Today's Closing Update
U.S. Shares traded slightly lower, weighed down by slumping Amazon.com shares following disappointing earnings while the main indexes were on track to finish the week with modest losses.
European and U.K. Shares closed lower after Amazon earning miss and tobacco stocks took a tumble.
The US Food & Drug Administration announced a new “comprehensive plan” for tobacco and nicotine regulation that will “serve as a multi-year roadmap to better protect kids and significantly reduce tobacco-related disease and death”. The FDA said its approach places nicotine, and the issue of addiction, at the centre of its tobacco regulation efforts, with a goal of ensuring it has the proper scientific and regulatory foundation to efficiently and effectively implement the Family Smoking Prevention & Tobacco Control Act in the US. The FDA added that it plans to begin a public dialogue about lowering nicotine levels in combustible cigarettes to non-addictive levels through “achievable product standards”.
A senior Acacia Mining staff member was detained and their passport seized by the Tanzanian authorities, with the London-listed company reporting “increased levels of pressure” from the government on its employees amid a dispute over exports and taxes. Acacia, which on Monday was hit with a gigantic $190bn bill from the Tanzanian Revenue Authority for alleged unpaid taxes and penalties, said on Friday that a “senior international employee” of its wholly owned subsidiary Pangea Minerals Limited, which owns its Buzwagi mine in the country, had been detained at the Dar-es-Salaam airport before later being released and his passport returned after “legal intervention”.
Standard Life said it intends to sell 108.6m shares in its Indian associate HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co Ltd as part of the latter’s initial public offering. In July, Standard Life said the public offer would be for up to 20% of HDFC Standard Life Insurance, with shares being sold by India’s Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC) and by Standard Life (Mauritius Holdings) 2006 Ltd in a mutually agreed ratio. Standard Life has a 35% stake in the life insurance firm via its subsidiary. It did not comment on the size of the proceeds it expects from the IPO. On Friday, Standard Life said its subsidiary has approved the sale of 108.6m shares in HDFC Standard Life Insurance under the IPO. Standard Life also noted an announcement from HDFC that it intends to sell 191.2m shares in the business under its IPO.
Premier Oil said it has completed its refinancing process, which was announced earlier in the year. In April, Premier Oil said holders of over 75% of its $245.0m convertible bonds entered lock-up agreements to vote in favour of the company’s refinancing, after it reset the conversion price of the bonds to 74.71p. Premier Oil said the completion of the refinancing will provide a solid foundation for it to deliver on its strategic plans through the preservation of its debt facilities, resetting of its financial covenant headroom and extending bond maturities to 2021 and beyond. Premier Oil’s net debt at the end of June stood at $2.70bn, down from $2.80bn at the end of 2016. The revised financing structure allows for debt reduction through cashflow generated from its low cost production base, and growth through selective investment in unsanctioned projects, Premier Oil said.
The US economy gathered speed in the second quarter of the year, growing at an annualised pace of 2.6%. The pick-up was helped by consumer spending in the quarter expanding at a pace of 2.8%, and businesses stepping up spending on equipment. The growth rate for the first quarter was cut to 1.2%, compared with the previous estimate of 1.4%. Earlier this week, the IMF revised down its US growth forecast for this year from 2.3% to 2.1%. President Trump has pledged to pursue policies to boost the US economy, including cutting corporate and individual taxes, but has faced a Washington impasse. He has set an ambitious 3% growth target for 2017. Consumer spending, which makes up more than two-thirds of the US economy, accelerated from the 1.9% growth figure from the first quarter.
Oil Prices edged higher, reaching new two-month highs and on track to post the strongest weekly percentage gains this year as investors digested signs of an easing oversupply.
Gold reversed to trade higher after a U.S. GDP report delivered the stronger reading that most economists had banked on after a sluggish start to the year.
Market Close
| Market |
Index |
Change |
% Change |
| UK 100 |
7368.4 |
-74.6 |
-1.0% |
| UK 250 |
19,728.2 |
-151.2 |
-0.8% |
| GER 30 |
12,149.7 |
-62.4 |
-0.5% |
| FRA 40 |
5,121.1 |
-65.8 |
-1.3% |
| U.S. 30 |
21,784.42 |
-12.13 |
-0.1% |
| U.S. 500 |
2,468.6 |
-6.9 |
-0.3% |
| OIL (BRENT) |
52.37 |
+0.88 |
+1.7% |
| GOLD |
1,269.49 |
+10.34 |
+0.8% |
UK Risers & Fallers
| Company |
Price |
Change |
% Change |
| Millenium & Copthorne |
451.05 |
+16.2 |
+3.7% |
| AstraZeneca |
4456 |
+131 |
+3% |
| Pearson |
667 |
+10.5 |
+1.6% |
| Mitchells and Butler |
242.15 |
-27.7 |
-10.3% |
| British American Tobacco |
4958 |
-364 |
-6.8% |
| Imperial Brands |
3301.5 |
-144.5 |
-4.2% |
Reported Economic Data
| Time/Date |
Previous |
Forecast |
Outcome |
| 1:30pm: U.S. Advance GDP q/q |
1.4% |
2.5% |
2.6% |
| 1:30pm: U.S. Advance GDP Price Index q/q |
1.9% |
1.3% |
1.0% |
Sources
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-tech-stocks-shape-up-for-another-day-of-selling-after-amazon-disappoints-2017-07-28
https://www.digitallook.com/news/news-and-announcements/acacia-mining-reports-increased-pressure-from-tanzania-government–2793152.html
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/alliance-news/detail/1501253600987510400.html
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/alliance-news/detail/1501251194907451400.html
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/alliance-news/detail/1501249985867406600.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40755182
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUSKBN1AD04I
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-slips-even-with-dollar-lower-ahead-of-gdp-report-expected-to-show-a-rebound-2017-07-28
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/28/europe-markets-ftse-cac-dax-earnings-barclays-ubs-bnp-paribas.html