LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Burberry Shares In Fashion As AG Barr Loses Fizz

(Alliance News) - Stocks in London were slightly higher on Tuesday with Burberry leading the FTSE 100, while a sharp fall from AG Barr weighed on the FTSE 250. The FTSE 100 was 22.93 points higher, or 0.3%, at 7,554.69 at midday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up just 0.41 point at 19,584.55, while the AIM All-Share was 0.1% higher at 919.63.The Cboe UK 100 index was flat at 12,789.28. The Cboe UK 250 was 0.2% lower at 17.454.05. The Cboe UK Small Companies was up 0.1% at 11,125.40.In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 index in Paris and DAX 30 in Frankfurt were up 0.1% and flat respectively, in early afternoon trade."Stocks markets are quiet as low volatility in the US last night, and in Asia overnight, has spilled over into Europe. The bullish move that some equity markets enjoyed thanks to the slight improvement in US-China trade talks, and the chatter about the Federal Reserve lowering rates, has run out of steam, and some traders are taking a breather," said CMC Markets analyst David Madden. In the FTSE 100, Burberry was the standout performer, up 12%. The company said it made a good start to its financial year, as Chief Creative Officer Riccardo Tisci continues to make his mark on the fashion house. The company said it saw an excellent consumer response to Tisci's work with new collections delivering strong double-digit percentage growth compared to last year's collections.For the 13 weeks to June 29, Burberry reported retail revenue of GBP498 million, up 4% from GBP479 million in the first quarter last year. Comparable store sales were up 4%, with growth led by new products. In the Europe, the Middle East and Africa region, comparable store sales grew by a low-single digit percentage, supported by tourist spending, which particularly benefited the UK.In the key Asia Pacific region, where Burberry normally sees strong demand for its items, comparable store sales grew by a high single-digit percentage driven by Mainland China - up by the mid-teens.Burberry maintained its financial 2020 guidance for broadly stable revenue and adjusted operating margin at constant exchange rates including cumulative cost savings of GBP120 million.ITV was up 2.7% after Liberum raised the broadcaster to Buy from Hold. At the other end of the large cap index, Experian was down 2.0%, despite the credit checking agency saying it has started the year "well", with revenue growth driven by North America. In the three months to June 30, Experian saw total revenue growth of 4% compared to the year before. This was entirely driven by a 9% growth in the company's North American operations. Every other region in which Experian operates - Latin America, UK & Ireland and EMEA/Asia Pacific - saw total revenue slip. At constant exchange rates, Experian saw total organic revenue growth of 6%. In North America, organic revenue growth was 8%, with 9% growth in Latin America. UK & Ireland's organic revenue was flat on the year before with EMEA/Asia Pacific slipping 1%. The stock is 25% higher so far this year. In the FTSE 250, Aston Martin Lagonda was up 3.2% after Jefferies raised the DB9 sports car maker to Hold from Underperform. At the other end of the midcap index, AG Barr was the worst performance, down 25%. The Irn-Bru and Rubicon soft drinks maker said weak trading during the first half of the year saw revenue sink 10% and full-year profit could be as much as a fifth lower. For the 26 weeks ending July 27, revenue is forecast by the company to fall 10% to GBP123 million from GBP136.9 million reported the year prior. AG Barr reported trading during the period had been "below our expectations" amid a number of market and brand-specific headwinds. In particular, AG Barr said 2018 had been a year of "unprecedented" challenges for the industry through a combination of a new soft drink levy, carbon dioxide shortages, and a hot summer. At the time, AG Barr had focused on building volume over the short-term before returning emphasis on increasing prices in March 2019. AG Barr had expected this change to hurt volumes. Nonetheless, a combination of "disappointing" spring and early summer weather and brand-related issues at Rockstar energy and Rubicon juice drinks sapped trading performance. Elsewhere, Ryanair Holdings was up 2.1% despite the Irish airline saying delays to deliveries of Boeing's troubled 737 MAX aircraft will hurt passenger numbers next year and plans to cut or close bases at some airports as a result.FTSE 250-listed peers easyJet was the best midcap performer, up 4.2%. Large-cap International Consolidated Airlines, which owns British Airways, was up 2.7%.The pound was quoted at USD1.2434 at midday, down from USD1.2518 at the London equities close Monday, despite positive UK jobs data.The UK headline unemployment rate held steady in the three months to the end of May, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics showed.The unemployment rate was 3.8%, in line with the month before and lowest level since 1974. Estimated employment rate for three month period stood at 76.0%, higher than 75.6% a year earlier.Including bonuses, average weekly earnings in the UK rose 3.4% year-on-year in the three months to May, higher than the revised 3.2% growth for the three months to April, and 3.1% market forecast, as cited by FXStreet.Excluding bonuses, earnings were up 3.6%, above FXStreet's consensus estimate of 3.5% and April's figure of 3.4%."While unemployment was unchanged and the claimant count rose, wages were strong which if sustained and no deal can be avoided would surely strengthen the case for no rate cuts and maybe even rate hikes. Unfortunately, traders are finding it hard to look past no-deal risks or at the very least a delay and hard Brexit, which continues to weigh on the currency," said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam. The euro stood at USD1.1230 at midday, lower than USD1.1258 late Monday.In economic news from the continent, eurozone's trade surplus swelled in May to EUR23.0 billion, accoring to data released by Eurostat.Euro area exports to the rest of the world in May were EUR203.4 billion, 7.1% ahead of the year before. Imports stood at EUR180.3 billion, an increase of 4.2% compared the year before.As a result, the euro area's trade surplus rose to EUR23.0 billion compared to EUR16.9 billion a year ago.According to Eurostat, intra-euro area trade rose to EUR172.0 billion in May, up by 4.9% compared with last year.Stocks in New York were set for a mixed open on Tuesday, following another record-setting session on Monday amid hopes the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later this month. The DJIA was called down 0.1%, the S&P 500 index flat and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.1%."With central banks turning far more dovish in a bid to support the economy and equity markets, attention is shifting to companies who will report second quarter earnings over the coming weeks," Erlam said.In the US earnings calendar on Tuesday, banks Goldman Sachs, and Wells Fargo will report earnings on Tuesday before the New York opening bell."The US is widely expected to have entered into an earnings recession in the second quarter which makes the outlooks for these firms all the more important. Citigroup got us off to an okay start but highlighted a few challenges that will likely be repeated by its peers over the coming days, most notably related to trading revenues and lower interest rates," Erlam added. London Midday is available to subscribers as an email newsletter. Contact info@alliancenews.com