LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Risk Sentiment Goes Missing Amid Global Worries

LONDON (Alliance News) - Risk-on appetite was lacking on Thursday with London stocks posting declines and New York set for losses as well amid a raft of geopolitical concerns, including concerns over trade and the failure of the US and North Korea to reach a denuclearisation pact.RSA Insurance and packaging firm Mondi were among the biggest fallers in the FTSE 100 at midday, while car maker Aston Martin Lagonda was keeping the FTSE 250 in the red.The FTSE 100 index was 42.40 points lower, or 0.6%, at 7,064.80 Thursday midday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 was down 87.60 points, or 0.5%, at 19,066.15, while the AIM All-Share index was flat at 905.99.The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.6% at 11,997.15, while the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.4% at 17,033.32. The Cboe UK Small Companies was down 0.1% at 11,140.34.In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.1%, and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was off 0.2% at midday."The FTSE has dipped to its lowest level in almost 3 weeks this morning, falling back below the 7,100 mark as global equities in general have pulled back as risk sentiment took a hit after the US and North Korea failed to reach an agreement over denuclearisation for the peninsula," said David Cheetham, chief market analyst at XTB. The summit in Hanoi ended earlier than originally scheduled after talks between the two sides broke down. US President Donald Trump told reporters that the "papers were ready to be signed but it wasn't appropriate"."Sometimes you have to walk, and this was one of those times," Trump added.The president said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was willing to give up some of his country's nuclear sites "but not the ones we wanted".In the US, Wall Street is seen starting lower, following peers in Europe. The Dow Jones is called down 0.2%, the S&P 500 down 0.3%, and the Nasdaq down 0.5%. To come in the economic calendar on Thursday is a preliminary US fourth-quarter GDP estimate at 1330 GMT, due alongside personal consumption expenditures. Societe Generale expects US economic growth to have slowed to an annualised rate of 2.3% in the fourth quarter, following a 3.4% advance in the third quarter."If our forecast proves accurate, then real GDP in 2018 would clock in at a 2.9% annual average pace, which would mark the best result since 2005. Nevertheless, momentum is more relevant than last year's average annual pace, and here there could be some cause for concern," Societe Generale said.As well as geopolitical worries weighing down London's FTSE 100, individual companies dragged on the index after releasing their annual results.RSA Insurance, down 4.3%, reported a consensus-beating annual pretax profit but saw a drop in net premiums, struggling with UK and Canada weather related costs and large losses in its London Market business.The general insurer's net written premiums for 2018 decreased by 3.1% to GBP6.47 billion from GBP6.68 billion in 2017, coming in just slightly below the analyst consensus forecast of GBP6.50 billion.The group's underwriting profit decreased 37% to GBP250 million from GBP394 million, behind consensus of GBP312 million. Mondi fell 4.0% as the paper and packaging firm hiked its 2018 dividend after profit and revenue rose in a "strong" performance, though said it has entered 2019 with "mixed" pricing.In 2018, pretax profit widened 26% to EUR1.11 billion from EUR884 million the year prior. Underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation expanded 19% to EUR1.76 billion from EUR1.48 billion the year before."Pricing is mixed going into 2019, with recent price reductions in containerboard grades and market pulp and stronger pricing in our kraft paper markets," Chief Executive Peter Oswald said. "During 2019, we are planning longer maintenance and project related shuts, while looking forward to the incremental contribution from recently completed major capital projects and acquisitions."British American Tobacco slid 2.8% as annual profit shrank, while the company noted "increased uncertainty" following regulatory worries in the US.The tobacco firm posted a pretax profit of GBP8.35 billion, less than a third of its GBP29.59 billion profit in 2017.This came after the company's share of results from associates and joint ventures shrank to just GBP419 million from GBP24.21 billion following the acquisition of Reynolds American in 2017, which is now reported as a wholly-owned subsidiary. The US Food & Drug Administration has proposed a ban on menthol cigarettes, which the company noted had created "increased uncertainty in the US operating environment".BAT Chief Executive Nicandro Durante said: "We recognise that the proposed potential regulatory changes in the US have created some investor uncertainty. We have a long experience of managing regulatory developments, a track record of delivering strong growth while investing for the future and an established multi-category approach.Some positively-received earnings came from Rentokil Initial, up 5.0%. The pest control and hygiene firm said it expects a "slight increase" in market expectations for 2019.The company's annual pretax loss totalled GBP114.1 million, reversing its GBP713.6 million profit the year before. A key factor in this was the transfer of its Hygiene and Workwear assets, as well as the divestment of the flat-linen laundries in France. In addition, 2018 took a hit from Rentokil's agreement for a bulk annuity insurance buy-in for its UK pension scheme. Rentokil's adjusted pretax profit, which excludes these factors, rose 7.4% to GBP308.0 million from GBP286.9 million.Rentokil Chief Executive Andy Ransom said: "2018 was a very good year for Rentokil Initial, and I am delighted that we have again exceeded our medium-term financial targets for revenue, profit and cash. We are confident of delivering further progress in 2019 and anticipate a slight increase in market expectations for 2019."FTSE 250-listed Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings slumped 18% as the luxury car maker swung to a loss in its first set of annual results since joining the London Stock Exchange last year.Aston Martin posted a pretax loss of GBP73.1 million in 2018, compared to a GBP84.5 million profit in 2017. On an adjusted basis, Aston Martin's pretax profit was GBP68 million, from GBP73 million year-on-year. The company booked adjusting items of GBP136 million, compared to a GBP11.4 million gain a year prior. The costs include staff incentives and fees related to its initial public offering, and a negative past service pension benefit. Aston Martin registered revenue of GBP1.10 billion in 2018, up 26% on the year, with wholesale volumes increasing 26% to 6,441. Bakkavor slipped 10% despite achieving a rise in profit and revenue in 2018, amid "challenging" market conditions in the UK, as it warned on growth for 2019.In 2018, Bakkavor doubled its pretax profit to GBP77.9 million from GBP39.0 million in 2017, as finance costs in 2018 decreased to GBP13.2 million from GBP35.0 million in 2017. Bakkavor's revenue increased 2.8% to GBP1.86 billion, with like-for-like revenue up 3.4% to GBP1.84 billion from GBP1.78 billion.Looking towards 2019, Bakkavor expects the same pressures experienced in the second half of 2018 to continue in the current year. "Subdued consumer confidence and inflationary pressures have continued into 2019, and therefore we remain cautious and expect little improvement in underlying market conditions," said Chief Executive Agust Gudmundsson.