(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened in the green on Friday morning, despite Asian stocks trading largely lower overnight, amid a slew of positive corporate developments.
In early UK company news, IAG reported a narrowed third quarter loss, with a "significant recovery underway", while Morgan Advanced Materials guided to full-year growth at the top of its forecast range.
The large-cap index was up 28.61 points, or 0.4%, at 7,308.52 early Friday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 64.45 points, or 0.3%, at 23,535.56. The AIM All-Share index was up 0.3% at 1,238.63.
The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.3% at 724.03. The Cboe 250 was up 0.1% at 20,995.63 and the Cboe Small Companies was flat at 15,550.83.
The UK led the way for shopper footfall among the major European economies in October, in an encouraging sign for retailers ahead of Christmas, figures showed.
Total UK footfall was down by 14% in October compared with two years ago – adjusted to avoid the impact of the pandemic – with improving from September's 17% fall, according to British Retail Consortium-Sensormatic IQ data.
The figure for the number of people entering a shop or shopping area is an improvement on the three-month average decline of 16% and ahead of Spain's 20% fall, Germany 26% drop and a 35% plunge in both Italy's and France.
Footfall on UK high streets declined by 18% on October 2019, an improvement on last month's rate and above the three-month average decline of 22%.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3471 early Friday, soft from USD1.3505 at the London equities close Thursday.
The euro was priced at USD1.1555, firm from USD1.1547. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY113.80 in London, up from JPY113.72.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 stock index in Paris was broadly flat, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.1%.
Industrial production in Germany saw a surprising monthly decline in September, figures on Friday showed.
Preliminary numbers from Destatis showed industrial output fell 1.1% monthly in September, following a 3.5% decline in August. According to consensus cited by FXStreet, monthly growth of 1% was expected for September.
Annually, output fell 1%, following August's 2.2% hike. September's figure topped expectations, however, with an 8% fall forecast.
In the FTSE 100, International Consolidated Airlines Group was up 1.3% after reporting a narrowed loss in the third quarter of 2021 amid improved operating conditions.
The parent company of British Airways and Aer Lingus said passenger capacity in the three months to September 30 was 43% of 2019, up from 22% in the three moths to June 30. Current passenger capacity visibility for quarter to December 31 is for around 60% of 2019 capacity.
IAG said cargo carried in the third quarter was up 37% on 2020, reaching 73% of 2019 levels, despite a reduction in cargo-only flights as passenger capacity increased, with 657 cargo-only flights operated in the quarter compared with 1,371 in the second quarter.
Reported operating loss for the third quarter totalled EUR452 million, narrowed from EUR1.92 billion a year ago. For the first nine months of 2021, the company reported an operating loss of EUR2.49 billion, narrowed from EUR5.98 billion a year ago.
"There's a significant recovery underway and our teams across the group are working hard to capture every opportunity. We continue to capitalise on surges in bookings when travel restrictions are lifted," said Chief Executive Luis Gallego.
In the FTSE 250, Morgan Advanced Materials was the best performer, up 4.2% on Friday morning. The company posted sales for the first nine months of 2021 up 8.9% on an organic constant-currency basis, compared to the same period last year.
Looking ahead, the technical ceramics components manufacturer said it expects its full year organic constant-currency growth to be around the top end of its previous guidance range of 7% to 9%.
"The work we have done building our capabilities over the last four years has positioned us well, allowing us to deliver strong organic growth and expand our margins despite some of the supply chain challenges as the global economy recovers," said Chief Executive Pete Raby.
Beazley was up 1.9%. The London-based insurer said momentum from the first half has persisted into the second half, with rate rises and premium growth that have exceeded its expectations.
Gross premiums written in the nine months to September 30 increased by 29% to USD3.27 billion from USD2.53 billion a year earlier. Premium rates on renewal business increased by 23%.
Beazley said its initial estimate of catastrophe losses for the third quarter is USD125 million net of reinsurance. This includes an early estimate of losses in respect of Hurricane Ida in the US of USD85 million and USD40 million for the European floods.
Elsewhere, the company said its investments returned 0.2% in the third quarter and 1.4% in the first nine months of 2021. Returns from Beazley's fixed income investments have been low, reflecting the low and rising yield environment, although the company's inflation-linked bond exposures have made a positive contribution, it said.
4imprint was down 1.2% as it warned that pandemic-related global and local supply chain issues continue to cause inventory availability challenges, increased production times and product cost inflation in the second half of 2021.
The London-based direct marketer of promotional merchandise said weekly order totals have averaged 2% above 2019 levels in the second half of the year to the end of October.
"We remain very confident in the group's strategy, business model and competitive position. The demand numbers so far in the second half of 2021 show clearly that our offering continues to resonate with our target customers," the company said in its statement Friday.
Elsewhere, flavoured cordial Vimto producer Nichols jumped 7.2% after saying that it expects to report 2021 profit ahead of current market expectations. The company said revenue for the first nine months of 2021 was ahead of expectations, increasing by 17% year-on-year to GBP107 million.
The Vimto brand has continued to deliver a strong performance across all of its markets, Nichols highlighted.
Going forward ,the company said it sees adjusted pretax profit for 2021 ahead of the current market consensus, which stands at GBP19.1 million. Nichols now anticipates that adjusted pretax profit for the year will be in the range of GBP21 million to GBP22 million. For 2020, the company posted adjusted pretax profit of GBP11.6 million.
In Tokyo on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.6%. In China, the Shanghai Composite closed down 1.0%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed down 1.4%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney outperformed, closing up 0.4%.
Brent oil was quoted at USD81.36 a barrel Friday morning, down from USD82.05 late Thursday. Gold stood at USD1,797.25 an ounce, up from USD1,793.00.
The economic events calendar on Friday has eurozone retail sales numbers at 1000 GMT and the US jobs report at 1230 GMT.
By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com
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International Airlines (IAG)
4Imprint (FOUR)
Beazley (BEZ)
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM)
Nichols plc (NICL)
