Today's Closing Update
U.S. shares were lower in early trading, in part weighed down by an earnings-driven drop for Apple. These moves come ahead of the Federal Reserve’s closely watched policy update due later today.
UK and European shares were mixed with most dropping from a 20-month high, staying lower after reading on eurozone economic growth came in as expected. Investors were also erring on the side of caution ahead of the latest rate decision from the U.S. Federal Reserve, due after the European markets finish trading.
Eurozone producer price inflation eased at a faster-than-expected rate in March, according to figures from Eurostat. Industrial producer prices rose 3.9% year-over-year in March, slower than the 4.5% climb in February, which was the sharpest rate of increase since November 2011. Economists had expected the inflation to slow to 4.2%. Energy prices alone grew 8.2% annually in March. Excluding the same, producer prices went up 2.4%.
Carillion said that trading conditions have remained largely stable since its full-year 2016 results in March and it has made a promising start to the year. Chief executive Richard Howson said at the annual general meeting that the group continues to focus on the priorities it set out when it announced its 2016 results. These include the rebalancing of its business into markets and sectors where it can achieve its objectives for margins and cash flows and to manage challenging contract positions, particularly in its international markets.
Pennon was under pressure after the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority confirmed that it was looking to exit its recycling and waste management contract with Viridor Laing. In a statement on its website yesterday, Pennon – the parent company of Viridor – noted the fact that GMWDA “continues to face financial challenges due to prolonged austerity” and said Viridor and its joint venture partner John Laing had been actively engaging with GMWDA as they have worked to consider their options.
Mitie’s new Chief Executive Officer today swung the axe on staff and revealed a £50m writedown as he attempts to turn around the troubled outsourcer. Phil Bentley, who joined in December, cut 160 jobs, and brought the total writedowns in the past year to £152m. The cleaning-to-office services group is also negotiating with its lenders to increase the amount it can borrow, as it pushes up against its banking covenants because of a string of charges for accounting oversights.
Indivior has reported that operating profit for the first quarter of 2017 was $128m primarily reflecting lower litigation and R&D expenditures, which due to planned phasing of activity, are expected to increase over the remainder of 2017. In addition, planned incremental investments in 2017 of $40m to $60m related to key pipeline assets are expected to accelerate from Q2 onwards. Operating margin was 48%.
Volkswagen Group profits have soared in the first quarter as cost-cutting measures kick in, the German car giant has said. Volkswagen Group also sold more models with higher profit margins, a spokesperson said. Group profit before tax rose 44.3% to €4.6bn, one of the carmaker’s highest quarterly results to date. Meanwhile, the group’s troubled flagship brand also saw profits surge.
Oil Prices rebounded from near 2017 lows after preliminary data showed a much larger-than-expected fall in U.S. crude stocks, reviving bullish sentiment about easing oversupply.
Gold hit a more than three-week low as the dollar firmed on expectations of a U.S. interest rate increase in June and the market discounted a surprise win by France’s far-right presidential candidate.
Market Close
Market |
Index |
Change |
% Change |
UK 100 |
7,234.5 |
-15.5 |
-0.2% |
UK 250 |
19,683.4 |
-121.9 |
-0.6% |
GER 30 |
12,518.9 |
+11.0 |
+0.1% |
FRA 40 |
5,296.5 |
-7.7 |
-0.1% |
U.S. 30 |
20,924.33 |
-25.56 |
-0.1% |
U.S. 500 |
2,384.0 |
-7.1 |
-0.3% |
OIL (BRENT) |
50.62 |
+0.16 |
+0.3% |
GOLD |
1,249.04 |
-7.72 |
-0.6% |
UK Risers & Fallers
Company |
Price |
Change |
% Change |
Mitie Group |
231.25 |
+19.9 |
+9.4% |
Sage Group |
707 |
+23.5 |
+3.4% |
Johnson Matthey |
3097 |
+89 |
+3.0% |
Galliford Try |
1308 |
-156 |
-10.7% |
J Sainsbury |
263.5 |
-16 |
-5.7% |
Paddy Power Betfair |
8395 |
-380 |
-4.3% |
Reported Economic Data
Time/Date |
Previous |
Forecast |
Outcome |
8:30am: U.K. Construction PMI |
52.2 |
52.1 |
53.1 |
9:00am: European Prelim Flash GDP q/q |
0.4% |
0.5% |
0.5% |
12:15pm: U.S. ADP Non-Farm Employment Change |
255k |
178k |
177K |
2:30pm: Crude Oil Inventories |
-3.6m |
-3.3m |
-0.9M |
Sources:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-set-to-open-lower-hurt-by-apples-earnings-driven-drop-2017-05-03
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-fall-from-20-month-high-ahead-of-gdp-data-fed-decision-2017-05-03
http://www.standard.co.uk/business/mitie-in-50m-writedown-as-boss-bentley-cuts-staff-a3529346.html
https://www.digitallook.com/news/news-and-announcements/pennon-drops-as-manchester-wants-out-of-waste-management-contract–2651286.html
https://www.digitallook.com/news/news-and-announcements/carillion-hails-encouraging-start-to-year–2651623.html
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/alliance-news/detail/1493811664605292800.html
http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/5542392/Indivior-Q1-profit-revenue-up-in-Q1.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39792614
http://uk.reuters.com/article/global-precious-idUKL4N1I5151
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUSKBN17Z01J