LONDON MARKET OPEN: Stocks Down; Inmarsat Up After Agreeing Takeover

LONDON (Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were lower on Monday as investors fretted over falling US bond yields; however the FTSE 100 index of big international companies found some support from weakness in the pound. In company news, Inmarsat led the mid-cap FTSE 250 after the satellite firm agreed to be taken private in a deal worth USD3.4 billion. The FTSE 100 index was 44.89 points, or 0.6%, lower at 7,165.70 early Monday. The FTSE 250 was down 75.65 points, or 0.4%, at 18,922.81, while the AIM All-Share index was down 0.2% at 907.88.The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.5% at 12,165.62. The Cboe UK 250 was down 0.2% at 16,991.97, and the Cboe UK Small Companies was flat at 11,191.09.The Japanese Nikkei 225 index ended down 3.0% in Tokyo. In China, the Shanghai Composite closed down 2.0%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong ended down 2.1%.In Paris the CAC 40 was down 0.4%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was down 0.5% in early European trade. In the US on Friday, Wall Street ended sharply lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.8%, S&P 500 down 1.9% Nasdaq Composite down 2.5%.US equities tumbled after the spread between three-month Treasury bills and 10-year note yields inverted for the first time since 2007. Historically, an inverted yield curve - where long-term rates fall below short-term - has signalled an imminent recession."Investors should be prepared for a tough week as we close out March and the first quarter. Global stocks have taken a battering in the last couple of sessions as bond yields have sunk across the board. The slide in yields last week was a red flag for equities; the bond market loudly proclaiming that it's not confident about the growth outlook," said Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson. In the FTSE 100, miners Antofagasta, Glencore and Anglo American were down 1.7%, 1.0% and 0.9% respectively, amid lower base metal prices, though gold was higher."Other key commodities, including copper, are sliding lower with demand for US debt pushing USD higher, making commodities more expensive. In turn, GBP weakness is buoying the FTSE off its low," Accendo Markets analyst Mike Van Dulken said. Diageo was down 0.7% after Investec downgraded the distiller to Sell from Hold. In the FTSE 250, Inmarsat was the best performer, up 7.6% at 544.80 pence after the satellite communications firm agreed a USD3.4 billion deal with UK private equity firm Apax Partners.Last week, Inmarsat had said it had received a non-binding offer at USD7.21 per share from a consortium, led by Apax, also consisting of Warburg Pincus International, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.The USD7.21 price has now been agreed, and is worth about 546 pence. It is a 46% premium to Inmarsat's closing price on January 30, when the proposal was first made, with shares closing at 535p on Friday last week.Inmarsat's previously announced USD0.12 final dividend per share will still be paid under the offer and is included in the USD7.21 price.The consortium, called Triton Bidco, has already received irrevocable undertakings from shareholders worth 11% of Inmarsat. ConvaTec was up 6.5% after the wound dressings maker said it has appointed Genus Chief Executive Karim Bitar as its new CEO starting September 30.In addition, ConvaTec Chair Christopher Gent is to retire at the annual general meeting in May. Interim CEO Rick Anderson has agreed to temporarily serve as executive chair until a new chair has been appointed, the company added.Peel Hunt upgraded ConvaTec to Buy from Hold. Genus shares were down 3.1%. Genus said it has commenced the search for a replacement for Bitar.Dechra Pharmaceuticals was up 3.0% after JPMorgan started coverage on the veterinary medicines maker with an Overweight rating. Elsewhere, Majestic Wine was down 7.2% after the company announced its 'Group Transformation Plan' which will result in the wine retailer incurring extra costs.As part of the restructuring, Majestic will rename itself Naked Wines following its takeover of the Naked Wines in 2015 and invest a further GBP6 million a year into the business.However, the company warned that it will take a largely non-cash restructuring charge of up to GBP10 million in financial 2019, with further costs anticipated in financial 2020.In addition, Majestic put its financial 2019 dividend under review.The company added that it will embark on store closure plan as part of the transformation, although it did not say how many stores would be closed. Majestic trades from around 200 stores in the UK.The pound was quoted at USD1.3189 Monday, down from USD1.3207 at the London equities close Friday, amid Brexit-related uncertainty.UK Prime Minister Theresa May is battling to stay in power as members of Parliament seek to seize control of legislative business in a bid to secure a softer Brexit.At the start of another crunch week in Westminster, the Commons is due to vote on an amendment which would force a series of indicative votes on alternatives to the prime minister's withdrawal agreement. The proposal seeks to pave the way for a series of indicative votes in the Commons on Wednesday, effectively taking control of the Brexit process out of the hands of the government.After a weekend which saw two senior ministers dismiss reports of a "coup" to oust the PM, May will convene her Cabinet in the morning before she updates the Commons on the Brexit process following last week's European Council summit where she agreed to delay Britain's departure beyond March 29.Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will travel to Beijing for trade talks set to begin on Thursday, the White House said Saturday.Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will visit Washington on April 3, the White House also announced.The new round of talks on Thursday, the fourth since December, comes as both sides have said substantial progress is being made despite negotiators missing the original March 1 deadline to complete the talks.A light economic events calendar on Monday has German IFO Business sentiment at 0900 GMT.