21st Nov 2018 07:44
LONDON (Alliance News) - Stock prices in London are called to open higher on Wednesday, aiming to break this week's losing streak, though signs of a sustained rebound look scarce. "Over the last few years investors have consistently felt confident enough to buy the dip when it comes to stock market sell-offs. For some reason in the last few weeks this confidence appears to have been somewhat lacking, and when you look around it's not hard to understand why, the surprise is why it has taken so long," said CMC Markets chief market analyst Michael Hewson.He continued: "The big question now is whether we are likely to see further weakness in equity markets, or whether we could see a rebound. From a technical standpoint the omens don't look good with recent attempts at rebounds failing miserably and any likely catalysts for a decent rebound hard to find."In company news, Kingfisher's third-quarter like-for-like sales tumbled, Indivior warned of a risk to its annual guidance should Dr Reddy's rival product enter the market this year, and SSP proposed a special dividend worth GBP150 million amid strong annual figures as its chief executive prepares to depart.IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 index of large-caps to open 19.78 points higher at 6,967.70 on Wednesday. The FTSE 100 index closed down 0.8%, or 52.97 points, at 6,947.92 on Tuesday.In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending down 2.2%, the S&P 500 shedding 1.8% and Nasdaq Composite closing sinking 1.7%.In Asia on Wednesday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.4%. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended up 0.2%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was 0.3% higher in late trade.In London company news, DIY retailer Kingfisher reported a fall in third-quarter like-for-like sales, with performance continuing to be bogged down by its French operations. Total third quarter sales were just 0.2% higher at GBP3.05 billion, up 1.2% at constant currencies but down 1.3% on a like-for-like basis. Within this, UK & Ireland like-for-like sales fell 0.7% and France sales were down 3.4%, but Other International delivered 1.6% growth, lead by a 6.4% rise for Screwfix Germany. Irish broker Davy noted that the group's like-for-like sales decline of 1.3% was worse than its expectation of a 0.8% fall, with consensus having pencilled in a 0.7% drop.More positively, Kingfisher's gross margin after clearance in the three months to October 31 was up 40 basis points on the same period last year, coming after the margin in the first half fell 40 basis points year-on-year.The FTSE 100 constituent said it will return a further GBP50 million via a share buyback, which will fulfil a GBP600 million capital return commitment. Chief Executive Veronique Laury noted that Castorama France remains Kingfisher's "main challenge", with a turnaround plan implemented for this year. "We have accelerated our move to an everyday low price strategy and have launched a new marketing campaign to make it visible to our customers, however there is no quick fix," the Kingfisher boss said, adding that the company plans to exit operations in Russia, Spain and Portugal.Sage's annual revenue and profit rose, and the FTSE 100-listed software company said it plans to focus on driving driving subscription and recurring revenue over the coming year.Organic revenue for the year ended September 30 was GBP1.82 billion, up 6.8% on last year. Recurring revenue was up 6.7% to GBP1.44 billion, of which subscription revenue grew 25% to GBP839 million. On a statutory basis, revenue for the year came in at GBP1.85 billion, up from GBP1.72 billion the year before, and pretax profit rose to GBP398 million from GBP342 million. The accounting software provider lifted its dividend to 16.50p, up 7.0% on the 15.42p paid out last year. Looking ahead, Sage said it expects recurring revenue growth of between 8% and 9% for its recently commenced financial year, with software and software related services and processing revenue expected to be flat or decline by mid-single digits, driven by a focus on driving subscription and recurring revenue. Sage also said it is "actively marketing", and intends to dispose of, Sage Payroll Solutions, its US-based payroll outsourcing services business.Water firm United Utilities posted a rise in both interim revenue and profit. Revenue for the six months to September 30 came in at GBP916.4 million, up from GBP876.0 million a year ago, as pretax profit grew to GBP259.6 million from GBP242.3 million.The utilities firm raised its interim dividend to 13.76p from 13.24p paid out a year ago."The significant progress we have made positions us well for the remainder of the current regulatory period and beyond. We have responded well to the challenges brought about by the impact of more variable weather and have created a platform for continuing strong operational performance. We will continue to provide a great service to our customers and create long-term value for all of our stakeholders," said Chief Executive Steve Mogford.In the FTSE 250, Indivior said its annual guidance is still valid despite assuming Dr Reddy's Laboratories will resume the launch of its generic buprenorphine/naloxone sublingual film product in the US. Just before the market close on Tuesday, the London-listed firm said the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit had vacated the preliminary injunction against Dr Reddy's. The injunction against the Indian pharmaceutical company for the sale of its generic version of Sublingual film, used for the treatment of opioid addiction, was granted in July.Indivior shares closed down 38% following the announcement Tuesday.Indivior on Wednesday said its guidance for net revenue of USD990 million to USD1.02 billion and net income of USD230 million to USD255 million "remains valid" unless there is certainty Dr Reddy's product enters the market in 2018. In this case, there would be a risk to the standing guidance. "Should generic buprenorphine/naloxone sublingual film enter the market in 2018, the result would most likely be a rapid and material loss of market share for Suboxone (buprenorphine and naloxone) Sublingual Film," said Indivior. The stock closed a sharp 47% lower on Tuesday.SSP Group recorded strong revenue and profit growth for its recently ended financial year, proposing a special dividend, as it said Chief Executive Kate Swann has decided to step down at the end of May. Swann will be succeeded by Simon Smith, currently chief executive officer for UK & Ireland, who will take up the role on June 1.SSP's revenue for the year to September 30 grew 7.8% to GBP2.56 billion, with like-for-like sales up 2.8%, driven by airplane passengers and "retailing initiatives". Pretax profit shot up 26% to GBP182.9 million from GBP144.8 million. The food and drinks concessions firm proposed a final dividend of 5.4p per share, bringing its full-year dividend to 10.2p, up 26% on last year. In addition, SSP plans a special dividend worth GBP150 million, "underpinning confidence in the business".The economic calendar on Wednesday has UK public sector net borrowing at 0930 GMT and US durable goods orders at 1330 GMT followed by existing home sales at 1500 GMT. Focus lies on Brussels on Wednesday, as UK Prime Minister Theresa May travels to meet European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker for talks ahead of a special EU Brexit summit on Sunday.May is under pressure to make changes to the Northern Irish backstop contained in the Brexit divorce agreement, making it clear how the UK can exit the controversial arrangement. The trip to Brussels, and another potentially tricky session of Prime Minister's Questions, come amid mounting evidence of tensions between May and the Democratic Unionist Party over the Brexit deal.The government caved in to a series of opposition amendments to its budget-enacting Finance Bill in the latest sign that the DUP's MPs would not support May's minority administration.Meanwhile, the European Commission is likely to formally reject Italy's 2019 budget on Wednesday, opening the door to potential punitive action and possible fines.Italy and the commission have been at odds for weeks over Rome's spending plans. In October, the commission rejected Italy's first draft budget, which will run up a deficit of 2.4% of gross domestic product in 2019, according to Rome's projections.Last week, Italy resubmitted its spending plan largely unchanged, while its populist leaders maintained their defiant stance towards Brussels. The EC may issue a separate report that could lead to an excessive deficit procedure, a process that sets fiscal deadlines and targets for member states in breach of eurozone fiscal rules.
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KingfisherSage GroupSSP GroupIndiviorUnited Utilities