11th Nov 2016 08:20
LONDON (Alliance News) - A quiet day in the corporate and economic calendar Friday will give market participants in London plenty of time to mull the implications of Donald Trump's election victory for investment.
US President-elect Trump has signalled he is ready to move swiftly to dismantle Barack Obama's signature healthcare reforms when he takes office in the new year. The two men met for the first time on Thursday in the Oval Office for talks aimed at delivering a smooth transition of power after Obama leaves the White House for the final time in January.
Later, however, following talks with congressional leaders, Trump - who has pledged to repeal so-called "Obamacare" - said healthcare would be among his top priorities in office. The president-elect said he would also be taking early action on immigration, but gave no further details. "We're going to move very strongly on immigration. We will move very strongly on healthcare. And we're looking at jobs. Big league jobs," he said.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: flat at 6,829.89
FTSE 250: down 0.3% at 17,605.53
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.1% at 802.86
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Hang Seng: closed down 1.4% at 22,531.09
Nikkei 225: closed up 0.2% at 17,374.79
DJIA: closed up 1.2% at 18,807.88
S&P 500: closed up 0.2% at 2,167.48
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GBP: up at USD1.2561 (USD1.2521)
EUR: firm at USD1.0899 (USD1.0869)
GOLD: down at USD1,255.60 per ounce (USD1,263.70)
OIL (Brent): flat at USD45.59 a barrel (USD45.77)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Friday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times in GMT)
UK and France Armistice Day (stock markets open)
Canada Remembrance Day (stock market open)
US Veterans Day (stock market open)
14:00 US Fed's Stanley Fischer speech
14:50 Canada BoC Governor Poloz Speech
15:00 US Michigan consumer Sentiment Index Preliminary
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Trump called President Obama "a very good man" and said he would seek his counsel as he prepares to become president at a White House meeting that marked the first time the two men had ever met. After spending around 90-minutes together in the Oval Office, Obama described himself as "encouraged" by Trump's interest in working with his outgoing administration to ensure a smooth transfer of power. "I very much look forward to dealing with the president in the future, including counsel," Trump told reporters after the meeting, before shaking hands with Obama.
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Trump said protests against him in various cities on Wednesday and Thursday are the work of "professional protesters, incited by the media." "Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!" Trump tweeted.
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The likelihood of a US Federal Reserve interest rate hike in December has decreased, according to a number of fund managers surveyed by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. BAML conducted a flash fund manager survey following the shock US election result on Tuesday. The survey of 114 panellists was conducted on Wednesday and Thursday. It found that 46% of those managers surveyed think the odds of a Fed rate hike in December is lower post-election. Only 14% believed that the odds had increased following Trump's victory and 39% felt they were unchanged. "This reflects 'policy uncertainty' narrative and explains why US corporate tax repatriation hopes not yet leading to extreme bullish view of US dollar," BAML said.
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Councils in England are being offered GBP18 million in government funding to speed up the construction of up to 800,000 new homes on large developments. Local authorities will be able to bid the UK Department for Communities & Local Government for a share of the "capacity fund" to tackle planning issues that can hold up projects. Housing Minister Gavin Barwell also announced the creation of six new housing zones to support the development of 10,000 new homes on brownfield sites, as well as government support for the new Otterpool Park garden town in Shepway, Kent.
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Germany's inflation climbed to a two-year high in October, final data from Destatis revealed. The consumer price index climbed 0.8% year-on-year in October, faster than the 0.7% rise seen in September. On a monthly basis, consumer prices gained 0.2% after rising 0.1% in September. Both annual and monthly inflation figures matched preliminary estimates published on October 28.
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Germany's wholesale prices increased for the first time in more than three years in October, figures from Destatis showed. Wholesale prices climbed 0.5% in October from prior year, reversing a 0.3% drop in September. Prices increased for the first time since June 2013, when prices grew 0.1%.
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Producer prices in Japan were down 0.1% on month in October, the Bank of Japan said. That was shy of expectations for a flat reading, which would have been unchanged from the September reading. On a yearly basis, producer prices fell 2.7% versus forecasts for -2.6% following the 3.2% drop in the previous month.
