11th Mar 2014 08:36
LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares are gaining at the open Tuesday on a strong lead in from Asia and ahead of UK industrial production data at 0930.
Foxtons has reported a strong set of maiden results following its September listing, while declaring a special dividend.
Sports Direct has called a general meeting of shareholders to approve an executive bonus share scheme that would see Executive Deputy Chairman Mike Ashley awarded nil-cost options over 8 million Sports Direct shares, equal to 1.3% of the retailer's total. Ashley already holds over 60%.
Here is what you need to know at the UK market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 13.88 at 6,703.33
FTSE 250: up 79.85 at 16,531.05
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 1.06 at 897.87
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Hang Seng: up 13.09 at 22,278.02
Nikkei 225: closed up 103.97 at 15,224.11
DJIA: closed down 34.04 at 16,418.68
S&P 500: closed down 0.87 at 1,877.17
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GBP-USD: down at USD1.6637
EUR-USD: down at USD1.3859
GOLD: up at USD1,345.33 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD108.13 a barrel
(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Tuesday's Key Economic Events still to come
09:00 Italy Gross Domestic Product
09:30 UK Industrial Production
09:30 UK Manufacturing Production
10:00 UK Inflation Report Hearings
n/a UK 10-y Bond Auction
11:30 US NFIB Business Optimism Index
12:55 US Redbook index
14:00 US Wholesale Inventories
15:00 UK NIESR GDP Estimate
15:30 US 4-Week Bill Auction
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Retail sales in the UK grew at a significantly slower pace in February, survey data published by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG revealed. Total retail sales increased 0.7% year-on-year in February, which was notably weaker than the 5.4% gain seen in January. February's sales were influenced by a marked pick up in spending on home accessories, followed by furniture and flooring, which indicates the impact of the continued recovery in the housing market on the wider economy. On the other hand, Food sales continued to stay relatively flat
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German exports grew more than expected in January after declining in December, official data showed. Exports grew 2.2% month-on-month in January, reversing the 0.9% fall in December, Destatis said. Shipments were forecast to grow 1.5%. Likewise, imports advanced 4.1% after declining 1.4% a month ago. The rate of growth far exceeded the 1.4% rise forecast by economists. Due to a notable growth in imports, the trade surplus fell to a seasonally adjusted EUR 17.2 billion in January from EUR 18.3 billion in the prior month.
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China's interest rates will likely be liberalized within two years, central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said, signalling that the bank would gradually phase out the ceiling on deposit rates. Zhou's comments are in line with the central bank's pledge to embrace a fully market-based interest rate system as part of reforming its financial system. "Deposit rate liberalization is on our agenda," Zhou told a media conference. "Personally, I think it's very likely to be realized within one to two years."
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The Bank of Japan refrained from initiating additional easing ahead of the planned sales tax hike in April that could dent the moderate recovery. The policy board, led by Governor Haruhiko Kuroda decided, by a unanimous vote, to leave the size of its monetary easing unchanged. Accordingly, the bank will continue to increase the monetary base at an annual pace of JPY 60 trillion to JPY 70 trillion. The bank expects the economy to continue a moderate recovery as a trend, while it also sees negative impact from the front-loaded increase and the subsequent decline in demand prior to and after the sales tax hike.
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The headwinds encountered in many global labour markets may be moderating amid numerous signs of measured optimism among employers globally, the second quarter Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, released by Manpower Group showed. For the third consecutive quarter, US employers anticipate a steady hiring pace for the April-June time frame. According to Manpower, staffing levels are expected to increase in 38 of 42 countries and territories. Outlooks strengthened in 26 out of 42 countries and territories quarter-over-quarter and weakened in 11. The strongest hiring intentions were reported by employers in India, Taiwan, New Zealand, Turkey and Costa Rica. Meanwhile, the weakest expectations came from Italy, the Czech Republic and France.
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Search operations to locate the missing Malaysia Airline passenger jet found nothing Tuesday even as the search area was expanded to include mountains and hills near the area where the plane disappeared, officials said. A Malaysian aviation official said search planes flew over the mountains and hills of the northern state of Kelantan in a bid to locate the missing Beijing-bound flight MH370 with 239 people on board, but failed to make any sighting.
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The pro-Russian Crimean leadership pushed forward with accession plans to Russia, saying that the polling stations on Sunday will be monitored by 150,000 armed troops. Crimean parliamentary speaker Vladimir Konstantinov declared Monday that more than 80% of Crimea residents would vote "yes" in the referendum to decide whether the Black Sea peninsula is to secede from Ukraine. He cited focus group surveys for the percentage.
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The World Bank says it intends to support Ukraine with up to USD3 billion in development projects in 2014. The Washington-based development agency said it had received a request for support form the interim Ukrainian government "and stands ready to continue supporting the Ukrainian people" with badly needed reforms for the economic sector.
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Eurozone finance ministers hunted Monday for possible compromises on a new scheme to shield taxpayers from bank bailouts, as three days of last-ditch negotiations on the measure got underway. The mechanism to wind down troubled eurozone banks would be the second element of a crisis-thwarting banking union, considered key to restoring trust in the currency bloc.
