The Market Close - ASOS bumps sales growth forecast following record profit. - Collins Sarri Statham Investments

Today's Closing Update

U.S. shares were little changed at the open, as investors continued to look through the latest corporate earnings to determine whether the near-record level of major indexes were justified by economic fundamentals.

European stocks steadied, helped by some well-received earning updates from companies including food group Danone and education firm Pearson.

Pearson narrowed its 2017 guidance to the upper half of the previous range after growing revenue by 4% in the first nine months of the year. The company forecast an adjusted operating profit of between £576m and £606m, compared to previous guidance of between £546m and £606m. Revenue, however, slipped 3% at constant exchange rates, while underlying revenue fell 2%.

French aeronautical firm Airbus agreed to pick up a majority stake in Bombardier’s C-Series jet project, just weeks after the US government announced it would impose a 300% import tariff on the plane after receiving a complaint from Chicago-based competitor Boeing. Michael Ryan, Bombardier’s director in Northern Ireland, said the deal was “great news” for the firm’s Belfast operation which employed more than 4,000 people and had been put at significant risk as a result of the spat with Boeing.

Asos reported record full-year profit and sales as it bumped up its full-year sales growth forecast. In the year to 31 August, pre-tax profit surged 145% to £80m on revenue of £1.9bn, up 33% on the previous year. The company said sales growth was again driven by strong product, proposition improvements and further price investments across major markets. In addition, the continuing FX tailwind enabled reinvestment at a faster rate than initially planned. UK retail sales rose 16% to £698.2m while international sales were up 47% to £1.2bn.

AstraZeneca and its global biologics research and development arm MedImmune announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for Imfinzi (durvalumab), for the treatment of patients with locally advanced (Stage III) unresectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose disease has not progressed following platinum-based chemoradiation therapy. The drugmaker said the FDA has granted Imfinzi ‘priority review’ status. It said the FDA’s sBLA submission acceptance was an “important milestone” for Imfinzi in a disease state where patients needed better treatment options and outcomes.

Mediclinic International said it expects to post a 5% rise in first-half earnings, underpinned by currency gains Underlying Ebitda is expected to grow to £231m, up from £220m, following a 9.5% rise in revenue. In constant currency terms, however, the company said Ebitda would fall by around 5% on flat revenue. “The Middle East business has started the financial year well following the positive operational and regulatory changes in Abu Dhabi,” chief executive Danie Meintjes said.

Moneysupermarket.com said revenue grew by 6% in the third quarter and that it remained confident of meeting full-year expectations. Revenue for the three months through September grew to £90.2m, pushing revenue for the first nine months of the year up 5% to £255.5m. “We are on track for another record year because we are helping more people save more money across their household bills: from insurance and credit cards to holidays, broadband and energy,” chief executive Mark Lewis said.

Oil Prices firmed, building on gains made as fighting between Iraqi and Kurdish forces threatened supplies from northern Iraq while tension rose between the United States and Iran.

Gold fell to a one-week low on speculation that the eventual successor to U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will favour higher interest rates.

Market Close

Market	Index	Change	% Change
UK 100	7,516.2	-10.8	-0.1%
UK 250	20,131.0	-86.2	-0.4%
GER 30	13,018.8	+15.1	+0.1%
FRA 40	5,371.5	+8.6	+0.2%
U.S. 30	22,976.87	+19.91	+0.1%
U.S. 500	2,556.3	-1.4	-0.1%
OIL (BRENT)	57.75	-0.07	-0.1%
GOLD	1,284.11	-11.68	-0.9%

UK Risers & Fallers

Company	Price	Change	% Change
Pearson	667	+45.5	+7.3%
Virgin Money	301.9	+12.6	+4.4%
Convatec	213	+8	+3.9%
Hochschild	221.2	-16.6	-7.0%
Merlin	378	-71.7	-15.9%
3I Group	940	-28	-2.9%

Reported Economic Data

Time/Date	Previous	Forecast	Outcome
9:30am: U.K. CPI y/y	2.9%	3.0%	3.0%
9:30am: U.K. PPI Input m/m	1.6%	1.2%	0.4%
9:30am: U.K. RPI y/y	3.9%	4.0%	3.9%
11:15am: U.K. BOE Gov Carney Speaks	–	–	–
2:15pm: U.S. Capacity Utilization Rate	76.1%	76.2%	76.0%