11th Sep 2018 17:05
LONDON (Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 managed to ease off some earlier losses as Tuesday's session progressed to narrowly end in negative territory, while the pound slipped despite accelerating wage growth in the UK.Ashtead ended as the best FTSE 100 performer following a rise in first quarter profit, with miners gathered at the other end of the blue-chip index.The FTSE 100 index closed down 0.1%, or 5.76 points at 7,273.54. The FTSE 250 ended down 0.2%, or 33.41 points, at 20,226.42, and the AIM All-Share closed down 0.2%, or 2.18 points, at 1,096.18.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.2% at 12,307.80, the Cboe UK 250 closed down 0.1% at 18,381.17, and the Cboe Small Companies ended flat at 12,137.64.In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended up 0.3%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt ended down 0.1%."The recent declines in the FTSE have been driven by the pound strengthening, but today we have seen wider risk aversion dent market confidence. Once again, US-China trade talks have come back into the fray for market sentiment, with the Chinese requesting that the WTO impose tariffs on the US," said IG market analyst Joshua Mahony.Mahony added that Brexit worries continue to weigh, overshadowing Tuesday's jobs data from the UK."There may have been a more optimistic tone yesterday, but there is little reason yet to believe that anything has changed in the clear red lines that separate the stances of the UK and the EU" said the IG analyst.The pound was quoted at USD1.2995 at the London equities close Tuesday, down compared to USD1.3022 at the close on Monday.While sterling initially spiked to a high of USD1.3082 following the latest UK jobs report, it quickly pared these gains and slid as the session progressed.The Office for National Statistics on Tuesday showed unemployment in the UK held steady at the lowest rate since 1975, while wage growth accelerated.The unemployment rate came in at 4% in three months to July, unchanged from last month's reading at lowest rate since February 1975.Data also showed that average earnings including bonuses grew 2.6% annually, beating expectations for the reading to remain in line with last month's 2.4%, and earnings excluding bonuses rose 2.9%, again beating forecasts for a 2.8% gain following August's reading of 2.7%.In other UK news on Tuesday, the Treasury confirmed Bank of England Governor Mark Carney will continue in his role until January 2020."I'm delighted that the governor has agreed to stay in his role for a further seven months to support a smooth exit from the EU and provide vital stability for our economy," said UK Chancellor Philip Hammond.The decision follows weeks of press reports Carney would remain in the role past his original leaving take of June 2019 in order to help the country through its departure from the European Union, due to occur in March 2019.Carney had indicated to Parliament's Treasury Select Committee last week he would be willing to remain in the role in order to facilities both a smooth Brexit transition and a smooth handover to the next head of the UK's central bank."I recognise that during this critical period, it is important that everyone does everything they can to support a smooth and successful Brexit," Carney wrote in a letter to UK Chancellor Philip Hammond.From the eurozone on Tuesday, employment increased at a steady pace in the second quarter.Eurostat showed employment increased 0.4% sequentially in the second quarter, the same rate as seen in the first quarter. The annual growth also remained unchanged, at 1.5%.Meanwhile, German economic sentiment improved more-than-expected in September, according to survey data from the Centre for European Economic Research.The economic sentiment indicator climbed to minus 10.6 from minus 13.7 in August, the Mannheim-based think tank said. Economists had expected a more modest improvement in the index to minus 13.5."The considerable fears displayed by the survey participants regarding the economic development have diminished somewhat, which may in part be attributable to the new trade agreement between the USA and Mexico," ZEW President Achim Wambach said.The euro stood at USD1.1585 at the European equities close Tuesday, against USD1.1604 at the same time on Monday.Stocks in New York were higher at the London equities close, with the Dow Jones up 0.2%, the S&P 500 index up 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite also 0.1% higher.In London on Tuesday, Ashtead ended 5.2% higher as the best performer in the FTSE 100 index.The equipment rental company said revenue for the three months to the end of July rose 22% to GBP1.05 billion from GBP880.1 million reported a year earlier, boosting pretax profit 23% to GBP274.4 million from GBP228.9 million.Ashtead said its business is performing well in "supportive" end-markets as the company viewed the medium-term "with confidence". Looking to the remainder of the year, Ashtead said a weaker pound is expected to boost its results ahead