing is often seen as a bellwether of global economic activity and with this metric falling to its lowest level since August 2012 - and in doing so chalking up a 3rd consecutive month in contraction territory with another PMI reading below 50 - it's sending a clear and obvious warning sign on the health of the global economy," XTB's Cheatham added. Stocks in New York were set for a lower open, with the DJIA, the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite all pointed down 0.4%.
16 Apr 2020 15:59
