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(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are called to open slightly lower, following some mixed trade across Asian markets.
Japanese and Australian equities rose following the countries' latest interest rate calls.
Notably, in a long-anticipated move, the Bank of Japan ended its negative interest rate policy.
The Japanese central bank said it judged its monetary easing policy and yield curve control programme have "fulfilled their roles".
It raised its short-term policy rate to a range of 0.0% to 0.1%, from minus 0.1% previously. The move marks the BoJ's first interest rate hike in 17 years.
However, the Hang Seng in China was down in late dealings.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: called down 0.1% at 7,715.30
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Hang Seng: down 1.1% at 16,556.02
Nikkei 225: closed up 0.7% at 40,003.60
S&P/ASX 200: closed up 0.4% at 7,703.20
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DJIA: closed up 75.66 points, 0.2%, at 38,790.43
S&P 500: closed up 32.33 points, 0.6%, at 5,149.42
Nasdaq Composite: closed up 130.27 points, 0.8%, to 16,103.45
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EUR: down at USD1.0863 (USD1.0877)
GBP: down at USD1.2706 (USD1.2722)
USD: up at JPY150.09 (JPY149.12)
Gold: down at USD2,155.98 per ounce (USD2,158.93)
(Brent): up at USD86.86 a barrel (USD86.27)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS
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Tuesday's key economic events still to come:
08:30 EDT Canada CPI
09:30 CET eurozone European Central Bank Vice-President Luis de Guindos speaks
11:00 CET eurozone labour cost index
11:00 CET eurozone ZEW economic sentiment survey
11:00 CET Germany ZEW economic sentiment survey
08:30 EDT US building permits
08:55 EDT US Redbook index
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An additional GBP58 billion will need to be invested in Great Britain's electricity grid in the first half of the next decade to ensure that it can supply the power to keep homes and businesses going, a new report has found. The Electricity System Operator said on Tuesday that around 20,000 jobs could be created in the largest build-out for seven decades. Nine in 10 of these jobs will be outside London and the South East. "Great Britain is about to embark upon the biggest change to the electricity network since the high voltage transmission grid was established back in the 1950s," the report said. It called for "swift and coordinated" progress, without which the country's climate ambitions might be at risk.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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Morgan Stanley starts Hays with 'equal-weight'
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RBC raises Vistry to 'sector perform' (underperform) - price target 1,400 (825) pence
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Unilever announced steps to accelerate its "growth action plan", through the separation of Ice Cream and the launch of a "major" productivity programme. The Ice Cream arm includes brands Wall's, Magnum and Ben & Jerry's. "The board believes that Unilever should be increasingly focused on a portfolio of unmissably superior brands with strong positions in highly attractive categories that have complementary operating models. This is where the company can most effectively apply its innovation, marketing and go-to-market capabilities. Ice Cream has a very different operating model, and as a result the board has decided that the separation of Ice Cream best serves the future growth of both Ice Cream and Unilever," Unilever said. Following separation, the company said it will become "a simpler, more focused company", operating four groups across Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care and Nutrition. Unliver also announced plans to launch a "productivity programme". This will generate cost savings of around EUR800 million over the next three years, which will "more than" offset operational dis-synergies from the separation of Ice Cream. The proposed changes are expected to impact around 7,500 predominantly office-based roles globally, the company said.
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Diageo named Non-Executive Director John Manzoni as new chair, to be appointed on or around February 5 when current Chair Javier Ferran retires. Manzoni joined the Diageo board in October 2020, having been CEO of the UK Civil Service from 2014 to 2020. He is currently chair of SSE. Ferran joined the Diageo board in July 2016 and has been chair since January 2017. Susan Kilsby, Diageo's senior independent director, said: "The board is delighted to appoint John as Diageo's next chair, following an extensive search process. John has an outstanding track record of leadership within beverage alcohol and across a number of other complex and fast-changing sectors in the UK and globally. His experience and expertise will be instrumental as Diageo continues to develop and grow its global business in the years ahead."
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Crest Nicholson said it has achieved reservations in line with expectations in the period from November 1 to March 15. Sale prices achieved have been in line with expectations and cancellations remained at normalised levels, it added. However, build activity in the sector continued to operate at a lower level which is now resulting in lower labour costs in some areas. Crest also updated markets on pre-2019 completed sites. It explained that it has become aware of "certain build defects predominantly on four sites that were completed prior to 2019." The company said that these sites will require remediation over the next three years at an estimated cost of up to GBP15 million.
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Essentra reported that revenue in 2023 fell to GBP316.3 million from GBP337.9 million a year earlier. It swung to a pretax profit of GBP8.4 million from a loss of GBP29.1 million, however. On the back of the profit, Essentra upped its dividend by 9.1% to 3.6p from 3.3p. The company said that 2024 performance to date is in line with expectations. It also remains confident of making further progress towards its medium-term targets. CEO Scott Fawcett said: "2023 saw the delivery of Essentra's first year as a pure-play components business. The group navigated challenges within the external demand environment, and achieved a resilient financial and operational performance. These results demonstrate the strength of our business model, our agile approach to operations and pro-active cost control, whilst making strategic progress, highlighting the strength of our people in managing the business through economic cycles." In a separate announcement, Essentra said that Jack Clarke will step down as chief financial officer by March 31 next year. The company has commenced a search, of both internal and external candidates, for Clarke's successor.
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OTHER COMPANIES
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Wickes said that revenue in 2023 was virtually flat at GBP1.55 billion compared to GBP1.56 billion a year earlier. Pretax profit in the period rose to GBP41.1 million from GBP40.3 million. Wickes announced a final dividend of 7.3p, giving a total of 10.9p for the full year, in line with guidance. Looking ahead, the company said: "We maintain good cost control and have productivity plans in place for 2024, however these will not offset fully the cost headwinds from the scale of increases in national minimum wage and business rates. Wickes' balanced business model and proven growth strategy affords the group resilience in the current uncertain environment and leaves us well positioned for growth in the longer term." It added that in the first 11 weeks of 2024 retail sales have been in line with last year. Separately, Wickes said it has has agreed to acquire 51% of the issued share capital of Gas Fast. Gas Fast is the parent company of solar installations company Solar Fast.
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Nvidia on Monday unveiled its latest family of chips for powering artificial intelligence, as it seeks to consolidate its position as the major supplier to the AI frenzy. "We need bigger GPUs. So ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to a very, very big GPU," said CEO Jensen Huang at a developers conference in California, referring to the graphics processors that are vital in the creation of generative AI. The event, dubbed the "AI Woodstock" by Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, has become a can't-miss date on big tech's calendar due to Nvidia's singular role in the AI revolution that has taken the world by storm since the introduction of ChatGPT in late 2022. "I hope you realize this is not a concert, this is a developers conference," Huang joked as he took the stage in a packed arena usually reserved for ice hockey games and concerts. Nvidia's powerful GPU chips and software are an integral ingredient in the creation of generative AI, with rivals like Advanced Micro Devices Inc or Intel Corp still struggling to match the power and efficiency of the company's blockbuster H100 product, launched in 2022.
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By Sophie Rose, Alliance News senior reporter
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