29th May 2025 07:50
(Alliance News) - London is called to open higher on Thursday, as US President Donald Trump's sweeping import tariffs are set to be blocked by a federal court.
A panel of three judges at the US Court of International Trade in Manhattan issued a unanimous ruling Wednesday, declaring Trump’s tariffs illegal. The court gave the administration 10 days to take action to halt the tariffs, though an appeal has already been launched.
In early corporate news, Auto Trader reports a rise in annual profit and Hollywood Bowl reports a decline in earnings.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: called up 0.7% at 8,784.11
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Hang Seng: up 0.9% at 23,471.54
Nikkei 225: closed up 1.8% at 38,409.63
S&P/ASX 200: closed up 0.2% at 8,415.90
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DJIA: closed down 244.95 points, or 0.6%, at 42,098.70
S&P 500: closed down 32.99 points, or 0.6%, at 5,888.55
Nasdaq Composite: closed down 98.23 points, or 0.5%, at 19,100.94
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US 10-year Treasury yield: 4.53% (4.49%)
US 30-year Treasury yield: 5.02% (4.99%)
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EUR: down at USD1.1267 (USD1.1294)
GBP: down at USD1.3453 (USD1.3465)
USD: up at JPY145.63 (JPY144.95)
Gold: down at USD3,272.42 per ounce (USD3,296.24)
(Brent): up at USD65.33 a barrel (USD64.43)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS
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Thursday's key economic events still to come:
10:00 BST UK Bank of England Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden speaks
20:00 BST UK Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey speaks
13:30 BST US initial jobless claims
13:30 BST US quarterly personal consumption expenditures
13:30 BST US GDP
15:30 BST US EIA natural gas stocks
17:00 BST US EIA crude oil stocks
19:00 BST US Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler speaks
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Car manufacturing in the UK fell by 8.6% on year in April to its lowest level for that month since 1952, other than the Covid-19 lockdown year of 2020, industry figures showed on Thursday. A later Easter and model changeovers contributed to the fall in car production, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders. Reduced demand from key export markets also hurt output, SMMT said, as international trading uncertainty resulted in a 10% fall in car exports from the UK. The industry group said April's decline contributed to the UK auto sector's slowest start to a year since 2009. Commercial vehicle production fared even worse, falling by 69%, with exports dropping by 76%, SMMT said.
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The OPEC+ group of oil-producing countries did not decide to increase production at an online meeting of the oil ministers involved, a statement indicated on Wednesday. Analysts expect that a core group of eight countries will decide on a strategy on Saturday.
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A US federal court has blocked most import tariffs from going into effect, ruling that President Trump had overstepped his authority with the across-the-board global levies. The court's order could spell a premature end to the president's international trade war as it effectively erases most of the trade restrictions Trump has announced since taking office. The ruling also quashes duties that Trump imposed on Canada, Mexico and China separately using emergency powers. There was no immediate response to Wednesday's ruling from the president, although one of his closest White House aides, Stephen Miller, attacked it in a social media post. "The judicial coup is out of control," he said. The administration subsequently filed an appeal. "Notice is hereby given that defendants appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit from the Court's opinion and final judgment of May 28, 2025," the court filing said.
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President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday vowed to "aggressively" revoke visas of Chinese students, one of the largest sources of revenue for American universities, in his latest broadside against US higher education. The announcement by Secretary of State Marco Rubio marked a show of defiance after China criticized his decision a day earlier to suspend visa appointments for students worldwide at least temporarily. The US will "aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields," Rubio said in a statement. "We will also revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People's Republic of China and Hong Kong," he said. Young Chinese people have long been crucial to US universities, which rely on international students paying full tuition. China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning on Wednesday said Beijing urged Washington to "safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of international students, including those from China."
