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(Alliance News) - Shops, restaurants, cinemas and playgrounds all will reopen this week after the country successfully contained the new coronavirus, with just 21 deaths recorded.
Unfortunately for Britons, that's in New Zealand.
Here in the UK, the picture was considerably bleaker and more confused early Monday following a televised address by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday evening.
The PM's "road map" out of the UK's considerably more serious Covid-19 health crisis was quickly criticised as vague and indecisive. He is scheduled to provide more details to Parliament later Monday.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 0.7% at 5,977.76
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Hang Seng: up 1.5% at 24,593.79
Nikkei 225: closed up 1.1% at 20,390.66
DJIA: closed up 455.43 points, 1.9%, at 24,331.32
S&P 500: closed up 1.7% at 2,929.80
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GBP: up at USD1.2405 (USD1.2308)
EUR: up at USD1.0827 (USD1.0790)
Gold: firm at USD1,701.45 per ounce (USD1,700.80)
Oil (Brent): soft at USD30.54 a barrel (USD30.83)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Monday's Key Economic Events still to come
none scheduled
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UK Prime Minister Johnson will provide more detailed plans to gradually ease the coronavirus lockdown when the government publishes its official guidance amid widespread calls for clarity. Johnson will face members of Parliament on Monday after offering his "first sketch of a road map" for restarting the economy and social lives in England. He will give a statement to the Commons, with more information expected on a Covid-19 alert system, use of face coverings and the return of professional football. In a broadcast from Downing Street on Sunday evening, the PM said a phased reopening of schools and non-essential shops in England could potentially begin from June 1 if transmission can be reduced. And he said people who cannot work from home should be "actively encouraged" to return to their jobs from Monday, and he granted unlimited exercise in England from Wednesday. Further details are expected on plans to impose a 14-day quarantine on people flying into the UK and on a five-tier alert system to inform relaxation and strengthening of measures.
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Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron have agreed there should for now be no quarantine measures for travellers arriving in Britain from France, the Elysee said. Johnson said Sunday that Britain would "soon" quarantine air passengers from abroad due to the coronavirus pandemic. Some reports had indicated London was contemplating a mandatory 14-day quarantine for all travellers from outside the British Isles. In telephone talks, the two leaders vowed to work together to prevent the risk of cross-border contamination as COVID-19 infections finally begin to fall, the Elysee said. "No quarantine measure will apply to travellers from France at this stage; any measure from one side or the other will be taken in a coordinated and reciprocal way," the Elysee said.
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The EU and UK are to take another run at making headway on a post-Brexit trade deal on Monday in a third round of negotiations held by video conference. The last two rounds yielded little progress, with Brussels lead negotiator Michel Barnier accusing London of refusing to seriously engage with the discussions. Negotiations will continue every day this week until Friday. Britain left the EU at the end of January. However, a transition period remains in place until the end of the year, meaning very little has yet changed in terms of Britons' everyday lives.
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New Zealand will phase out its coronavirus lockdown over the next 10 days after successfully containing the virus, although some restrictions will remain, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced. Ardern said that from Thursday shopping malls, restaurants, cinemas and playgrounds will reopen – with the country moving to Level Two on its four-tier system. The 39-year-old leader warned "none of us can assume COVID is not with us" but said New Zealand currently had only 90 active cases after a seven-week lockdown. New Zealand, with a population of five million has recorded 1,147 coronavirus cases, including 21 deaths.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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GOLDMAN SACHS CUTS NEXT PLC TO 'NEUTRAL' ('BUY') - TARGET 5300 PENCE
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RBC CUTS SPIRE HEALTHCARE TO 'SECTOR PERFORM' ('OUTPERFORM') - TARGET 100 PENCE
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HSBC RAISES CARNIVAL PLC TO 'BUY' ('HOLD') - TARGET 1280 (3500) PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo said that their jointly developed drug Enhertu has been granted breakthrough therapy designation in the US for metastatic gastric cancer. The pharmaceutical companies said this designation, granted by the US Food & Drug Administration, is designed to accelerate the development and regulatory review of potential new medicines intended to treat a serious condition and address a significant unmet medical need. The FDA's decision was based on data from phase 2 and phase 1 clinical trials, the companies said. In addition, AstraZeneca said its Lynparza treatment has been approved in the US as first-line maintenance treatment with bevacizumab for HRD-positive advanced ovarian cancer.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Technical products supplier Diploma said it delivered a robust first-half performance in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. For the half-year ended March 31, revenue rose 9% to GBP283.6 million from GBP260.4 million last year, and pretax profit increased 4% to GBP41.6 million from GBP40.1 million. However, Diploma has decided to suspend payment of an interim dividend. Looking ahead, Diploma said its outlook for the second half remains uncertain as the global response to Covid-19 pandemic hurts its operations in many of its major markets.
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Speciality chemicals company Victrex said that, despite global demand for chemicals remaining uncertain, it delivered a solid first half which was in line with expectations. For the six months to March 31, revenue rose 4% to GBP151.5 million from GBP145.7 million a year before; however, pretax profit edged lower to GBP49.9 million from GBP50.2 million reflecting exceptional items of GBP2.1 million related to the group's China subsidiary investment. Victrex deferred its interim dividend due to the coronavirus. It said it made a solid start to the second half with a strong order book.
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COMPANIES - OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Virgin Atlantic Airways is seeking to raise new funds from private investors in a bid to avoid collapse, the Times newspaper reported. The airline is set to discuss potential financing options with several private sector investors, including Cerberus Capital Management, Centerbridge Partners, Apollo Global Management and Greybull Capital. According to the newspaper, the company's financing talks include an equity stake sale against potential commercial loans or other forms of credit. The airline, which is majority-owned by Richard Branson's Virgin Group, at the same time is seeking a GBP500 million rescue package from the UK government. Virgin Atlantic, on Tuesday last week, said it would shed over 3,000 jobs and move its operations from London's Gatwick airport to Heathrow, as part of measures to "reshape and resize" the business.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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Visitors wearing face masks streamed into Shanghai Disneyland as China's most prominent theme park reopened on Monday in a new step towards rolling back coronavirus controls that shut down the country's economy. The park, which closed on January 25, will limit visitor numbers and is keeping some attractions closed in line with social distancing guidelines, said executives of the company, part of Walt Disney. The reopening adds to efforts by companies and the ruling Communist Party to revive the world's second-largest economy following a shutdown that triggered its worst slump since at least the 1960s.
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Monday's Shareholder Meetings
no events scheduled
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