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Six Afghans were killed and more than 120 people were injured late Thursday when a suicide bomber drove a lorry loaded with explosives into the German consulate in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif, officials said. Five bodies had been brought to the clinic until the morning, the head of the largest hospital in town, Noor Mohammad Faiz, told dpa. According to police, one attacker died in the explosion in front of the consulate. A spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry said all its two dozen German staff were "safe and uninjured" after the bombing.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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Investec Downgrades Barclays To Hold From Buy, Target Price Cut To 210p From 200p
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Investec Cuts Virgin Money To Hold From Buy, Target 365p From 385p
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TRADERS: CITIGROUP REMOVES IMPERIAL BRANDS FROM 'FOCUS LIST EUROPE'
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BERENBERG STARTS IAG WITH 'BUY' - PRICE TARGET 595 PENCE
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S&P GLOBAL RAISES HIKMA TO 'STRONG BUY' ('HOLD') - TARGET 2200 (2400) PENCE
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Liberum Upgrades Cranswick To Buy From Hold, Target 2,500p
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Building products firm SIG said its underlying profit is set to decline in 2016, and its chief executive has stepped down with immediate effect. The FTSE 250 firm said group revenue in the four months to the end of October rose 11%, boosted by the weak pound against the euro. On a like-for-like basis, however, sales in the period - the start of SIG's second half - were down 0.8%, with a 1.1% fall in the UK & Ireland and a 0.8% decline in Europe, year-on-year. SIG said CEO Stuart Mitchell has stepped down by mutual agreement with immediate effect. No further details on the reason for his departure were disclosed. Mel Ewell, currently a non-executive director, will be interim CEO while SIG identifies a permanent successor.
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Satellite communications firm Inmarsat said it has signed a contract to provide its GX for Aviation in-flight broadband system to Austrian Airlines, a subsidiary of Germany's Lufthansa. More than 30 Airbus A320 jets from Austrian Airlines fleet will be equipped with the GX for Aviation system. The agreement is part of the ten-year strategic deal announced between Inmarsat and Lufthansa last year, under which in-flight broadband will be installed on 150 jets flying routes in continental Europe.
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Pharmaceuticals and healthcare services company Clinigen Group said trading in its current financial year has been in line with its expectations. In a statement to be given at the company's annual general meeting, Clinigen Chairman Peter Allen said the group has delivered a strong financial performance in its current financial year, to the end of June 2017. He said adjusted earnings in its financial year to date have increased 25%, driven by good organic growth and the contribution from acquisitions the firm has made.
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Georgia-based TBC Bank Group said net profit increased considerably in the third quarter and said it is upgrading its medium-term growth targets. TBC reported net profit of GEL71.0 million, or approximately GBP22.7 million, for the third quarter to September 30, up 40% year-on-year and 13% quarter-on-quarter, excluding one-off items in the second quarter. Total operating income for the bank was up 13% year-on-year at GEL161.8 million, or approximately GBP51.8 million for the three month period.
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Low & Bonar said it has appointed Mike Powell to its board as a non-executive director, effective from December 1. The firm - which makes yarn for carpets, synthetic fibres and roofing products - said Powell will join its audit, nomination and remuneration committees. Powell is the finance director at FTSE 250 aviation services firm BBA Aviation.
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NextEnergy Solar Fund said it intends to raise up to GBP104.5 million via a share issue to back further acquisitions of solar projects and said its net asset value rose in the third quarter. NextEnergy Solar said it is planning to issue 100.0 million shares at 104.50 pence per share under the first tranche of its issuance programme. The company has entered into a letter of intent for a project pipeline with an investment value of GBP175.0 million and is holding talks regarding a further pipeline of acquisition opportunities worth around GBP405.0 million.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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Media and entertainment giant Walt Disney reported a drop in profit for the fourth quarter, as revenue declined 3%, reflecting lower advertising revenues at cable networks and an extra week in the year-earlier quarter. Both earnings and revenues of Disney fell short of Wall Street estimates. Burbank, California-based Disney's fourth-quarter profit rose to USD1.77 billion from USD1.61 billion last year. Revenue for the quarter dropped 3% to USD13.14 billion from USD13.51 billion last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of USD13.52 billion. Disney has enjoyed a strong box office success this year, with four of the five highest grossing movies of 2016. Walt Disney opened its sixth theme park globally The Shanghai Disneyland in June this year. The 963-acre park is eight times the size of Hong Kong Disneyland.
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Google has rejected European Union allegations that it abused its market dominance of its Android mobile phone operating system. In a blog post, Google general counsel Kent Walker said: "Android hasn't hurt competition, it's expanded it." The company sent its reply on Thursday to anti-trust charges issued by the EU earlier this year over the smartphone platform. Walker said: "The response we filed today shows how the Android ecosystem carefully balances the interests of users, developers, hardware makers and mobile operators."
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Allianz Group reported net income attributable to shareholders for the third-quarter climbed 37% to EUR1.86 billion from last year's EUR1.36 billion due partly to better performance across its business segments. Property and Casualty insurance saw robust internal revenue growth of 3.1% when adjusted for currency and consolidation effects. Quarterly revenue slightly increased to EUR27.7 billion from EUR27.5 billion last year. A decline in revenues from the Asset Management segment was offset by revenue growth in the Life and Health segment. Solvency II capitalization ratio remained robust at 186% at the end of the third quarter.
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Italian utility Enel reported group net income for the nine-month period rose to EUR2.76 billion from EUR2.09 billion in the same period last year. Revenue for the period declined to EUR51.46 billion from EUR56.00 billion in the prior year.
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Friday's Shareholder Meetings
Galliford Try
Ludgate Environmental Fund
Clinigen Group
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By Tom Waite; [email protected]; @thomaslwaite
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