of management expectations.The firm is also set to benefit from the clean-up required from this year's hurricane season in the US, with Americans currently preparing for what could become one of the most catastrophic hurricanes to hit the Eastern Seaboard in decades.Hurricane Florence, carrying winds of up to 140 miles per hour as a Category 4 storm, is expected to strengthen and could potentially become a Category 5 storm on Tuesday. It is then forecast to close in on North or South Carolina on Thursday.Towards the other end of the index were gold miners Fresnillo and Randgold Resources, closing down 2.4% and 1.5% respectively.The companies were tracking the price of gold lower, an ounce of the precious metal quoted at USD1,193.30 at the London equities close Tuesday against USD1,196.81 at the close on Monday."The metal has been in a downward trend since April, and given the lacklustre activity in the market recently we still not seeing any signs of a reversal. While the commodity remains below the USD1,200 mark its outlook is likely to remain bearish," commented David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets. In other commodities, Brent oil was quoted at USD78.65 a barrel at the London equities close Tuesday from USD77.26 late Monday.BHP Billiton ended 1.2% lower after Deutsche Bank downgraded the miner to Hold from Buy.Climbing to the top of the FTSE 250 was JD Sports Fashion as it finished 6.5% higher following a rise in profit for the first half of its financial year.For the six months ended August 4, the sportswear retailer's pretax profit rose 19% to GBP121.9 million from GBP102.7 million a year prior. This was achieved on revenue increasing 34% year-on-year to GBP1.84 billion from GBP1.37 billion.Like-for-like sales in the period were up 3% "against a backdrop of widely reported retail challenges in the UK", the FTSE 250-listed retailer said.Sanne gained 5.7% as integration costs hit interim profit, with the company expressing a confident outlook for the year ahead.The administration services provider said pretax profit declined 13% to GBP10.9 million in the six months to June 30 compared to GBP12.5 million reported for the same period a year ago, despite revenue jumping by 17% to GBP65.9 million from GBP56.3 million.Mauritius has started to grow on a constant currency basis for Sanne, following the integration of Mauritius-based provider of corporate administration services IFS Group. Thus, the group's operating expenses, which include integration costs, rose to GBP29.0 million from GBP22.9 million the year prior, pushing pretax profit down."These results demonstrate the continuing momentum in our business and the result of the investment we are making to enhance our platforms and capabilities," said Sanne Chief Executive Dean Godwin."We will build on this progress in the second half of the year, given the strong new business pipeline, and remain confident in meeting our expectations for the full year," added Godwin.Hilton Food Group ended up 5.3% as profit and revenue rose over the first half of its financial year.For the 28 weeks to July 15, the food packaging firm said pretax profit grew 14% to GBP21.0 million from GBP18.4 million a year ago. This was as revenue jumped by 25% to GBP863.6 million from GBP690.7 million. JD Wetherspoon advanced 1.5% after Berenberg upgraded the pub chain to Buy from Hold. The company releases its annual results on Friday.At the bottom of the index was Sports Direct International, slipping 5.0%.The High Court has ruled that Sports Direct must hand over documents related to the accounting regulator's investigation into the audit of the company's 2016 financial results.The FRC is currently investigating the conduct of accounting firm Grant Thornton in relation to the audit of Sports Direct's financial statements for the year ended in April 2016.The investigation arose out of reports over a Sports Direct subsidiary engaging Barlin Delivery for its services, the FRC said. The owner of Barlin during the relevant period was John Ashley, brother of Sports Direct CEO Mike Ashley.In response to the ruling, Sports Direct said: "The company would like to clarify that Sports Direct itself is NOT the subject of an investigation by the FRC, which has jurisdiction over accounting firms and accounting professionals.""Following the handing down of a judgement today in the High Court, Sports Direct obtained leave to appeal certain aspects of the judgement from the judge, and intends to appeal additional aspects of the judgement in due course," the company added.In the corporate calendar on Wednesday, housebuilder Galliford Try and homewares retailer Dunelm publish full-year results while interims are due from insurance industry services provider Charles Taylor and tenpin bowling operator Ten Entertainment. In the economic calendar on Wednesday, eurozone industrial production is at 1000 BST while, in the US, producer prices are at 1330 BST.Related Shares:
Wetherspoon (J.D)BHP Billiton PLCSNN.LHilton FoodsRandgold ResourcesFresnilloSports DirectAshtead GroupJD Sports