21st Jun 2019 11:58
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were mixed midday Friday as escalating tensions between the US and Iran and lingering global trade fears grounded sentiment, but commodity prices continued to rise.The FTSE 100 index was up 0.1% at 7,429.01 early Friday. The midcap FTSE 250 index was down 0.2% at 19,355.23. The AIM All-Share index was down 0.2% at 931.76.The CBOE UK 100 index was down 0.1% at 12,598.30. The CBOE 250 was down 0.1% at 17,328.39, and the CBOE Small Companies was 0.4% down at 11,563.45.Sterling was quoted at USD1.2666 early Friday, lower than USD1.2693 at the London equities close on Thursday. The euro was quoted at USD1.1311 at midday Friday, up from USD1.1273 late Thursday. Global focus remains on the potential for an escalation in the tension between the US and Iran following the shooting down of a US military drone by Tehran."The tensions in the Gulf have moved up one level as the US reportedly nearly ordered an airstrike against Iran in response to several of its drones being shot down by the Middle Eastern country," CityIndex Senior Market Analyst Fiona Cincotta said. The New York Times also reported that Trump had initially approved military action on a handful of targets, before rowing back on the decision.Citing officials, the newspaper stated Trump had approved the attack on some targets such as radar and missile batteries with planes in the air and ships in position. No missiles were fired, however, with the order delivered to stand down. "The markets this morning are readjusting to the new reality with gold slightly lower after it hit USD1,400 for the first time in six years, oil gaining half a percentage point," Cincotta added. Spot gold was quoted at USD1,391.66 an ounce, up from USD1,385.72 at the London equities market close on Thursday. The last time gold was trading around these levels had been in May 2013.The ongoing appeal of the safe-haven metal resulted in the shares of London-listed gold miners again enjoying a positive day. FTSE 100-listed Fresnillo was 2.5% higher and smaller peer Petropavlovsk 1.5% up.Gold and copper miner SolGold was up 23% after the Ecuadorian court "definitively" rejected a petition heard in early June proposing a referendum on the future of mining in the province where the Cascabel project is located. Cascabel is 85% owned by SolGold. SolGold also emphasised it "continues to receive full and objective support from the Ecuadorean government" for the project. Oil firms were also gaining on rising prices, with BP 1.6% higher and Royal Dutch Shell rising 1.2%.Brent oil was quoted at USD65.40 a barrel midday Thursday, up from USD64.28 at the London close on Thursday. Elsewhere in London, cruise operator Carnival continued its share slide on Friday - down 1.8% - following an 11% fall on Thursday amid weak interim results.For the six months ended May, Carnival reported net income narrowed 17% on the year prior to USD787 million from despite revenue increasing 11% to USD9.51 billion. Consequently, Carnival guided for a lower full-year earnings outcome. The firm now expects adjusted earnings per share of between USD4.25 and USD4.35 from the USD4.35 to USD4.55 range provided previously. The year prior, Carnival reported EPS of USD4.44.FTSE 250-listed Sports Direct International was 2.1% lower as it limbered up for another board-level tussle with an investee. This time around, it is troubled troubled five-a-side football pitch operator Goals Soccer Centres that is the target.Mike Ashley-controlled Sports Direct - which is substantial shareholder in Goals - said it had experienced a "loss of confidence" in the board at Goals following its failure to hire independent advisers to review its VAT treatment issues which have hit the firm and pushed it into a series of profit warnings.Consequently, Sports Direct will vote against the reappointment of the board next Friday due to its "perceived lack of transparency". Trading in Goals Soccer Centres shares is suspended.Semiconductor maker IQE fell 31% after it warned annual revenue will be lower than market estimates due to order delays resulting from US ban on Chinese smartphones and consumer electronics manufacturer Huawei Technologies, also hurting margins. In 2019, IQE now expects to deliver revenue between GBP140 million and GBP160 million. This is as much as a fifth lower than the consensus estimate of GBP175 million. IQE emphasised it expects to remain profitable in 2019 but with adjusted operating profit margin significantly below the previous guidance of over 10%. The firm is taking steps to reduce costs and avoid non-critical capital expenditure. IQE remains cautiously optimistic about growth opportunities for 2020 and expects to regain momentum due to 5G rollout and connected devices to regain momentum.In other corporate news, online train ticket retailer Trainline announced it will price its initial public offer at 350 pence per share which gives the company a prospective market capitalisation of GBP1.68 billion. Unconditional trading in Trainline shares is expected to begin next Wednesday, yet in conditional trading on Friday shares were 19% higher than the listing price at 416.25 pence. In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was marginally down and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt 0.2% lower..Data from IHS Markit showed flash composite purchasing managers' index for the eurozone rose to 52.1 points in June from 51.8 points in May. The economist consensus was for the print to remain unchanged."The eurozone composite PMI edged up to 52.1 in June from 51.8 last month as both the services and manufacturing PMIs registered marginal increases," Oxford Economics Assistant Economist Rosie Colthorpe said. "But the manufacturing sector remains below to 50-mark with falling output and declining new orders," Colthorpe added. "This shows that there continues to be a sharp divergence between the bloc's struggling industrial sector and a relatively healthy services sector."On Wall Street, stocks are pointed towards a lower session Friday. The Dow Jones and S&P 500 are both seen 0.2% lower at the open, with the Nasdaq Composite seen down 0.4%.Still to come in the economic calendar on Friday, US flash manufacturing and services PMIs are due at 1445 BST.The US PMI prints are expected to be impacted by the trade tension between the US and China as well as neighbouring Mexico. "This is expected to feed into a weak US flash manufacturing PMI later this afternoon," CMC Markets UK Chief Market Analyst Michael Hewson said. "Expectations are for an unchanged reading of 50.5 in May, however don't be surprised if the indicator contracts below 50. The services sector is expected to improve modestly to 51, from 50.9."