SSE Share News (SSE)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Stocks in London ended lower on Thursday with the FTSE 100 hurt by continued strength in the pound, as uncertainty over trade talks between the US and Canada soured investor sentiment ahead of a Friday deadline to reach a deal.The FTSE 100 index closed down 0.6%, or 47.18 points at 7,516.03. The FTSE 250 ended down 0.2%, or 45.13 points, at 20,691.75, and the AIM All-Share closed up 0.3%, or 2.83 points, at 1,102.10.The Cboe UK 100 closed down 0.7% at 12,736.08, the Cboe UK 250 closed down 0.1% at 18,785.45, and the Cboe UK Small Companies closed down 0.5% at 12,297.16.As Canada's Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland pointed out that there would be unrelenting deal-making in the run up to the deadline, market sentiment will largely be dictated by the outcome of the talks. "There is no doubt that the US is forcing the hand of the Canadians, and the relationship between the two countries is likely to have been damaged under Trump. However, from a market perspective, all anyone wants is to resume a more open and free trading environment to enable greater global growth," said IG market analyst Joshua Mahony.Stocks in New York were lower at the London equities close with the DJIA down 0.4%, the S&P 500 index down 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.2%.Meanwhile, on the economic front, a report released by the US Commerce Department showed personal income and spending in the US both increased in line with economist estimates in the month of July.The Commerce Department said personal income rose by 0.3% in July after climbing by 0.4% in June. The increase in income matched expectations. The report also said personal spending advanced by 0.4% in July, matching the increase in the previous month as well as economist estimates.Notably, the report also said a reading on inflation said to be preferred by the US Federal Reserve showed the annual rate of core consumer price growth ticked up to 2.0% in July from 1.9% in June."Fed officials apparently expect core inflation to rise no further from here, but we suspect those projections will prove too sanguine, particularly with wage growth starting to show clearer signs of acceleration," said Andrew Hunter, US Economist at Capital Economics. "In that context, the Fed is likely to continue raising interest rates once a quarter."The pound was higher against the dollar quoted at USD1.3011 at the London equities close, compared to USD1.2999 at the close Wednesday, after France indicated it was ready to cut a close post-Brexit EU deal with the UK.French President Emmanuel Macron aims to use an EU summit next month in Salzburg, Austria, to push for a new "alliance" between the bloc and the UK, The Times reported.A new Continental structure would see "concentric circles" with the EU and Euro at its core and the UK in a second ring, according to the newspaper.The claims emerged after the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier struck an optimistic tone on Wednesday, stating: "We are prepared to offer Britain a partnership such as there never has been with any other third country."In response, Theresa May said the UK will stand firm on its Brexit demands in talks with the EU, as the UK prime minister insisted both sides would benefit.Speaking on the final leg of a tour of Africa, May said the Chequers proposals - which prompted high-profile cabinet resignations and received a muted response from Brussels - are good for the EU."Chequers delivers on the Brexit vote. It does it in a way that I believe is good for the UK," May said. "Obviously, we are in negotiations with the EU, but I believe our proposals are not just good for the UK, but they are good for the EU as well.""The dust has settled after Michel Barnier's comments that he would be prepared to give the UK a deal that no other country has been offered. Today it was reported that President Macron will encourage the EU to broker an agreement with the UK. While the prospects of a 'no-deal Brexit' remain low, the pound's prospects are likely to be positive," said David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets.On the London Stock Exchange, SSE closed up 0.2% after the UK Competition & Markets Authority found no competition concerns related to the proposed merger between SSE's retail arm and Npower Group. German energy company Innogy owns Npower.SSE said it was pleased with the watchdog's findings.SSE Chief Executive Officer Alistair Phillips-Davies added: "The scale and pace of change in the UK energy market continues to be significant and requires us to evolve to stay relevant, competitive and sustainable. "The planned transaction presents a