Sports Direct Share News (SPD)

(Alliance News) - Stock prices were higher in London at midday on Monday with investors unperturbed by weakened economic growth in China, as Citigroup is set to initiate second-quarter earnings season in the US. The FTSE 100 was 10.24 points higher, or 0.1%, at 7,516.21 at midday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 41.29 points, or 0.2%, at 19,593.39, while the AIM All-Share was 0.1% higher at 918.22.The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.1% at 12,725.10. The Cboe UK 250 was 0.1% higher at 17.456.05. The Cboe UK Small Companies was down 0.2% at 11,142.92.In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 index in Paris and DAX 30 in Frankfurt were down 0.1% and up 0.2%, respectively, in early afternoon trade.Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell said: "News that China's economy is growing at its slowest pace since the 1990s has failed to trouble investors, perhaps as there had already been plenty of signs to suggest the Asian powerhouse is finding life a bit harder."Interestingly commodity producers are among the FTSE's top risers, suggesting that investors do not believe China's appetite for raw materials is going to wane."On the London Stock Exchange, Antofagasta was the best large-cap performer, up 4.5% after an international tribunal ordered Pakistan to pay almost USD6 billion to a joint venture partly owned by Antofagasta, the Chilean copper miner said.The USD5.84 billion award has been made by the World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes to Tethyan Copper Co, a partnership between Antofagasta and Canada's Barrick Gold. The dispute centred on the alleged "unlawful" denial of a mining lease for the Reko Diq project in Pakistan in 2011. Pakistan, which has "limited" grounds for a challenge, will pay USD4.09 billion based on a market value of the project in 2011, and interest of USD1.75 billion. A feasibility study, Antofagasta said, showed Reko Diq contained one of the world's largest undeveloped copper and gold deposits, with the potential to be mined for over half a century.Miners Glencore, Rio Tinto, and Anglo American all were up 1.5%, following a slew of economic data releases from China.China's growth slowed to its weakest pace in almost three decades in the second quarter, with the US-China trade war and weakening global demand weighing on the world's number-two economy, official data showed Monday.The slowing economy makes it more difficult for President Xi Jinping to fight back forcefully against Washington - which is using tariffs as leverage to try to force Beijing into opening up its economy.The 6.2% figure released by the National Bureau of Statistics was in line the consensus estimate reported by FXStreet, but down from a 6.4% expansion in the first quarter.The growth rate was within the government's target range of 6.0% to 6.5% for the whole year, down from the 6.6% economic growth China achieved in 2018.Meanwhile, China's industrial output rose 6.3%, accelerating from 5.0% in May, which was the slowest increase since 2002. However, the figure came in ahead of FXStreet's consensus estimate of 5.2%.Analysts at FXPro said: "The Chinese GDP came out better than expected, somewhat reducing concerns about the growth rate of the second largest world economy...Since China is the largest raw materials importer, strong industrial figures are setting the demand for the commodities. As a result, we see an increase in purchases of mining companies, as well as Australian and New Zealand dollars, which are in demand in the hope of increasing exports to China."At the same time, in a more global context, one cannot lose sight of the fact that the current data remain very weak. The annual growth rate of the economy has slowed to a minimum level over the past 27 years, and the current surge in production has been stimulated by the Chinese government. Under these conditions, market growth momentum can be very unsustainable if no further good news follows."Micro Focus International, down 5.1%, was the worst performer in the FTSE 100 index.The software firm was extending losses after it said last Tuesday its high-profile acquisition of Hewlett Packard's software business was still proving difficult to integrate into existing operations. The stock is down 21% since last Tuesday. In addition, the Newbury-based software firm said on Monday that Chair Kevin Loosemore sold 650,000 shares at an average price of 1,777 pence each, worth around GBP11.6 million, in transactions last Wednesday and Thursday. In the FTSE 250 index, IP Group was up 2.9% after the intellectual property investor said portfolio firm Istesso achieved positive results from phase 2a of testing for its rheumatoid arthritis drug.Meanwhile, Sports Direct International was comfortably the worst mid-cap performer, down 10% after the sportswear retailer said it would delay the release of its annual results, citing the complexities of the integration of department store chain House of Fraser.The company was originally set to report full-year results on Thursday.Sports Direct said increased regulatory scrutiny and the complex integration of House of Fraser, alongside uncertainty over the troubled department store's future prospects were the reasons for the delay.The company said accounting firm Grant Thornton has asked for additional time to complete its audit.In addition, Sports Direct added that there were some "key areas to conclude" which could further hurt the guidance given in December. The company now expects its audited results to be published between July 26 and August 23.Separately, Sports Direct's GBP52 million takeover of video game retailer Game Digital moved a step closer to completion on Monday as Sports Direct said it now controls nearly 84% of Game."The hint that underlying EBITDA will now undershoot forecasts, excluding acquisitions, will stoke concerns that Sports Direct's strategy to supplement organic growth with an acquisition spree is serving as a distraction to management and overstretching the key teams at a time when the core business offers more than enough challenges to keep them busy - anyone working in the buying departments right now has a pretty unenviable task, for starters," commented AJ Bell's Mould. The pound was quoted at USD1.2559 at midday, flat against USD1.2554 at the London equities close on Friday. The UK High Street struggled in June in the absence of last year's sunny weather, the British Retail Consortium-Springboard Footfall & Vacancies Monitor showed on Monday. Footfall in the UK fell 2.9% in June year-on-year, sharper than the 0.9% slide seen in June 2018. "Poor footfall this June led to a significant fall in the sales figures for the month. High streets were worst hit by the relatively poor June weather, with shopping centres also performing badly, however, retail parks managed to buck the trend," commented BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson.The euro stood at USD1.1280 at midday, flat against USD1.1286 at the European equities close Friday. The German economy was likely sluggish in the second quarter, the Economy Ministry said, based on available economic indicators following surprisingly strong growth in the first three months of 2019.After narrowly avoiding recession at the end of 2018, Germany's economy grew by 0.4% in the first quarter of 2019. But the ministry predicted a "weak economic trend" for the three months that ended in June.Signals from the services sector indicate that the strong growth should abate, while there also continues to be a lull in the industrial sector, it said.Stocks in New York were set to open higher on Monday, looking to sustain momentum following a record-setting session on Friday.The DJIA, the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite all were called up 0.1%.Ahead in the US earnings calendar, Citigroup will be the first major bank to report second-quarter earnings, scheduled for before the New York opening bell on Monday.Peers JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Wells Fargo will report earnings on Tuesday before the US open. On Wednesday, Bank of America and equipment rentals firm United Rentals - peer of the UK's Ashtead - report earnings. On Thursday, investment bank Morgan Stanley does as well. London Midday is available to subscribers as an email newsletter. Contact info@alliancenews.com