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Greece is expected to reach a key agreement with its international creditors, allowing much needed bailout aid to again flow to the country, by the end of the week, sources say. During their latest talks in Brussels, several eurozone ministers admonished Greece to finally fulfill the preconditions set by the creditors, such as reforms and privatizations, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
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Fugitive US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden urged the technology community on Monday to improve protections for internet users against mass surveillance by governments and other data breaches. "There's a policy response that needs to occur, but there's also a technical response that needs to occur," he said, speaking by live videolink to a packed hall in Austin, Texas.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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CITIGROUP RAISES MONDI PLC TO 'BUY' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 1260 (1100) PENCE
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JPMORGAN RAISES CLARKSON TO 'OVERWEIGHT' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 2370 (2050) PENCE
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BERENBERG RAISES CENTRICA TO 'BUY' ('HOLD') - TARGET 365 (380) PENCE
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TRADERS: GOLDMAN RAISES LONMIN TO 'NEUTRAL' ('SELL')
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Sports Direct Calls Shareholder Meeting To Approve Executive Bonus Share Scheme; *Sports Direct Says, If Approved, Will Issue No Cost Options Over 8M Shares To Mike Ashley, Equal To 1.3% Of Company
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BHP Billiton President, Iron Ore: Outlook Is For Continued Strong Steel Demand Growth Over Next 10 Years; Well Posititioned For High Margin Volume Growth At Lower Cost
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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London and Surrey estate agent Foxtons Group PLC said it will pay a special dividend after a strong full year which saw it listed in London in September and then entered into the FTSE 250. The famously pushy estate agent known for its branded Mini Cooper cars and smartly dressed sales force posted pretax profit of GBP38.9 million for 2013, up from GBP24.9 million in 2012, as revenue rose 16% GBP139.2 million from GBP120.0 million a year earlier. Foxtons said it will pay its first dividend as a listed company, consisting of a final dividend of 1.70 pence and a special dividend of 3.74 pence per share - a total of 5.44 pence per share.
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Fidelity European Values PLC late Monday said it underperformed its benchmark in 2013. Net asset value per share of the company returned 20.0%, but underperformed its benchmark, the FTSE World Europe (ex UK) Index, which returned 25.2%.
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Inchcape FY Pretax Profit GBP266.1M Vs GBP247.7M; FY Sales Up 7.7% TO GBP6.5B Vs GBP6.1B; FY Revenue Up 4.2% To GBP2.22B; FY Total Dividend Boosted 20% To 17.4P Vs 14.5P
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Computacenter FY Pretax Profit GBP50.5M Vs GBP64.8M; Revenue GBP3.07B Vs GBP2.91B; Total Dividend 17.5p Vs 15.5p
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Barratt Developments Names John Allan As Non-Executive Director, Chairman Designate
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Fenner Says H1 Results Below Expectations In Constant Currency Terms; Says ECS H1 Trading In Line With Expectations But Below Year Earlier;
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Hansteen Holdings 2013 Pretax Profit GBP65.3M, Up From GBP46.2M; Revenue GBP83.0M, Up From GBP77.3M; Total Dividend Up 7% To 4.8p From 4.5p
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Close Brothers H1 Pretax Profit GBP94.8M Vs GBP78.0M; Net Interest Income GBP170.7M Vs GBP146.9M; Operating Income GBP322.0M Vs GBP283.0M; Dividend 16.5p Vs 15.0p; Common Equity Tier 1 Capital Ratio 13.2% At Jan-End Against 13.3% At July-End
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esure FY Pretax Profit GBP118.4M Vs GBP115.5M; Total Income GBP573.5M Vs GBP592.5M; Says Claims From Severe Weather Events In Q1 2014 Likely To Cost GBP3-4M More Than Expected; 2014 Outlook: Targeting Combined Operating Ratio Similar To 2013 Before Adjusting For Q1 Weather, Assuming Normal Weather For Rest Of Year
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COMPANIES - ALL-SHARE AND AIM
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Accesso Technology PLC said it has signed a three year agreement to provide eCommerce technology to the Kennedy Space Centre visitor complex. Accesso has signed the deal with Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts; the contract will see Accesso supply eCommerce and mobile ticketing support to the KSC near Orlando, Florida.
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Cientifica Sought To Raise GBP300K To GBP400K In Share Placing At "Small Discount" To Current Price But Unable; Will Now Consider Possible Fundraising Later In 2014 In Conjunction With A Suitable Investment Opportunity
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Lombard Medical Technologies Says Lombard Medical Inc To IPO On NASDAQ; Says Price Of US IPO And Number Of Shares To Be Determined; Will Use US IPO Proceeds To Expand US Direct Sales Force, Develop New Products; Lombard Medical Technology 2013 Pretax Loss USD20.3M, Vs USD13.7M Loss In 2012; Revenue USD7.0M, Vs USD6.2M In 2012
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Office2Office Says Chief Operating Officer Steve McKeever Has Resigned
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St Ives H1 Pretax Profit GBP6.2M, Vs Restated GBP1.2M; Underlying Group Revenue GBP164.8M, Vs GBP161.7M; Interim Dividend Up 7.5% To 2.15p From 2.0p; Says Well Positioned For Further Progress In Full Year
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Cape Acquires Motherwell Bridge In GBP37.65M Deal
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Hill & Smith Holdings FY Pretax Profit GBP30.6M Vs GBP35.2M; Revenue GBP444.5M Vs GBP440.7M; Declares Dividend 16.0 Pence Vs 15.0 Pence
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Tyman FY Pretax Profit GBP794,000 Vs GBP25.8M Loss; Revenue GBP298.1M Vs GBP228.8M; Declares Dividend Of 6.00 Pence Vs 4.50 Pence; Says Acquistion Of Truth Provides Strong Platform For Further Growth
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Tuesday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs
GW Pharmaceuticals
Electra Private Equity
Flybe Group
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By Tom Waite; [email protected]; @thomaslwaite
Copyright 2014 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Fidelity European ValuesCIU.LHSTN.LAccesso Technology GroupSt. Ives PLCFenner PLCTymanHill & SmithClose BrosCentricaInchcapeBarratt DevelopmentsFoxtonsFlybe GroupComputacenterEsure GroupELTA.LSports DirectLonminMondiClarksonGWP.LBHP GroupCTFA.L