great opportunity to create a more agile, innovative and efficient company that really delivers for customers and the energy market as a whole."SSE said it will continue to engage with the CMA as it prepares its final report which is due in October. The proposed merger leaves the 'Big Six' energy companies in the UK on track to become five.At the other end of the large cap index, Vodafone Group ended as the worst performer down 3.1% after Merrill Lynch downgraded the telecommunications stock to Neutral from Buy.Separately, Vodafone announced a AUD15 billion merger between its joint venture Vodafone Hutchinson Australia and internet service provider TPG Telecom. The deal is expected to be completed next year and is subject to approval from regulators, including the Australian watchdog.In the FTSE 250, Hunting ended as the star performer, up 12% after the oilfield services company reinstated dividend payments as it reported a swing to profit in the first half of 2018.Hunting swung to a pretax profit from operations of USD38.0 million in the six months to the end of June, from a loss of USD25.5 million the year before. Revenue grew by 39% to USD442.8 million from USD318.1 million, with a strong performance from its Hunting Titan business in the US. Hunting declared a per share interim dividend of 4.0 cents, having made no interim payout in 2017. "The North American market is the driving force behind the improved numbers. Boosted by shale activity, there is very strong US demand for Hunting's perforating gun, a device used to penetrate oil and gas wells in preparation for production," said AJ Bell's Russ Mould. At the other end of the midcap index, Hays ended as the worst performer, down 4.3% after the recruiter expressed uncertainty for its UK market due to economic instability, despite reporting positive results for its recently ended financial year.Hays posted pretax profit of GBP238.5 million, up from GBP204.6 million a year ago. The sharp profit hike was on the back of a "record" net fees increase of 12% to GBP1.07 billion from GBP954.6 million, as turnover rose 13% to GBP5.75 billion from GBP5.08 billion a year ago.Hays declared an 18% increase in its final dividend to 3.81 pence per share from 3.22p. In Paris the CAC 40 ended down 0.4%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt ended down 0.5%. The euro was a touch lower against the greenback at USD1.1644 at the European equities close, compared to USD1.1692 late Wednesday.In economic news from the continent, Germany's consumer prices increased at a steady pace in August, preliminary estimate from Destatis showed.Consumer price inflation remained stable at 2% in August. The rate also matched economists' expectations.The harmonized index of consumer prices for Germany, which is calculated for European purposes, climbed 1.9% annually, slower than July's 2.1% rise. The indicator was expected to rise again by 2.1%.On a monthly basis, the consumer price index edged up 0.1% in August, while the harmonized index of consumer prices remained flat. Economists had forecast both the CPI and HICP to gain 0.2% each.In addition, Germany's jobless rate remained stable at 5.2% in August, as expected. This was the lowest since the nation's reunification in 1990.Brent oil was higher quoted at USD77.40 a barrel at the London equities close from USD76.53 at the close Wednesday. Oil prices rose to extend gains from the previous session on signs of lower US fuel inventories and expected supply disruptions from Iran and Venezuela.The Energy Information Administrations' latest weekly petroleum status report released on Wednesday showed that US commercial crude inventories fell by 2.6 million barrels in the week to August 24.Gold was marginally lower quoted at USD1,200.69 an ounce at the London equities close against USD1,204.00 late Wednesday."Gold remains precariously perched above USD1,200 However, in the absence of any significant catalysts and with the Fed's committed to status quo normalisation, real yields moving higher, and equities continue to soar, who wants gold?? All of which suggests topside moves will continue to be faded," Stephen Innes of Oanda Markets said. The economic events calendar on Friday has Japan unemployment data at 0030 BST, Germany retail sales figures at 0700 BST, UK Nationwide housing prices at 0700 BST, Italy unemployment and inflation data at 0900 BST and 1000 BST respectively and eurozone unemployment and inflation readings at 1000 BST. The UK corporate calendar on Friday has half-year results from Anglo-South African financial services group Old Mutual, infrastructure investor John Laing Infrastructure Fund and Frankie & Benny's, Chiquito and Garfunkel's restaurants owner Restaurant Group.