LONDON MARKET OPEN: Stocks Higher As Investors Hail Ocado US Deal

LONDON (Alliance News) - Stocks in London opened higher on Thursday, with the Experian leading the FTSE 100, while Ocado stole the show as it delivered a major deal with a top US grocer. The FTSE 100 index was up 0.1%, or 11.73 points, at 7,745.93 early Thursday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 0.2% at 20,855.58. The AIM All-Share index was down 0.1% at 1,083.78.The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.2% at 13,120.24. The Cboe UK 250 was down 0.1% at 19,055.38, and the Cboe UK Small Companies was flat at 12,807.22.Sterling was higher quoted at USD1.3525 early Thursday, versus USD1.3480 at the London equities close on Wednesday - its lowest level since early January. On the London Stock Exchange, Experian was the best blue-chip performer at the open up 2.7% after the credit checking agency said it delivered a strong performance for 2018. The company - which makes a bulk of its revenue overseas - said growth was particularly strong across B2B markets and made significant progress in its Consumer Services division, which returned to growth in North America in the fourth quarter. For the year to March end, annual revenue rose 8.0% to USD4.66 billion compared to USD4.33 billion last year. The group declared a full-year dividend of 44.75 US cents, up 8.0% from 41.50 cents last year - this was higher than consensus estimates of 43.9 US cents.At the other end of the large cap index, Royal Mail was the worst performer down 4.5% as the postal operator reported its final set of annual results under outgoing Chief Executive Moya Greene. For the year ending March 25, revenue rose to GBP10.17 billion from GBP9.77 billion last year driven by its two main unit UKPIL and GLS. Royal Mail's UKPIL revenue came in flat but revenue from the GLS arm was up 10%. Pretax profit fell to GBP212 million from GBP335 million in 2017, although adjusted pretax profit rose to GBP565 million from GBP559 million. The company is maintaining its outlook for addressed letter volume declines of 4% to 6% per annum over the medium term. Royal Mail proposed a full-year dividend of 24.0 pence, 4.3% from 23.0p last yearRoyal Mail said its pension plan closed on March 31 and a new Defined Benefit Cash Balance Scheme was put in place from April 1. The overall ongoing annual cash cost of pensions will continue to be around GBP400 million, it added. 3i Group was down 2.5% despite the private equity investor saying it delivered a strong all-round performance for 2018, although its outlook for 2019 looked less than rosy. For the year ending March 31, 3i delivered a total return of GBP1.42 billion million or 24% on opening shareholders' funds and net asset value per share of 724 pence compared to 604p last year. This was slightly higher than the median consensus NAV estimate of 718p - as supplied by the company. "We enter 2019 with a high-performing portfolio of investments in both of our divisions and a strong balance sheet. Competition in both private equity and infrastructure remains intense, with high asset prices demanding a disciplined approach to investment. But I remain confident that the Group will be agile and opportunistic as we navigate what looks likely to be another year of significant economic and geo-political uncertainty," said Chairman Simon Thompson.HSBC Holdings was down 1.5% after the stock went ex-dividend - meaning new buyers no longer qualify for the latest dividend payout. Elsewhere, Ocado Group got a rousing cheer from investors after the online grocer announced plans to enter the world's biggest grocery market, the US.The stock rocketed 45%, making Ocado easily the top gainer on the FTSE 250 Index of mid-caps.Ocado has signed a technology sharing and investment partnership pact with Kroger Co, the second-largest general retailer in the US. The deal gives Kroger exclusivity in groceries for the Ocado technology in the US.As part of the partnership pact, Kroger will invest GBP183 million in the online supermarket and will use Ocado's technology for grocery and other food distribution related activities in the US. It will pay monthly exclusivity and consultancy fees for using Ocado's technology.Kroger is subscribing for around 33.1 million new ordinary shares of Ocado, equivalent to 5% of the company's existing issued share capital.Meanwhile, the UK government cut the maximum stake that can be wagered on fixed-odds betting terminals to GBP2 from GBP100, prompting dire warnings on profits and shop closures from William Hill and GVC Holdings.Shares in William Hill and GVC were down 3.5% and 2.7% respectively, among the worst midcap performers. The euro was up quoted at USD1.1802 early Thursday, from USD1.1793 at the European equities close Wednesday - its lowest since December.In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.2% while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was flat early Thursday. In Asia on Thursday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.7%. In China, the Shanghai Composite closed down 0.5%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is down 0.3%.