18th Apr 2019 17:08
LONDON (Alliance News) - Stocks in London ended lower on Thursday ahead of the long Easter holiday weekend, with gains from Unilever and Rentokil Initial not enough to see the FTSE 100 end in the green. The FTSE 100 index closed down 0.2%, or 11.44 points at 7,459.88. The FTSE 250 ended down 0.1%, or 22.20 points, at 19,835.93, and the AIM All-Share closed down 0.2%, or 2.30 points, at 955.15.The Cboe UK 100 closed down 0.1% at 12,660.96, the Cboe UK 250 down 0.1% at 17,760.79, and the Cboe UK Small Companies up 0.3% at 11,455.41.In Paris the CAC 40 ended up 0.3%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt ended up 0.6%. On the London Stock Exchange, Unilever ended the best blue chip performer, up 2.9% after the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant reported strong underlying sales growth in the first quarter and raised its quarterly dividend.For the quarter, underlying sales growth was 3.1%, with 1.2% attributed to volume and 1.9% to price. Underlying sales growth excludes any change in revenue resulting from acquisitions, disposals, and currency changes. Price growth from countries with extreme consumer price inflation, such as Venezuela and Argentina, is also excluded.Unilever also upped its quarterly dividend to EUR0.4104 per share, a 6.0% rise from its EUR0.3872 dividend for the same quarter of 2018.Looking ahead for 2019 as a whole, the company expects to report underlying sales growth in the lower half of its 3% to 5% range."Investors will be pleased with the increase in the quarterly dividend, but will be hoping the company can boost sales growth in the future; something analysts have been increasingly concerned about," said the Share Centre.Rentokil Initial closed up 1.9% after the pest control firm reported revenue growth in the first quarter of 2019 as a result of acquisitions and robust organic growth from its Hygiene and Pest Control units.The company's revenue was up at GBP607.4 million for the three months to March 31 from GBP550.7 million the year before. This represents a 10% rise at actual exchange rates and an 8.6% rise at constant currency.Rentokil's ongoing revenue for the period was up to GBP603.6 million from GBP545.9 million, up 11% at actual exchange rates and 8.9% at constant currency. Rentokil's ongoing revenue represents the performance of its continuing operations after removing the effect of closed or disposed businesses.In its first quarter, Rentokil agreed eight acquisitions, of which four were in Pest Control and four were in Hygiene.At the other end of the large cap index, BAE Systems ended as the worst performer, down 2.1% after the stock went ex-dividend - meaning new buyers no longer qualify for the latest payout. In the FTSE 250, Avast ended the best performer, up 5.8% after the antivirus software company reaffirmed guidance for 2019 following strong revenue and earnings growth in the first quarter.The cybersecurity provider said adjusted revenue in the three months to the end of March rose by 8.5% to USD209.1 million from USD192.7 million the year prior. Looking ahead, Avast reaffirmed its annual outlook for high single-digit adjusted revenue growth, excluding currency impact, and a broadly flat adjusted Ebitda margin.At the other end of the midcaps, Petrofac closed down 11% after a report claimed the Iraqi oil ministry ended negotiations with the oilfield services firm over a major gas project, citing a bribery scandal.The pound was quoted at USD1.3004 at the London equities close, down from USD1.3045 at the close Thursday, despite positive UK retail sales data.UK retail sales grew at a faster rate than expected in March, data from the Office for National Statistics showed.Retail sales grew 1.1% month-on-month in March, after a 0.6% rise in February. Sales rose to the highest in four months, when it was 1.5%. Economists had predicted a 0.4% decline.Excluding auto fuel, retail sales grew 1.2% monthly in March after a 0.4% rise in February. Economists had forecast a 0.3% decrease.Food stores and non-store retailing were the largest contributors to the quantity bought in March.Including auto fuel, retail sales rose 6.7% year-on-year following a 4.0% increase in February. Economists were looking for a 4.6% increase.The euro stood at USD1.1243 at the European equities close, down from USD1.1298 late Thursday, following disappointing PMI data from the continent. The pace of eurozone economic growth slowed for a second successive month in April, according to flash PMI survey data released by IHS Markit.The IHS Markit Eurozone PMI Composite index hit a three-month low of 51.3 in April from 51.6 in March.Services PMI fell to 52.5 from 53.3 in March, manufacturing PMI rose to 47.8 from 47.5, while manufacturing output PMI increased to 48.1 from 47.2.New order growth picked up only marginally, remaining close to stagnant, according to IHS Markit. New export orders fell sharply, down for a seventh straight month to continue the worst period of export performance since comparable data covering both goods and services were first available in 2014.Stocks in New York were broadly lower at the London equities close, with the DJIA up 0.1%, but the S&P 500 index down 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.5%.On the corporate front, tobacco giant Philip Morris International released earnings for first quarter that decreased from last year.The company's earnings came in at USD1.35 billion, or USD0.87 per share. This compares with USD1.56 billion, or USD1.00 per share, in last year's first quarter.Analysts had expected the company to earn USD0.97 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.The stock was down 1.3% in New York.Shares in Schlumberger were down 1.8% on Wall Street after the oilfield services company reported profit for first quarter that declined from last year.The company's profit totalled USD421 million, or USD0.30 per share. This compares with USD525 million, or USD0.38 per share, in last year's first quarter.Analysts had expected the company to earn USD0.30 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.Meanwhile, 'unicorns' - or private companies worth more than USD1 billion - video conferencing-company Zoom Video Communications and social media platform Pinterest joined the stampede of high-profile stock market flotations on Thursday.Zoom shares were trading at USD61.66, up 70% from its initial public offering price of USD36 each. Setting it apart from other unicorns is Zoom's fast pace of growth which has drawn attention to the eight-year old company, founded by Eric Yuan, the former vice president of engineering at the video-conferencing company WebEx.Beloved online scrapbook site Pinterest was trading at USD23.75, up 25% from its IPO price of USD19 per share - which had valued it at USD10 billion. On the economic front, the US Commerce Department said retail sales soared by 1.6% in March after edging down by 0.2% in February. Economists had expected retail sales to climb by 0.9%.Excluding a jump in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales still surged up by 1.2% in March following a revised 0.2% dip in February.Ex-auto sales had been expected to increase by 0.7% compared to the 0.4% drop originally reported for the previous month.The report said closely watched core retail sales, which exclude autos, gasoline, building materials and food services, also jumped by 1.0% in March after falling by 0.3% in February."Overall, the retail sales figures add to the slightly more positive tone of the recent data and provide some comfort that the economy isn't falling off a cliff," said Andrew Hunter, Senior US Economist at Capital Economics. "But they don't change our view that the fading of the fiscal boost and the lagged impact of the Fed's monetary tightening will push GDP growth below its 2% potential pace over the coming quarters."Brent oil was quoted at USD71.70 a barrel at the London equities close, higher than USD71.60 at the close Wednesday. Gold was quoted at USD1,275.20 an ounce at the London equities close, flat from USD1,274.52 late Wednesday. Financial markets in the UK and across Europe will be closed on Good Friday and Easter Monday and will reopen on Tuesday. The economic events calendar on Tuesday has eurozone consumer confidence at 1500 BST. The UK corporate calendar on Tuesday has half year results from Fidelity Asian Values and a trading statement from STV Group.
Related Shares:
PetrofacUnileverBAE SystemsRentokil InitialAVST.L