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(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were seen opening higher on Monday following positive economic data from China, while investor attention will be on the OPEC meeting in Vienna later this week.
In company news, Mexican gold miner Fresnillo narrowed its 2019 production guidance. In addition, German business park operator Sirius Real Estate and hotel operator PPHE announced acquisitions, while promotional products firm Pebble Group is set to begin life on AIM on Thursday.
IG futures indicate the FTSE 100 index is to open up 25.87 points at 7,372.40. The blue-chip index closed down 69.90 points, or 0.9%, at 7,346.53 on Friday.
Ahead of its capital markets day in London, Fresnillo said its objectives going forward were to focus on stabilising production, improving operational performance and on project delivery at its mines.
Fresnillo set its 2019 production guidance at the bottom of its previous guidance range. The miner said it expects to produce 885,000 ounces of gold and 55 million ounces of silver. In October, Fresnillo had guided for 880,000 ounces to 910,000 ounces of gold for 2019, and for between 55 million ounces and 58 million ounces of silver. However, it had said at the time that it expected 2019 production to be towards the lower end of each range.
Fresnillo said the decrease in gold production guidance was driven by the planned Noche Buena mine closure and lower production from the Herradura site. Fresnillo expects 2019 capital expenditure to be around USD585 million.
"Our priorities for 2020 are to stabilise production, and to unlock the full potential of our current mines and projects. We will focus on operational improvement and efficiency, while de-risking and advancing our development pipeline, most notably the new Juanicipio mine. We are confident that with the proactive measures put in place at our mines, together with our consistent, focused strategy, we will deliver on these priorities and that we will continue to create sustained value for stakeholders in the long-term, balancing growth with returns and maintaining a solid financial position," said Chief Executive Officer Octavio AlvÃdrez.
Sirius Real Estate has acquired an office complex near Munich airport for EUR20.2 million from German investment firm KCM Invest.
PPHE Hotel Group bought a freehold interest in a site located in south east London for GBP12 million in the hopes of developing it into a hotel, subject to planning permission. The site was acquired from an unnamed third party seller and will be funded from PPHE's existing cash reserves. The site is located near the Park Plaza hotel in Waterloo, London.
Ted Baker said an independent review found that the value of inventory held on its balance sheet has been overstated. The retailer estimates an impact of between GBP20 million to GBP25 million, but believes that any adjustment to inventory value "will have no cash impact and will relate to prior years".
Pebble Group priced its initial public offering at 105 pence per share. The company, which provides products and services to the promotional products industry, said it expects to begin trading on London's junior AIM market on Thursday. Pebble said its market capitalisation upon admission is expected at around GBP176 million.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 1.0%. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended up 0.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is up 0.4%.
Chinese manufacturing data for November showed a modest improvement from October, latest figures from Caixin showed.
The Caixin China general manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 51.8 in November from 51.7 in October, the fourth successive month of improvement. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion, while one below signals contraction.
It was also the strongest pace of improvement since December 2016, Caixin added.
Japan's manufacturing economy improved in November, but remained in contraction territory, the latest Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing purchasing managers' index showed on Monday.
The headline Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing PMI remained below the 50.0 no change mark for a seventh straight month, posting 48.9 in November compared to 48.4 in October.
Elsewhere, the first workforce decline in more than three years drove yet another decline in Irish manufacturing conditions in November, AIB Ireland's latest data showed.
The seasonally-adjusted purchasing managers' index sunk to 49.7 in November, lagging behind 50.7 in October, and below the 50.0 marker which separates expansion from contraction.
It was the fifth time in the last six months that Irish manufacturing conditions have worsened, AIB added. It was also the first time workforce numbers reduced since September 2016, with staffing numbers falling in line with weaker customer demand.
The pound was quoted at USD1.2917 early Monday, lower than USD1.2929 at the London equities close Friday.
On the political front, Labour and the Conservatives will resume their general election campaigns in earnest as they seek to move on from the political row over the London Bridge terrorist attack.
With just 10 days to go until the polls open, Labour's Jeremy Corbyn will announce plans to slash regulated rail fares in England by a third from next month if his party enters government.
The Tories, meanwhile, will set out a range of measures to strengthen border security after Brexit including automated entrance and exit checks to identify individuals who have overstayed their visa.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Corbyn cancelled some planned campaign events over the weekend after two young people were fatally stabbed by convicted terrorist Usman Khan on Friday.
The PM sought to blame Labour for Khan's early release, while Corbyn said convicted terrorists should "not necessarily" serve their full prison sentence.
Against the yen, the dollar was trading at USD109.63 early Monday, firm against JPY109.47 late Friday. The euro was quoted at USD1.1020 early Monday, flat from USD1.1017 late Friday.
Brent oil was quoted at USD61.12 early Monday, lower than USD61.18 a barrel at the London equities close Friday.
Ahead this week, the 177th biannual OPEC meeting takes place in Vienna, Austria on Thursday. OPEC will decide on production policy for the first six months of 2020 at the meeting.
Iraq said on Sunday that OPEC and other major producers would consider slashing output by 400,000 barrels a day to support prices when they meet in Vienna this week. The news helped mitigate some of the losses suffered on Friday after reports said Russia was looking to delay any further output reductions until April's gathering.
Gold was quoted at USD1,459.70 an ounce on Monday, down from USD1,463.01 at the London equities close Friday.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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