(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London are seen opening marginally higher on Friday with volumes expected to be light with US markets reopening, but for a shortened session, as investors continue to monitor vaccine news.
In early company news, FTSE 250 pub chain JD Wetherspoon bemoaned the UK government's post-lockdown tier system, which effectively forces almost half of its pubs to close. Media firm Reach said its performance towards the end of its financial year has exceeded market expectations.
IG futures indicate the FTSE 100 index is to open 1.07 points higher at 6,364.00. The blue-chip index closed down 28.16 points, or 0.4%, at 6,362.93 Thursday.
Financial markets in the US will reopen for a half-day on Friday after being closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving.
"The US stock market reopens today for a half day but volatility is likely to be quiet across the board – it is typically the case following Thanksgiving. The excitement that we saw at the start of the week with respect to the progress made by AstraZeneca-Oxford University on their Covid-19 vaccine and the hopes that President Trump will leave office quietly in January will probably be the main points of the week," said CMC Markets analyst David Madden.
JD Wetherspoon said there are just 13 of its pubs in England that are in areas classified as Tier 1, under the new UK virus restrictions that go into place from next week. In addition, there are 51 pubs in Wales, where the regulations equate to Tier 1 in England.
Under new post-lockdown rules set out by the UK government on Thursday, more than 55 million people will be placed into Tier 2 and Tier 3 measures when the second national lockdown ends next week, meaning mixing between households indoors will effectively be banned for the vast majority of the country.
In Tier 1, the rule of six applies indoors and outdoors, but in Tier 2 there will be a ban on households mixing indoors, and pubs and restaurants will only be able to sell alcohol with a "substantial meal". Tier 3 measures mean a ban on households mixing, except in limited circumstances such as in parks.
For Wetherspoon, Tier 2 affects 435 pubs. This tier includes 17 pubs in Scotland where the regulations approximate to Tier 2 in England, the pub chain said.
Wetherspoon highlighted that it has 366 pubs which will remain closed. Of these, 315 are in Tier 3 in England and 51 are in Northern Ireland and Scotland. These 51 pubs have similar restrictions to Tier 3 in England.
"These rules greatly reduced pub capacity and provided strict social distancing and hygiene standards but, with difficultly, allowed pubs to trade viably. It is very disappointing that yet another raft of regulations has been introduced, which has effectively closed half our pubs. In reality, the government has extended a form of lockdown, by stealth, in large swathes of the country," said Chair Tim Martin.
Newspaper publisher Reach said it saw a strong performance in digital revenue as it moves its news brands towards an online future, with its financial year ending December 27 drawing to a close.
For the period from June 29 to November 27, Reach said its performance has exceeded market expectations, with continued strong digital revenue growth of 16%, assisted by increased customer engagement.
The Daily Mirror newspaper publisher said circulation sales have remained resilient despite the recent lockdowns, supported by increased cross-promotion of national and regional titles. Overall, for the five months to November-end, a decline in print revenue of 20% contributed to a revenue decline of 14%.
Reach expects trends of strong digital growth and resilient circulation to continue into December, but noted that the current macroeconomic uncertainties make forecasting "more challenging".
"The headwinds from Covid-19 have been considerable, but while we remain mindful of potential impacts from the current lockdowns, we approach the end of the year with a strong and growing digital business, resilient print circulation sales, and a new, efficient operating model. Our customer value strategy is now entering a new phase, with an increased focus on business intelligence and insight," said Chief Executive Officer Jim Mullen.
The UK government said on Friday it has asked its independent medicines regulator to assess AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine as part of the formal approval process for the drug to be rolled out by the end of the year.
More than 1.4 million people have died since the novel coronavirus emerged in China late last year, and three drug developers - Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca/Oxford University - are currently applying for approval for their vaccines to be used as early as December.
But under British rules, the government must also ask the independent Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to green light the drug.
"We have formally asked the regulator to assess the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, to understand the data and determine whether it meets rigorous safety standards," said UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
The UK government has already formally asked the MHRA to assess the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for its suitability.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said Thursday for the first time that he would leave the White House if Joe Biden is officially confirmed the winner of the US election, even as he railed against the "rigged" vote.
Trump has made an unprecedented attempt to defy the results of the election by refusing to concede, spreading wild theories about stolen ballots and launching baseless legal challenges that have been thrown out by courts.
Answering his first questions from reporters since the November 3 vote, the president moved closer to accepting that he would serve only one term in office before Biden is inaugurated on January 20.
When asked if he would leave the White House if the Electoral College confirmed Biden's victory, Trump said, "Certainly I will. And you know that."
AxiCorp's Stephen Innes said: "After a fortnight where the market has received a trio of vaccine booster shots, my view remains the same, including a much earlier than usual proclivity for investors to reduce risk into the holiday season.
"Meanwhile, the US election results, in which divided government appears the most likely outcome, will also constrain the policy ambitions of the new administration. Nevertheless, if the Democrats were to win the runoff elections in Georgia and take control of the Senate, a significantly larger fiscal stimulus could result. So this will be a big focus in January. Between now and then, investors will remain cautious about adding risk and will turn better sellers on rallies into the year-end."
The dollar was lower against major counterparts.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3362 on Friday morning, higher from USD1.3333 at the London equities close Thursday. The euro stood at USD1.1925, up from USD1.1908. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar was trading at JPY104.00, down from JPY104.27.
Brent oil was trading at USD47.75 a barrel Friday morning, flat from USD47.77 late Thursday. Gold fetched USD1,807.11 an ounce, down from USD1,810.32.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 index ended up 0.4%. In China, the Shanghai Composite closed up 1.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is up 0.4%.
On Friday, US markets close at 1800 GMT, or 1300 local time. On the economic data front, a eurozone consumer confidence print is at 1000 GMT.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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Wetherspoon (J.D) (JDW)
Reach Plc (RCH)