LONDON MARKET OPEN: Shares Rise As M&A Provides Break From Brexit

LONDON (Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened higher on Monday following a strong close in Asian equity markets, buoyed by merger and acquisition activity, amid a lull in Brexit news. The FTSE 100 index was 18.14 points higher, or 0.3%, at 7,246.42 early Monday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 was up 36.16 points, or 0.2%, at 19,527.19, while the AIM All-Share index was 0.3% higher at 920.60.The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.3% at 12,311.11. The Cboe UK 250 was up 0.2% at 17,520.07 and the Cboe UK Small Companies flat at 11,162.01.The Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.6%. In China, the Shanghai Composite closed up 2.5%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong ended up 1.3%.In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.3% while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was 0.2% higher. "It's been a positive start to the week for markets in Europe as a positive Asia session and a flurry of activity in M&A has delivered a boost to risk appetite, and continued the positive theme from last week," said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson. Payment processor Worldpay said it has agreed to a merger with US financial services technology firm FIS, in a deal that values Worldpay at USD43 billion, including its debt.Under the terms of the merger, Worldpay shareholders will receive 0.9287 of a FIS share and USD11.0 in cash. FIS shareholders will own 53% of the combined group and Worldpay's the rest.The combined company generated about USD12.3 billion in pro forma revenue in 2018. Payment processing firm Worldpay reported, in February, net revenue of USD3.93 billion for 2018.Meanwhile, Xinhua news agency reported on Friday that concrete progress had been made on the text of the trade agreement between the US and China, citing a phone conversation between Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.In the FTSE 100, Rolls-Royce Holdings was up 1.3% after Morgan Stanley raised the jet engine maker to Overweight from Equal Weight. At the other end of the large cap index, Rightmove was the worst performer, down 1.1% after UBS downgraded the property portal to Neutral from Buy. In the FTSE 250, Hunting was the best performer, up 6.0% after UBS raised the oilfield services firm to Buy from Neutral.Domino's Pizza was up 2.7%. The pizza chain "strongly refuted" an article in the Times, printed Saturday, that said it has been misleading shareholders over its dispute with franchise owners.The article said Domino's has been accused of misleading investors over the state of relations with its franchise owners group, Domino's Franchisee Association.The store owners sent a letter to the company saying it was "extremely misleading" for Domino's to suggest it was close to a resolution with the association as the board is "at total odds with the franchisees", according to the newspaper.Domino's responded Monday: "The company strongly refutes the reported allegations. The company has been clear and transparent that it has been in commercial discussions with franchisees, which are continuing."On AIM, footwear retailer Footasylum was up 74% at 80.80 pence after larger peer JD Sports Fashion said it has reached an agreement to acquire the entire ordinary share capital of Footasylum that it does not already own.JD Sports Fashion holds an 18.74% interest in Footasylum after acquiring an 8.3% stake in the struggling footwear seller in February. At the time, JD had said it did not intend to make an offer for the company.Under the terms of the offer, Footasylum shareholders will receive 82.5 pence in cash for each Footasylum share. The offer represents a 77.4% premium to Footasylum's closing share price of 46.5p on Friday.The offer values Footasylum around GBP90.1 million. JD said the cash consideration will be financed from JD's existing cash resources and facilities."In our view, this looks a sensible bolt-on acquisition in the UK to the JD Sports group which crystallises the strategic stake that the company acquired back in February in Footasylum. It brings a further fascia to the group and by leveraging JD's infrastructure and sourcing capabilities will be able to drive out operating synergies, which can potentially be reinvested in the offer," said Shore Capital. JD Sports shares were flat at 485.85p. The pound was quoted at USD1.3285 early Monday, marginally lower than USD1.3297 at the London close Friday.In political news, UK Prime Minister Theresa May's hopes of delivering Brexit could hinge on intensive efforts to persuade the Democratic Unionist Party to back the Withdrawal Agreement.The 10 DUP MPs are viewed by Downing Street as crucial, not just for the votes they provide but the influence their stance has on Conservative Eurosceptics concerned about the Irish backstop.The prime minister will not risk bringing her deal back to the Commons unless she is confident of avoiding a third humiliating defeat on the package.Negotiations with the DUP are expected to continue on Monday, although Downing Street said a formal meeting is not scheduled. Ministers have stressed that unless the deal is approved by MPs before Thursday's summit of EU leaders, the UK will be forced to accept a lengthy delay to Brexit."Sterling is facing a morbidly curious, potentially exhausting week. May is in the process of desperately trying to get the DUP on board, as securing their support would, in theory, be the key to pushing her twice-rejected, thoroughly disliked withdrawal agreement over the line ahead of Wednesday's self-imposed deadline and Thursday's EU summit in Brussels. This as Philip Hammond cast doubt on whether or not a third 'meaningful' vote would even actually occur this week, given that the odds are still stacked against the deal," said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell.