Last checked at 
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are called lower on Monday, ahead of more central bank decisions, while a meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Chinese counterpart put relations between the two nations back under the spotlight.
"With some US markets closed for the Juneteenth public holiday, today's European session is likely to be a quiet one, with a modestly negative open after US markets finished the end of a positive week, with their first daily decline in six days," CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson commented.
The pound was on the front foot ahead of the Bank of England's interest rate decision on Thursday, with Threadneedle Street expected to enact a 25 basis point hike. There will be UK inflation data on Wednesday, ahead of the BoE decision.
There will also be interest rate decisions from the People's Bank of China on Tuesday, and the Swiss National Bank on Thursday.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Blinken met with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang at the start of his two-day trip to Beijing, a visit aimed at rebuilding the cratering relationship between the world's two largest economies.
A series of meetings with high-ranking government representatives are planned before Blinken - the most senior US official to visit China in years - leaves on Monday. It remains unclear whether he will meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
In early UK economic news, house prices fell marginally in June, according to Rightmove. In company news, AstraZeneca is said to be mulling a spin-off of its Chinese business. The UK competition watchdog said it is eyeing up Severn Trent's acquisition of a food waste anaerobic digestion plant operator.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
----------
MARKETS
----------
FTSE 100: called down 34.0 points, 0.4%, at 7,608.72
----------
Hang Seng: down 1.1% at 19,815.13
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.9% at 33,400.47
S&P/ASX 200: closed up 0.6% at 7,294.90
----------
DJIA: closed down 108.94 points, 0.3%, at 34,299.12
S&P 500: closed down 0.4% at 4,409.59
Nasdaq Composite: closed down 0.7% at 13,689.57
----------
EUR: up at USD1.0941 (USD1.0926)
GBP: up at USD1.2825 (USD1.2819)
USD: up at JPY141.63 (JPY141.59)
GOLD: down at USD1,955.50 per ounce (USD1,960.83)
OIL (Brent): down at USD75.45 a barrel (USD75.62)
(changes since previous London equities close)
----------
ECONOMICS
----------
Monday's key economic events still to come:
US Juneteenth holiday. Financial markets closed.
11:00 BST Ireland goods exports and imports
----------
UK MPs vote Monday on a damning report that found ex-prime minister Boris Johnson deliberately lied to parliament about lockdown-breaking parties, in what the government hopes will be the final chapter in the damaging "Partygate" scandal. The parliamentary vote is being held on Johnson's 59th birthday as the wounded former leader ponders his next move, with allies predicting a future return to the electoral fray. It also comes at a time of mounting political problems for Rishi Sunak's Conservative government, as stubbornly high inflation and constantly rising interest rates inflict economic pain on voters.
----------
UK house prices suffered a marginal fall this month, the first June decline since 2017, according to a Rightmove tracker. Average new seller asking prices fell by just GBP82 in June to GBP372,812 from GBP372,894. Prices had risen 1.8% in May from April. Though fractional, June's outturn was the first monthly drop in asking prices this year. It was the first June fall in house prices since 2017. The outlook for house prices is less-than-stellar too, Rightmove predicts. The property portal expects asking prices to fall in most months for the rest of the year, in line with season patterns. Rightmove still predicts UK house prices to decline by 2% over the whole of 2023. Mortgage rates have increased recently, though Rightmove noted buyer demand has not been hurt. Demand over the last two weeks was 6% higher than in pre-pandemic 2019.
----------
BROKER RATING CHANGES
----------
Redburn raises Entain to 'buy' from 'neutral'
----------
HSBC raises Fevertree Drinks to 'buy' - price target 1,600 pence
----------
Deutsche Bank cuts Asos price target to 485 (725) pence - 'hold'
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 100
----------
AstraZeneca has drafted plans to separate its China business amid geopolitical tensions, the Financial Times reported. The company is aiming to shield itself from simmering tensions between China, the world's second-largest economy, and the West. The FT, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the Cambridge, England-based pharmaceutical company began discussing the idea with bankers "several months ago". It is among a growing number of multinational companies now considering that option, the FT added. A move may ultimately not take place, the FT sources said, though a Shanghai listing is also possible. The Chinese market is an attractive one for pharma firms, as the nation has an ageing population and as the government there speeds up the regulatory process for innovative medicines.
----------
The UK Competition & Markets Authority said it was looking at Severn Trent's acquisition of Andigestion to see whether it would lessen competition in the UK market. Back in February, the water utility had announced its green power unit's acquisition of Andigestion, which operates two food waste anaerobic digestion plants in southwest England. It said it expected the purchase to add another 45 gigawatt hours per year to its energy generation. "To assist it with this assessment, the CMA invites comments on the transaction from any interested party," the regulator said.
----------
Coca-Cola HBC announced it will acquire Brown-Forman Finland, which owns the Finlandia vodka brand, from Brown-Forman's Dutch subsidiary. It will pay USD220 million, and expects the acquisition to complete in the second half. It is subject to regulatory approvals. "Having been associated with the distribution of Finlandia for 17 years in several markets, we are excited by this unique and regionally relevant opportunity that will support the acceleration of our on-premise business across more of our markets," said Chief Executive Zoran Bogdanovic.
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 250
----------
IT services provider Kainos said its CEO of 22 years, Brendan Mooney, will finish his term in the role by the end of September, with Digital Services Director Russell Sloan replacing him. Mooney will remain "actively engaged" with the business until next June, to ensure an orderly transition. "Brendan and Russell have worked closely as colleagues for many years and today formalises the final stage of our four-year succession process," said Chair Tom Burnet.
----------
RHI Magnesita received a partial cash offer for 30% of its shares from Ignite Luxembourg Holdings, a company indirectly managed by Rhone Holdings VI. Rhone is now offering GBP28.50 per share for 29.9% of the company. In late May, Rhone made a tilt for a 20% stake in the Vienna-based supplier of refractory products, also at GBP28.50 per share. At that time, it had said it reserved the right to increase the offer size to up to 29.9%. RHI Magnesita had said in May that its board was "considering its response to the partial offer and a further announcement will be made in due course".
----------
OTHER COMPANIES
----------
Life sciences firm Avacta Group denied media reports of plans for an imminent fundraising. "The company regularly considers potential funding opportunities, both non-dilutive and dilutive, to ensure its business operations remain well financed and the best interests of its stakeholders are maintained," it explained. Avacta said whilst it "[maintains] a dialogue" with shareholders and current investors, "no fundraising is imminent". It had cash of GBP27 million on the balance sheet at the end of May, and expects "strong news flow" in the coming months across the company.
----------
By Elizabeth Winter, Alliance News senior markets reporter
Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
