17th Mar 2025 11:56
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in Europe traded higher on Monday, though the FTSE 100 underperformed against European peers, ahead of a slew of central bank decisions as the week progresses.
The FTSE 100 index traded up 9.31 points, 0.1%, at 8,641.64. The FTSE 250 was down 48.97 points, 0.2%, at 19,946.62, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.89 points, 0.3%, at 689.63.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.1% at 863.44, the Cboe UK 250 was 0.3% lower at 17,377.15, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.3% at 15,612.06.
The CAC 40 in Paris and Frankfurt's DAX 40 each rose 0.3%.
The pound climbed to USD1.2973 early Monday afternoon, from USD1.2920 at the time of the London equities close on Friday. The euro was up at USD1.0904 from USD1.0879, while against the yen, the dollar rose to JPY148.52 from JPY148.34.
"European markets are making tentative strides towards the upside and early trade today following a welcome rebound in global equity markets on Friday. Despite the threat of 200% tariffs on European alcohol, there is still a case of realignment as the overwhelming risk around the US economy sees flows into Asian and European equities," Scope Markets analyst Joshua Mahony commented.
"Today kicks off a week that is focused on central banks with the federal reserve heading up a raft of announcements that also include the Bank of England, Bank of Japan, and the Swiss national bank. With traders increasingly speculating that Trump could be engineering a recession in a bit to drive down boring costs, all eyes will be on Jeremy Powell as he lays out the Fed's stance in the face of potential economic weakness."
China has unveiled an action plan it hopes will help Beijing to overcome stubbornly low consumer demand and meet its ambitious growth target, state news agency Xinhua reported.
The developments boosted miners. Antofagasta added 1.5% in London, while Rio Tinto climbed 1.3%.
Gold was back above the USD3,000 an ounce mark. It bought USD3,000.55 an ounce on Monday afternoon, up from USD2,988.54 late Friday afternoon. A barrel of Brent advanced to USD71.53 from USD70.32.
Shell tracked oil higher, rising 1.2%.
XTB analyst Milad Azar commented: "Crude oil futures rebounded amid rising tensions in the Middle East. US operations against Yemen's Houthis could leave traders on edge. The geopolitical risks could support oil prices in the short term, but the market could remain cautious in the face of the uncertainty regarding the long-term impact."
Back in London, Phoenix Group shares advanced 7.9%. It hailed a strong 2024 performance and "good progress" in the execution of a three-year strategy.
Chief Executive Officer Andy Briggs said: "We are ahead of plan from both a strategic and financial perspective, delivering operating cash generation of GBP1.4 billion two years ahead of our 2026 target. We continue to operate in the top half of our shareholder capital coverage ratio range and our strong cash generation has enabled us to repay debt whilst also investing in our business.
"Our strong performance in 2024 and the operating momentum we have built will support us in delivering our growth strategy and have led us to upgrade our cash generation and adjusted operating profit targets through to 2026. Delivery will give us the financial flexibility to reduce our leverage, while also sustaining our progressive dividend for shareholders."
Phoenix now expects operating cash generation to grow by a "mid-single digit percentage" per year going forward, after it achieved its 2026 target ahead of schedule.
The firm added: "Total cash generation cumulative 3-year target increased from GBP4.4 billion to GBP5.1 billion across 2024-26 driven by the sustained growth in OCG. We therefore expect to generate excess cash of GBP1.1 billion across 2024-26 and this will be allocated in accordance with our capital allocation framework, with a clear focus on deleveraging."
It is aiming from GBP1.1 billion in adjusted operating profit in 2026, upped from a previous target of GBP900 million.
Grocers struggled, with Tesco among the worst of the lot, down 2.4%.
AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould commented: "A warning of softer profits from Asda on Friday continues to spook investors in Tesco, Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer. Investors often presume that whatever happens to one company will happen to everyone else in the same sector."
Qinetiq slumped 21% as it warned persistent tough near-term trading conditions and delays to a number of contract awards will mean sales will fall short of expectations.
It expects organic revenue growth for the financial year ending March to be around 2% at an underlying margin of 10%, including GBP25 to GBP30 million of one-off in year charges.
In January, the firm said it expected high single digit organic revenue growth for the full-year.
The defence technology company expects to take a goodwill impairment charge of around GBP140 million at year end due to the market backdrop and operational performance in the US.
Elsewhere, Harmony Energy Income Trust added 20% to trade at 78.20 pence. It said it has agreed to a possible GBP190.8 million takeover by Foresight Group.
The cash approach values each HEIT share at 84 pence, a 29% premium to Friday's closing price in London of 65.2p.
London-based HEIT is an investment company that invests in battery energy storage systems in the UK.
HEIT had previously said it was in exclusive talks with a preferred bidder. Last Tuesday, it said these discussions were continuing.
Foresight Group, also based in London, is a sustainability-led investment manager of alternative assets, including renewable energy, with a focus on infrastructure and private equity.
Foresight said HEIT's battery energy storage system portfolio is "highly complementary" with its existing investments in renewable energy and storage.
Still to come on Monday is a US retail sales reading at 1230 GMT.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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AntofagastaRio TintoShellPhoenix Group HoldingsTescoQinetiqHarmony Energy