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(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London are seen opening higher on Tuesday following positive trading in Asian equity markets overnight, as a European Central Bank-led forum in Portugal continues.
In early company news, Scottish power utility SSE announced a joint venture with Norwegian state-owned Equinor. UK speciality chemicals firm Croda International received support from the US government. Money manager Jupiter Fund Management announced a change in leadership. AIB welcomed the Irish government's decision to reduce its shareholding in the Dublin-based lender.
IG futures indicate the FTSE 100 index will open 15.08 points higher at 7,273.40. The index closed up 49.51 points, or 0.7%, at 7,258.32 on Monday.
SSE said its thermal power generation subsidiary SSE Thermal, together with Equinor, have entered into an agreement to acquire Triton Power Holdings from Energy Capital Partners for a total of GBP341 million, shared equally between the two partners.
SSE said the joint venture is intended to drive decarbonisation of the UK's power system whilst contributing to security of supply and grid stability through "flexible power generation in the shorter term".
Following completion, SSE Thermal and Equinor will jointly own and run Triton Power on a 50:50 basis.
Triton Power operates the Saltend power station, which is a 1.2 gigawatt combined cycle gas turbine and combined heat and power station located on the north of the Humber Estuary in East Yorkshire.
Catherine Raw, managing director of SSE Thermal, said: "Flexible energy will be absolutely essential as renewable energy scales up over the coming years, providing vital back-up while protecting security of supply. But the real prize will be how we decarbonise that flexible energy over the longer term, and we are excited, in particular, by the hydrogen and carbon capture opportunities at Saltend. Together with Equinor, we will explore every avenue to decarbonise Saltend and create new opportunities at other assets so they can play a continued role in a net zero future."
Croda International said it has entered into an agreement with the US government. The agreement will see Washington provide up to USD75 million to expand Croda's US manufacturing capacity of ingredients for lipid systems used in novel therapeutic drugs, such as mRNA vaccines.
Croda said it will invest up to USD58 million itself, bringing the total project investment to up to USD133 million. This spend is included within the company's existing capital expenditure programme, outlined in the 2021 annual results, it noted.
The award was by the US Biomedical Advanced Research & Development Authority, which sits within the US Department of Health & Human Services.
Lipid systems offer potential as the delivery system for a wide range of nucleic acid applications, including novel mRNA-based therapeutics, such as flu vaccines and cancer treatments.
Daniele Piergentili, president of Croda Life Sciences, said: "We are grateful to the US government for its support of Croda. The delivery technology based on lipid systems offers significant potential for the safe and efficient delivery of next generation vaccines and therapeutic drugs.
"As a result of this investment, Croda will be able to expand its capabilities to develop and manufacture ingredients in support of this important technology. This will help ensure that the US is well prepared for future health emergencies and equipped to offer advanced treatments for some of the most prevalent illnesses in the world today."
Jupiter Fund Management said Chief Executive Officer Andrew Formica is to retire from his role and the board on October 1. Formica will be succeeded by Chief Investment Officer Matthew Beesley at that time.
Jupiter said Beesley will be appointed to the board and promoted to deputy CEO with immediate effect and will retain his CIO responsibilities during the transition.
The Irish government confirmed it sold 133.9 million shares of AIB Group, or a 5% stake, at a price of EUR2.28 per share, in a deal worth EUR304.8 million.
AIB noted the Department of Finance announcement, which brings the Irish state's shareholding down to 63.5%.
Colin Hunt, AIB CEO, said: "It is an important development in the process of returning the state's investment in the group and a normalisation of the share register. AIB owes the Irish taxpayer an immense debt of gratitude for its support during the financial crisis."
Stocks have attempted to rally in recent sessions as investors speculate that the US Federal Reserve may not have to be as aggressive in raising interest rates as earlier thought as it fights to control inflation.
In Asia on Tuesday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.7%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.5%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.3%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney ended up 0.9%.
"Equities are trying to rally off the morning lows - with incrementally positive headlines around Covid out of China and month-end positioning dynamics supporting this week's bounce," said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.
The highlight for markets on Tuesday will be ECB President Christine Lagarde's speech at the Sintra Forum at 1000 CET and focus will be on any hints about the bank's new anti-fragmentation tool. At its previous meeting, the ECB laid out plans to create a new tool to tackle the risk of eurozone fragmentation.
Conclusions from the G7 summit will also be in focus, especially any concrete proposals as to how to resolve the global cost-of-living crisis and implement a possible cap on the price paid for Russian oil.
New York ended lower on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average off 0.2%, S&P 500 down 0.3% and Nasdaq Composite down 0.7%.
Nike late on Monday posted annual growth, thanks to a strong performance at Nike Direct and improved margins, despite a weaker fourth quarter.
For the financial year that ended May 31, the sports apparel maker said revenue grew 5% year-on-year to USD46.71 billion from USD44.54 billion. This was driven by double-digit growth in Nike Direct, partially offset by a slight decline in wholesale revenue.
Net profit grew 6% to USD6.05 billion from USD5.73 billion, as diluted earnings per share increased to USD3.75 from USD3.56.
Nike shares lost 2.9% in after-hours trade in the New York.
The dollar was up across the board. The pound was quoted at USD1.2285 early Tuesday, down from USD1.2303 at the London equities close Monday.
The euro was priced at USD1.0590, down from USD1.0608. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY135.48 in London, higher against JPY135.19.
Brent oil was quoted at USD116.75 a barrel Tuesday morning, up sharply from USD114.74 late Monday. Gold stood at USD1,828.15 an ounce, rising against USD1,822.51.
Tuesday's economic calendar has Irish retail sales at 1100 BST and US consumer confidence at 1500 BST.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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