Today's Closing Update
U.S. Shares wavered between small gains and losses in morning trading, as volatility continued.
European shares posted losses after a fresh sell-off on Wall Street
An agreement on a transitional period after Britain’s exit from the bloc is “not a given” due to “substantial” disagreements between the EU and Britain, EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Friday. Barnier, who spoke after the latest round of Brexit talks in Brussels, noted that certain details still need to be ironed out on the agreement, which would let Britain keep the status quo between its exit in March 2019 and the end of 2020.
The Financial Conduct Authority said it was “highly unlikely” it would be able to publicly publish its report into the conduct of the business restructuring arm of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC by next Friday. The FCA was responding to a letter sent to it by the UK Treasury Committee on Wednesday. In this, Treasury Committee Chair & Conservative Member of Parliament Nicky Morgan demanded the FCA publish the full report by that date or at least provide the full report to the committee.
GKN said that it continues to consider the £7.4bn offer takeover offer from Melrose Industries PLC as “derisory” and said that a Melrose takeover would take substantially longer to receive US regulatory approval than the UK City Code on Takeovers & Mergers offer timetable. The firm said that it is prepared to consider granting an extension to the City Code timetable to enable the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US process to conclude before shareholders are required to form a final opinion on the offer.
Unilever said it received a binding offer from German food maker Dr Oetker GmbH for its France-focused Alsa baking and dessert business. The firm added the deal would include the manufacturing facility in Ludres, France. No financial details of the transaction were disclosed. “In the context of our global strategy to accelerate long term, sustainable value creation, the baking and desserts category is not part of Unilever’s evolving core portfolio,” Unilever France General Manager Bauke Rouwers said.
Industrial production sank at the end of last year, but economists were quick to point out that the plunge was entirely due to the shutdown of the North Sea Forties oil pipeline. Total output shrank by 1.3% month-on-month in December, according to the Office for National Statistics, a moderately greater fall than the 0.9% drop that economists had penciled in.
Direct Line Insurance Group said it expected to report a 53% rise in annual profit, beating market expectations, amid robust results in its motor and commercial divisions and lower-than-expected weather claims. Pre-tax profit would be around £540.0m, compared to £353.0m a year earlier, the company said. Profit from ongoing operations would be around £610m, up from £540m.
Petrofac said that asset management company BlackRock Inc has reduced its 5.0% stake in the company to below the 5% notifiable threshold.
Oil Prices prices declined for a sixth straight session, heading for its biggest weekly loss in almost a year as investors continued to worry about a surge in U.S. production and the selloff in equity markets.
Gold Prices slipped, under pressure from tumbling equity markets, a firmer dollar and worries about rising global interest rates.
Market Close
Market |
Index |
Change |
% Change |
UK 100 |
7,078.3 |
-92.4 |
-1.3% |
UK 250 |
19,172.8 |
-154.9 |
0.8% |
GER 30 |
12,050.3 |
-210.0 |
-1.7% |
FRA 40 |
5,100.8 |
-50.8 |
-1.0% |
U.S. 30 |
23,878.79 |
+18.33 |
+0.8% |
U.S. 500 |
2,587.3 |
+6.3 |
+0.2% |
OIL (BRENT) |
63.35 |
-1.46 |
-2.3% |
GOLD |
1,314.62 |
-4.14 |
-0.3% |
UK Risers & Fallers
Company |
Price |
Change |
% Change |
Direct Line Group |
378.5 |
+10 |
+2.7% |
Admiral Group |
1852.5 |
+33 |
+1.8% |
NewRiver REIT |
296.5 |
+14 |
+5.0% |
Johnson Matthey |
3110 |
-141 |
-4.3% |
Pearson |
658.8 |
-22.2 |
-3.3% |
Ashmore Group |
397.9 |
-36.2 |
-8.6% |
Reported Economic Data
Time/Date |
Previous |
Forecast |
Outcome |
9.30am: U.K. Manufacturing Production m/m |
0.4% |
0.3% |
0.3% |
9.30am: U.K. Goods Trade Balance |
-12.2bn |
-11.6bn |
-13.6bn |
Sources
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/alliance-news/detail/1518193158969659800.html
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/alliance-news/detail/1518193014839654600.html
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/alliance-news/detail/1518186946199492300.html
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/alliance-news/detail/1518188095589521900.html
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/alliance-news/detail/1518183682079412600.html
https://uk.webfg.com/news/news-and-announcements/gkn-may-extend-melrose-bid-deadline-to-give-shareholders-more-time-to-reflect–3126683.html
https://uk.webfg.com/news/news-and-announcements–/uk-december-industrial-production-hit-by-forties-pipeline-closure–3126400.html
http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/5850678/Direct-Line-Insurance-Group-profit-rises-by-better-than-expected-53pct.html
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/02/09/global-stocks-friday/322536002/
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-stocks/european-share-declines-limited-after-another-wall-street-sell-off-idUKKBN1FT11U
https://www.reuters.com/article/global-precious/precious-gold-dips-heads-for-second-weekly-loss-idUSL8N1PZ32X
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/crude-oil-slides-for-6th-day-and-heads-for-76-weekly-slump-2018-02-09