2nd Jul 2019 08:44
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened higher on Tuesday sustaining momentum from the US-China trade truce. Plus500 rose after enjoying a positive second quarter, but Funding Circle sank after cutting guidance.US President Donald Trump said on Monday that talks on a trade deal with Beijing have resumed following a weekend truce struck with China's Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit.Trump and Xi agreed Saturday to hold off on new tariff increases as the world's top two economies negotiate a final agreement to resolve their year-long trade war.Trump also offered to relax some restrictions on US technology exports to Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, triggering a backlash from some US lawmakers."It's already begun," Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if trade negotiations had restarted. "They're speaking very much on the phone but they're also meeting."The FTSE 100 was up 12.39 points, or 0.2%, at 7,509.89. The large cap index was aided by weakness in the pound, quoted at USD1.2631 Tuesday, lower than USD1.2649 at the London equities close Monday.The FTSE 250 was up 44.42 points, or 0.2%, at 19,679.08. The AIM All-Share was flat at 918.00. The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.1% at 12,739.06. The Cboe UK 250 was up 0.1% at 17,572.34, and the Cboe UK Small Companies was flat at 11,348.61.The Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.1%. In China, the Shanghai Composite closed flat, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is up 1.3%. Financial markets in Hong Kong reopened on Tuesday after being closed on Monday for a holiday that was marked by political protests.In European equities, the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt were both flat. The Trump administration on Monday proposed USD4 billion in additional tariffs on European Union food products, amid a running dispute over government subsidies for aircraft makers Airbus and Boeing.In the FTSE 100, Croda International was the worst performer, down 2.5% after UBS cut the speciality chemicals company to Neutral from Buy. In the FTSE 250, Plus500 was the best performer, up 5.5% after the contract-for-difference provider said it is "pleased" with its overall performance in the first half of 2019, with the firm meeting expectations.The first quarter was hit by low levels of volatility in financial markets, Plus500 said, but revenue in the second quarter jumped 74% on the first quarter to USD94 million.As a result, first half revenue was USD148 million, but this would be well below, by some 68%, the USD465.5 million posted in the first half of 2018, a record period.Stagecoach Group was up 4.2% after Liberum raised the transport company to Buy from Hold. At the other end of the midcap index, Funding Circle Holdings was the worst performer, down 11% after the small-to-medium business lending platform warned economic uncertainty is leading to lower loan demand. As a result, Funding Circle now sees 2019 revenue growth 20% on 2018, from previous guidance of 40% revenue growth. In 2018, it posted GBP141.9 million of revenue, so 2019 guidance is for approximately GBP170 million. Funding Circle has "further tightened" lending to higher-risk band businesses, which has affected volumes, but the company believes this will protect returns for investors.Elsewhere, Ryanair Holdings was up 1.3% after the Irish budget airline reported that June passenger numbers rose 13% to 14.2 million from 12.6 million a year ago. Ryanair's June rolling annual passenger numbers were up 10% to 146.5 million. The company said it operated almost 78,000 scheduled flights in June. Group load factor during June was 97%, up from 96% a year before.Meanwhile, OPEC agreed on Monday to extend by nine months daily oil output cuts aimed at supporting prices and soaking up excess supplies, following last weekend's G20 pact between cartel kingpin Saudi Arabia and non-member Russia.Members will gather again on Tuesday for OPEC+, a grouping that comprises a total of 24 crude producers including Russia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia and Mexico, which is also expected to extend its collective production limits.Brent oil was quoted at USD65.22 a barrel on Tuesday, lower than USD65.40 late Monday. The economic events calendar has UK construction PMI at 0930 BST, and eurozone producer prices at 1000 BST.
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