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LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares in London opened firm Wednesday, ahead of UK employment figures and the first Prime Minister's Questions for new PM Theresa May, ahead of her first face-to-face meetings with European Union leaders.

Insurer Admiral Group led FTSE 100 gainers, up 1.8%, after the stock was raised to Buy from Neutral by Swiss bank UBS.

Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 0.2% at 6,707.04
FTSE 250: up 0.1% at 16,915.09
AIM ALL-SHARE: flat at 730.68
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Hang Seng: up 0.8% at 21,846.00
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.3% at 16,681.89
DJIA: closed up 0.1% at 18,559.01
S&P 500: closed down 0.1% at 2,163.78
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GBP: down at USD1.3085 (USD1.3134)
EUR: down at USD1.0988 (USD1.1011)

GOLD: soft at USD1,328.20 per ounce (USD1,330.87)
OIL (Brent): soft at USD46.65 a barrel (USD46.90)

(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Wednesday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times in BST)

0900 EU current account
0930 UK ILO unemployment rate, average earnings and claimant count
1000 Switzerland ZEW survey
1200 US MBA mortgage applications
1400 China Conference Board leading economic index
1500 EU consumer confidence preliminary
1530 US EIA crude oil stocks
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UK Prime Minister Theresa May is making her first overseas visit as prime minister to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, ahead of a trip to Paris on Thursday for talks with French President Francois Hollande. May will depart for Germany after facing MPs for her first session of Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons. Speaking before her departure for Berlin, the PM said she aimed to deliver a clear message to Merkel and Hollande that Britain wants to maintain - and even strengthen - its close relations with their countries even after it has quit the EU. She will make clear that she does not intend to start the two-year process of negotiating the terms of Britain's withdrawal under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty until the UK government has had time to consult with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as different sectors of industry, about what its objectives in the talks should be.
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Britain does not plan to start formal negotiations on leaving the EU this year, a lawyer representing the UK government said on Tuesday. Jason Coppel said he told the High Court that Prime Minister Theresa May's government does not intend to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which sets the rules for a nation leaving the EU, until the end of this year. The court has been asked to rule on whether the executive powers of the prime minister allow May to trigger Article 50, which starts a two-year negotiations process, without a vote in parliament.
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Ties between Washington and London will stay "special and unbreakable" after Britain leaves the EU, US Secretary of State John Kerry said after meeting British leaders on Tuesday. Kerry said he was "gratified by the reassurance" he heard on Britain's post-Brexit plans from Prime Minister Theresa May and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. Johnson promised that Britain will become "more active, more outward facing" after Brexit. He declined to apologize for past remarks referring to US President Barack Obama's "part-Kenyan ancestry" or likening former secretary of state Hillary Clinton to a "sadistic nurse."
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Angela Eagle withdrew from the contest for Labour's leadership in order to back Owen Smith as a "unity candidate" to challenge Jeremy Corbyn. The Wallasey MP was the first to mount a public challenge to the Labour leader, but decided to withdraw after it became apparent that Smith had secured more nominations from party MPs and MEPs. Former shadow work and pensions secretary Smith will now go forward to fight Corbyn in a ballot of party members and supporters which ends on September 24.
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The blistering heat of the warmest day of the year so far is set to make way for heavy downpours, as storm clouds make their way across much of the UK. Tuesday saw Britain swelter in temperatures which peaked at 33.5C in Brize Norton, making it hotter than Barcelona. Despite being in the midst of a heatwave, the Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for severe thunderstorms, large hail and strong winds which could lead to flash flooding of homes, businesses and transport networks. The warning has been issued across all regions other than south-west England, London and south-east England.
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Germany's producer prices declined at a slower pace in June, data from Destatis showed. The producer price index fell 2.2% year-on-year in June, following a 2.7% drop in May. Economists had forecast a 2.4% decrease in prices. This was the slowest pace of fall since September 2015. Producer prices have been falling since August 2013. Month-on-month, producer prices rose 0.4%, the same pace of growth as seen in May, but faster than the expected increase of 0.2%.
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Turkey detained an alleged ringleader of the failed coup and sought the extradition of its alleged mastermind from the US, according to news reports, amid widespread dismissals in state institutions. The state-run Anadolu news agency reported the arrest of Muharrem Kose, a colonel and legal counsellor of the military's General Staff. Kose is considered to be a key planner of the attempted putsch on Friday.
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Donald Trump took the reins of the Republican Party and promised to win the White House, as delegates to the party convention in Cleveland, Ohio officially threw their support behind the brash New York businessman as their presidential candidate. A state-by-state roll call vote recording the results of state primaries and caucuses culminated with Trump's home state of New York pushing him past the 1,237 delegates needed for the nomination.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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UBS CUTS BARCLAYS TO 'NEUTRAL' (BUY) - PRICE TARGET 155 (210) PENCE
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GOLDMAN RAISES JOHN WOOD GROUP TO 'NEUTRAL' ('CONVICTION SELL LIST')
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JPMORGAN CUTS IAG TO 'NEUTRAL' (OVERWEIGHT) - PRICE TARGET 5.60 (10.25) EUR
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JPMORGAN CUTS EASYJET TO 'NEUTRAL' ('OVERWEIGHT') - TARGET 1,150 (1,900) PENCE
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UBS RAISES ADMIRAL GROUP TO 'BUY' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 2339 (1840) PENCE
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Liberum Initiates Paddy Power Betfair At Hold, Target At 9,429p
