LONDON (Alliance News) - Stocks in London just about managed to finish Monday's session in the green, with oil providing a lift to
BP but gold's continued slump dragging
Fresnillo and
Randgold Resources lower.Meanwhile, the pound tumbled to its lowest level since September 2017 as the risk of a 'no-deal' weighed on traders.The FTSE 100 index closed up 0.1%, or 4.68 points, at 7,663.78 - having dipped to an intraday low of 7,636.60. The FTSE 250 ended flat, just 4.05 points higher at 20,639.38, and the AIM All-Share closed down 0.1%, or 1.15 points, at 1,087.86.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.1% at 12,984.75, the Cboe UK 250 closed down 0.1% at 18,744.56, and the Cboe Small Companies ended up 0.3% at 12,347.50.In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended flat, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt ended down 0.1%."It has been a classic August session today, as silly season gets into its stride. Early losses for European markets were soon reversed, and then that move was itself defeated, before a late-stage recovery began that took the FTSE and Dax off the lows of the day," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp."In London precious metal stocks like Fresnillo are under the cosh thanks to further declines in gold and silver, which continue to see heavy selling. Trade wars appear to have done nothing for this safe haven, which has barely mustered a rally of more than eight hours for months now," Beauchamp added.Fresnillo ended as the worst performer in the FTSE 100, down 3.6%, as fellow gold miner Randgold Resources shed 2.1%.Gold was quoted at USD1,211.05 an ounce at the London equities close Monday, slumping further compared to USD1,217.93 at the close on Friday as the previous metal continued to trade around its worst levels in over a year.It was a better session for oil, which gained on the back of Iranian tensions.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US will fully enforce sanctions against Iran, due to come into force on Monday.The sanctions follow US President Donald Trump's withdrawal in May from the 2015 internationally-backed deal with Iran over its nuclear weapons programme. Iran has since faced ongoing domestic protests as its economy worsens prior to the start-date of the financial sanctions.Brent oil was quoted at USD74.00 a barrel at the London equities close Monday from USD72.76 late Friday. BP gained 1.1% as the price of oil rose, with
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' shares ending up 0.5% and 'B' shares up 0.4%.The pound was quoted at USD1.2941 at the London equities close Monday, compared to USD1.3025 at the close on Friday.Sterling slumped after Liam Fox, UK international trade secretary, cautioned that a 'no-dea' Brexit has a "60-40" chance of happening.The prominent Brexiteer said he believed the risk of a no-deal scenario had increased, pinning the blame on the European Commission and Brussels' chief negotiator Michel Barnier."I think the intransigence of the commission is pushing us towards no deal," he told the Sunday Times.Fox's warning came after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney last week warned the chance of a 'no-deal' Brexit is "uncomfortably high".The euro stood at USD1.1564 at the European equities close Monday, against USD1.1596 at the same time on Friday.In European data, Germany's factory orders plunged in June in a sign that US tariffs and trade-war threats are starting to take their toll on the eurozone's biggest economy.After surging by 2.6% in May, German industrial order books slumped by a hefty 4% in June, the Ministry of Economics said on Monday.Quarter-on-quarter, industrial orders fell by 1.6% in the three months to the end of June, raising the prospects of downbeat second-quarter economic growth figures, which are due to be released next week. Stocks in New York were mixed at the London equities close, with the Dow Jones down 0.1%, the S&P 500 index up 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite also up 0.1%. In London,
Hargreaves Lansdown ended among the best performers in the FTSE 100, up 1.7% as the fund supermarket prepares to release its annual results on Tuesday.Elsewhere in Tuesday's corporate calendar, investment company
Standard Life Aberdeen, takeaway firm
Domino's Pizza Group and Crowne Plaza parent
InterContinental Hotels Group all publish interim results.Asia-focused lender
HSBC closed 1.0% lower. The bank reported a rise in interim profit and revenue as it progressed its growth strategy.For the six months ended June, HSBC's pretax profit rose 4.6% to USD10.71 billion from USD10.24 billion a year prior. This was as revenue grew 4.3% to USD27.29 billion from USD26.16 billion.By 2020, HSBC is targeting a return on tangible equity of more than 11% under this new strategy. It also plans to invest between USD15 billion and USD17 billion dependent on "achieving positive adjusted jaws each financial year".The jaws ratio - a key financial performance indicator - is the difference between the percentage growth in income and the percentage growth in expenses. For the interim period, return on tangible equity stood at 9.7% and the jaws ratio at negative 5.6%.Sat atop the FTSE 250 gainers on Monday was
TP ICAP, the interbroker dealer rising 4.0% after Peel Hunt upgraded the stock to a Buy rating from Reduce previously.
John Laing ended up 3.6% at 144.80 pence after the infrastructure investor agreed to be taken over in a deal worth GBP1.45 billion.The infrastructure fund said that the offer values its shares at 142.5p each. Shareholders also still would receive JLIF's 3.57p final dividend, declared back in March. The offer price represents a 24% premium to the company's last closing price of 118.2p on July 13, the day prior to the start of the takeover discussions.Vying for bottom place in the mid-cap index were
Spire Healthcare and
IWG.Private hospital operator Spire, closing down 22%, said it expects earnings in 2018 to fall."It is never a good sign when a company can't quantify just how bad things are. After delivering the latest in a series of profit warnings, private healthcare provider Spire is unable to offer clarity on where earnings are likely to end up in 2018, only that they will be 'materially lower'," commented AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.For the six months ended June, Spire expects revenue to drop 1.1% to GBP475 million from the GBP481.0 million reported the year prior. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation is expected to fall to GBP66 million from GBP83.2 million the year before. This would represent an Ebitda margin of around 14% from 18.1% the year before.Spire Chief Executive Officer Justin Ash explained "current difficult market conditions" affecting all operators had a "greater impact" on its business than it expected.
Mediclinic International, which holds a 29.9% stake in Spire, shed 2.6%.Meanwhile, office workspace provider IWG slumped 21% as it terminated takeover talks and reported a fall in half-year profit.The FTSE 250 constituent said it has terminated discussions with three suitors - Starwood Capital European Operations, Terra Firma Investments and TDR Capital - believing none were capable of delivering a deal at a recommendable price. Separately, for the six months to June 30, IWG recorded pretax profit of GBP54.3 million, down from GBP80.8 million in the year ago period, as revenue edged higher to GBP1.20 billion from GBP1.17 billion.In the economic calendar on Tuesday, UK like-for-like retail sales are at 0001 BST, with Japanese household spending at 0030 BST and the leading economic index at 0600 BST. Germany's industrial production is at 0700 BST and French imports and exports at 0745 BST. Back in the UK and Halifax house prices are due at 0830 BST, with the US Redbook index in the afternoon at 1355 BST.
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