LONDON MARKET OPEN: FTSE Calm As DS Smith Gains, Legal & General Falls

LONDON (Alliance News) - Share prices in London got off to a steady start on Wednesday despite a mixed session in Asia overnight, with DS Smith among the risers as it agreed to sell its Plastics division. Meanwhile, Legal & General shares declined despite the financial services firm reaching GBP1 trillion in assets under management.The FTSE 100 index was 7.57 points higher, or 0.1%, at 7,191.00 early Wednesday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 was up 8.56 points at 19,451.70, while the AIM All-Share index was 0.2% higher at 917.31.The Cboe UK 100 index was flat at 12206.35, while the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.1% at 17388.07, and the Cboe UK Small Companies up 0.3% at 11193.01.In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.1% while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was 0.3% lower. In Asia on Wednesday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.6%. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended up 1.6%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong finished up 0.3%.DS Smith was among best performers in early trade, up 5.0%, amid news of the disposal of its Plastics division to Olympus Partners for an enterprise value of USD585 million, or GBP450 million."This sale represents an important step in DS Smith's continued progress as a leader in sustainable packaging and accelerates the programme of deleveraging, alongside organic cashflow," the blue-chip packaging firm explained.The net proceeds are expected to be used to reduce financial gearing.Turning to current trading, DS Smith said business has continued to be strong and in line with expectations.The firm said it has continued to see good corrugated box volume growth, while its US unit has been generating strong margins.Legal & General fell 3.3% despite managing to reach GBP1 trillion in assets under management and growing annual profit.Pretax profit rose slightly to GBP2.13 billion from GBP2.09 billion last year, with operating profit up 10% to GBP1.90 billion. Assets under management at the end of the year stood at just over GBP1 trillion, up 3% on GBP983 billion in 2017, with external net flows of GBP42.6 billion, versus GBP43.5 billion last year. Total gross written premiums were up 3% to GBP2.62 billion.Burberry, likewise shedding 3.3%, was downgraded to Sell from Neutral by Goldman Sachs.FTSE 250-listed Just Eat dipped 3.8% despite expecting revenue and earnings growth in 2019 following a strong set of results for 2018.Revenue for 2018 rose 43% on last year to GBP779.5 million, leading the online takeaway platform to swing to a pretax profit of GBP101.7 million from a GBP76.0 million loss the year before. Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 6% to GBP173.9 million.UK revenue was up 27% despite "exceptionally hot weather" in July and August, Just Eat said, with the segment seeing 112.8 million orders in 2018, which was 17% higher than last year.Looking ahead, Just Eat expects another strong revenue showing in 2019. Sales are expected between GBP1.0 billion to GBP1.1 billion, with underlying Ebitda between GBP185 million to GBP205 million. In the economic calendar on Wednesday, US ADP employment change is at 1315 GMT, a precursor to Friday's nonfarm payrolls, while the Federal Reserve's Beige Book is at 1900 GMT."We are looking for a 180k rise today, slightly below the consensus forecast for 190k. The big picture is that US labour market activity remains strong and we anticipate further evidence on Friday of wage growth picking up," said Lloyds Banking. In the UK, Prime Minister Theresa May will face questions from members of Parliament after two members of her Cabinet held fresh talks in Brussels in a renewed effort to secure changes to the controversial Irish backstop.The prime minister is likely to be pressed on the negotiations, after the trip by Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay and Attorney General Geoffrey Cox, when she appears before the Commons for PMQs.Cox and Barclay were seeking to allay fears that the backstop could leave the UK trapped in a customs union with the EU, in a bid to win over Tory MPs ahead of further votes next week.May is set to bring her deal back to the Commons for a vote by March 12.If it is rejected, MPs will get the chance to either back a no-deal Brexit or call for the UK's departure from the EU to be delayed beyond the current March 29 deadline.