The Market Close - Shire up 2.5% after doubling Q1 revenue - Collins Sarri Statham Investments

Today's Closing Update

U.S. shares slipped into negative territory after opening modestly higher, as investors traded skittishly ahead of the start of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy-setting meeting.

UK and European shares moved higher during early-afternoon trade as investors reacted to fresh earnings and awaited the upcoming French presidential vote.

Activity in the UK’s manufacturing sector grew at its fastest pace for three years in April, according to a closely-watched survey. The Markit/CIPS UK manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 57.3 from 54.2 in March, well above economists’ expectations. A reading above 50 indicates growth. Markit said the sector enjoyed “solid improvement” last month, with new orders being received at the fastest rate since January 2014.

Shire rose sharply, as it reiterated its guidance for 2017, with the integration of its acquisition of US rare diseases drugmaker Baxalta helping the Irish firm to deliver a more than doubling in revenue for the first quarter. Shares in Shire were up 3.1% at 4,676.00 pence. The company reported pretax profit of $362.4m for the first quarter of 2017, down from $491.7m the rise in revenue was accompanied by a big step-up in costs following the acquisition of Baxalta and Dyax in 2016. Product sales rose to $3.41bn from $1.63bn. Shire is targeting $20bn in product sales by 2020.

Greece has reached a preliminary agreement with its international creditors on reforms needed to release the next instalment of its multi-billion-dollar bailout. Greece has promised to further cut pensions, by 0.9% on average, and lower the tax threshold to produce savings worth 2% of gross domestic product. The measures will have to be approved by the Greek parliament. Creditors have agreed to hold talks on how to make Greece’s debts sustainable. Greece has been pushing for measures on debt relief. The German finance ministry called the deal an important intermediate step. Greece has to repay $7.5bn (£5.8bn; 6.9bn euros) to its eurozone lenders and the International Monetary Fund in July.

Ocado shares have jumped after reports that the company could tie up with Marks and Spencer when the High Street giant launches its online food service. Shares in the online grocery service were up 6.1% shortly after midday. At the weekend, it was suggested that Ocado and M&S planned to start talks in the coming weeks.

Rupert Murdoch’s bid to take full control of Sky has gone under the spotlight after senior politicians met regulator Ofcom in a bid to block the move. Liberal Democrat former business secretary Vince Cable said approving the takeover would have “serious implications” in the wake of Tuesday’s meeting. Ofcom gave no indication of the timescale for a decision

General Motors Co reported that total US vehicle sales for the month of April 2017 decreased 5.8% to 244,406 units from 259,557 units in the prior-year month. There was one fewer selling day in April year-over-year. Selling-day-adjusted sales are about 4 percentage points higher than reported sales. Retail sales for the month were 191,911 units, down 4%. Selling-day-adjusted retail sales were essentially equal to a year ago.

Old Mutual reported its Old Mutual Wealth arm has spent £330m transforming its investment platform and after cancelling a contact to build a proprietary system and move to an outsourced alternative, will need to spend another £120-160m.

Italy’s troubled flagship airline Alitalia will formally request to enter bankruptcy proceedings, after workers rejected a restructuring plan. The company said its flight schedule would continue to operate as planned, while administrators examine whether the firm can be turned around. Alitalia has received more than 7bn euros (£5.9bn) from the Italian state over the last decade.

Oil Prices steadied as lower production by Russia and major OPEC exporters balanced news of higher output in the United States, Canada and Libya.

Gold was in a holding pattern as the Federal Reserve prepared the two-day policy meeting that will be closely watched for clues on the pace of future interest-rate hikes and for the central bank’s outlook on the U.S. economy.

Market Close

Market	Index	Change	% Change
UK 100	7,250.1	+46.1	+0.6%
UK 250	19,805.3	+189.9	+0.1%
GER 30	12,488.3	+50.3	+0.4%
FRA 40	5,298.8	+31.5	+0.6%
U.S. 30	20,941.74	+28.28	+0.1%
U.S. 500	2,388.5	+0.2	+0.0%
OIL (BRENT)	51.37	-0.15	-0.3%
GOLD	1,254.54	-2.04	-0.2%

UK Risers & Fallers

Company	Price	Change	% Change
Ocado	265.4	+14.5	+5.8%
Intertek Group	4200	+134	+3.3%
Standard Life	374	+10.1	+2.8%
Vedanta	649	-42	-6.1%
Antofagasta	808.5	-29.5	-3.5%
Fresnillo	1411	-41	-2.8%

Reported Economic Data

Time/Date	Previous	Forecast	Outcome
8:00am: European Final Manufacturing PMI	56.8	56.8	56.7
9:30am: U.K. Manufacturing PMI	54.2	54.0	57.3
10:00am: European Unemployment Rate	9.5%	9.4%	9.5%