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Anglo American said the majority of its commodity units suffered falls in production during the first half of the year as the miner lowered its full year guidance in some segments. In the first half of 2016, Anglo American said production of diamonds, copper, coal and iron ore were all lower year-on-year, while the platinum division and some smaller segments reported minor rises in the period. Anglo American reiterated its full-year guidance across most of its commodity units, except for copper and Brazil iron ore.
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Anglo-Australian miner BHP Billiton reported that its total iron ore production for the 2016 financial year to the end of June was 226.96 million tonnes, down 2.0% from the previous year. Total iron ore production is expected to increase to between 228 and 237 million tonnes in the 2017 financial year, excluding production from Samarco.
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Fresnillo said production of gold, silver, lead and zinc all rose in the first half of 2016, leading the miner to significantly raise its production guidance for the year. Fresnillo reported a 23% rise in gold production in the first half of the year whilst silver production was up 6.0%, with lead production rising 18% and zinc by over 24%. Following the strong performance, Fresnillo said full-year gold production will now be considerably higher and in the range of 850,000 to 870,000 ounces compared to the previous target to produce 775,000 to 790,000 ounces - between a 9.6% to 12% lift.
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Platinum and chemicals company Johnson Matthey affirmed expectations for its financial year to the end of March 2017 following a robust trading performance in the first quarter. The company said sales grew 6.0% year-on-year in its first quarter to the end of June and rose 2.0% in constant currencies, with the group getting a benefit from the strength of the dollar against sterling. The group said its full-year outlook in constant currencies remains unchanged.
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Severn Trent said it has made "no material change" to its expectations for its financial year to March 2017 and remains confident that its results will meet expectations. The water and wastewater firm said it is continuing to make "good progress" during the current regulatory period, focusing on improving its customer service alongside its operational and financial performance. Severn Trent said it should deliver "targeted efficiency savings" this year. The company also said that it has continued to advance the joint venture signed with fellow London-listed United Utilities signed earlier this year.
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Life insurer Legal & General Group said it has completed a GBP750.0 million pension buy-in deal with chemicals company ICI. L&G said the pension risk transfer deal with ICI, a British chemicals business now owned by Dutch paints and coatings maker Akzo Nobel, was executed shortly after the outcome of the UK's EU referendum was announced. In 2016 to date, L&G said it has now executed GBP4.5 billion in bulk and individual annuity business, more than the GBP2.7 billion it handled in all of 2015.
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Hikma Pharmaceuticals said it has launched generic Xeloda cancer treatment tablets in the US. Hikma said the tablets have been launched through its West-Ward Pharmaceuticals Corp affiliate in the US and have been indicated for patients with Dukes' C colon cancer, as a monotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer and for metastatic breast cancer.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Hedge fund manager Man Group said Luke Ellis has been appointed to take over as chief executive of the company on September 1. Ellis will take over from Manny Roman, who will leave the group at the end of August to move to become the CEO of US fund manager PIMCO. He will start at PIMCO on November 1.
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TalkTalk Telecom Group reported a small decline in revenue in the first quarter of its financial year, but said it expects things to pick up in the second half and reiterated its full-year guidance. The telecommunications company said revenue was down a slight 0.4% in the three months ended June 30 from a year before, with on-net revenue down by 2.0% as expected due to a smaller average on-net base in the quarter.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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Software giant Microsoft reported a profit for the fourth quarter that trumped analysts' estimates, reflecting strong growth in cloud business. Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft reported fourth-quarter profit of USD3.12 billion or USD0.39 per share, compared to last year's loss of USD3.20 billion or USD0.40 per share. Last year's loss reflects the hefty impairment charge of USD7.5 billion related to the write down of Nokia business, in addition to a restructuring charge of USD780 million due to job cuts. Revenues for the quarter dropped to USD20.61 billion from USD22.18 billion last year. Adjusted revenues for the quarter were USD22.61 billion. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of USD22.14 billion for the quarter. Intelligent Cloud segment, which includes its Azure on-demand computing services, revenues grew 7% to USD6.7 billion, with Azure revenues surging 102%.
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German business software maker SAP reported its second-quarter profit after tax on an IFRS basis surged 73% to EUR813 million from last year's EUR469 million. On a non-IFRS basis, profit after tax was EUR979 million, compared to EUR960 million a year ago. Total revenue for the quarter grew 5% to EUR5.24 billion from EUR4.97 billion last year.
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Three US states announced lawsuits against Volkswagen stemming from the German carmaker's emissions scandal. Volkswagen admitted last September that it had installed software in about 11 million vehicles around the world that understated emissions during official tests. The scandal led to the carmaker's first reported loss in more than 20 years, the resignation of chief executive Martin Winterkorn and a long line of investigations and lawsuits. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh joined the fray on Tuesday, charging that the manipulative software installed in VW's diesel vehicles undermined US environmental standards. They allege the cheating was planned at the firm's highest levels - including by Winterkorn himself.
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21st Century Fox is negotiating the exit of Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes following a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former network anchor, according to reports citing people familiar with the matter. Fox was discussing an exit package with Ailes's legal team as of Tuesday, and reaching agreement could take some time. He will likely be asked to assist with the transition, given how integral he is to the running of the network, the reports said.
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Wednesday's Shareholder Meetings

Mediclinic International
Severn Trent
QinetiQ Group
Electrocomponents
Renold
Johnson Mathhey
TalkTalk Telecom Group
BP Marsh & Partners
Lansdowne Oil & Gas
Vertu Motors
Ashmore Global Opportunities
IS Solutions
Ambrian
Aurasian Minerals
Sepura
Investec (re offer for preference shares)
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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