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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Berenberg raises Diploma price target to 5,600 (5,200) pence - 'buy'
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Barclays raises Pets At Home price target to 285 (245) pence - 'equal weight'
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Barclays raises B&M price target to 415 (400) pence - 'overweight'
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Auto Trader reports pretax profit of GBP375.7 million for its financial year that ended March 31, rising 8.8% from GBP345.2 million the year before. Revenue grows 5.3% to GBP601.1 million from GBP570.9 million, while the firm's operating profit margin widens to 63% from 61%. Auto Trader declares a final dividend of 7.1 pence per share, up 11% on-year from 6.4p and bringing its total dividend for the year up 10% to 10.6p per share from 9.6p. The company has seen a 5% increase in the number of cars advertised through its platform, and expects overall new car registration volumes to be well supported over the next two to three years with the announcement of a new UK-US trade deal and plans to soften the zero emission vehicle mandate. "Despite broader macroeconomic uncertainties, the UK car market is in good health and we continue to deliver against our strategy to improve car buying and retailing," says Chief Executive Officer Nathan Coe. "We remain confident in the outlook for the business given our strong market position, the value we deliver for customers, and our unique data and technology capabilities." Retailer revenue growth is expected to improve to between 5% and 7% in financial 2026, and operating profit margins expected to increase as a result of an anticipated reduction in losses within Autorama, in line with market consensus.
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Shell subsidiary Shell Nigeria Exploration & Production has signed an agreement with TotalEnergies EP Nigeria to acquire its 12.5% stake in the OML 118 production sharing contract for USD510 million. The contract is for an oil mining lease offshore Nigeria that includes the Bonga field. The deal will increase Shell's stake in the OML 118 PSC to 67.5% from 55%. Shell currently produces from the Bonga field via the Bonga floating production storage and offloading vessel, in partnership with Esso Exploration & Production Nigeria Ltd, which holds a 20% stake, and Nigerian Agip Exploration Ltd, which owns a 12.5% interest. The deal is expected to complete before the end of the year. "Following our final investment decision on Bonga North last year, this acquisition brings another significant investment in Nigeria deep-water that contributes to sustained liquids production and growth in our Upstream portfolio," said Peter Costello, Upstream president at Shell. Production from the OML 118 PSC, which is mainly oil, represents around 11,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Hollywood Bowl reports pretax profit declined 4.0% during the six months that ended March 31, to GBP28.3 million from GBP29.5 million, despite revenue growing 8.4% to GBP129.2 million from GBP119.2 million. This is largely driven by administrative expenses increasing 15% to GBP49.2 million from GBP42.7 million. Hollywood Bowl declares an interim dividend of 4.10 pence per share, up 3.0% on-year from 3.98p. "The prolonged period of unprecedented dry and warm weather from March to May, has had a short-term impact on trading. However, we've responded quickly, managing margins and costs while maintaining strong operational performance, which remains as good as it's ever been," says Chief Executive Officer Stephen Burns. "Looking ahead, we're well positioned for the key summer holiday period, and we remain confident that full-year [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation] will be within the range of current analyst forecasts. The significant investments we have made in the estate over the last 12 months, put us on course to enhance future Ebitda returns." The company says it remains on track to reach 130 centres over the next ten years, with a growing pipeline in the UK and Canada.
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OTHER COMPANIES
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CT UK Capital & Income Investment Trust says its net asset value per share at March 31 is 331.45 pence, down 3.6% from 343.84p at September 30. Its NAV total return for the six months that ended March 31 is negative 1.6%, against a positive 4.1% return on its benchmark, the FTSE All-Share index. It also underperformed against the same six-month period a year prior, in which it had delivered a positive 12.9% return. CT UK Capital declares an interim dividend of 5.90p per share, up 3.5% on-year from 5.70p. "In recent decades it is difficult to think of a parallel for the current economic and geo-political situation and there is very considerable uncertainty as to how this will evolve. However, it is important for investors to focus on the long-term, to try to ignore the noise of current events and not to act hastily," says Chair Nicky McCabe. "Your investment manager believes valuations are one of the strongest indicators of future investment performance, and on that front the opportunities for the UK stock market and a considerable number of UK companies, look particularly attractive." The company says "that the epicentre of the uncertainty is in the US," while the UK is a "relative haven of stability." CT UK adds that the UK is not immune to events in the US, but also not "completely swept up in them".
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By Emily Parsons, Alliance News reporter
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