The Market Close - UK 100 finishes flat despite growth from Tesco and Vodafone - Collins Sarri Statham Investments

Today's Closing Update

U.S. stocks were down in early trading, giving up small gains from a day earlier as investors weighed quarterly earnings from several retailers and other companies. Technology stocks, banks and retailers were the biggest laggards.

European shares extended losses during today’s afternoon trade as investors digested fresh corporate earnings and eyed the decline in commodities.

House price growth was fastest in the North West of England in the last year, official figures show, as London again recorded the slowest rise. Property prices have sped up in cities such as Manchester but the UK average has remained steady, the Office for National Statistics data shows. House prices rose by 7.3% in the year to the end of September in the North West of England. The UK average was a 5.4% rise over the same period. In London, the rise was 2.5%. The average UK house price was £226,000 in September 2017, some £11,000 higher than a year earlier.

The UK’s key inflation rate remained steady in October at a five-and-a-half-year high of 3%, official figures show. Higher food prices were offset by lower fuel costs, the Office for National Statistics said. The price of food and non-alcoholic drinks rose at an annual rate of 4.1%, the highest since September 2013. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) had been expected to rise, with the Bank of England forecasting it would peak at 3.2% this autumn.

UK energy regulator Ofgem said the structure of the UK energy system since being privatised in the 1990s has “reinforced the dominance enjoyed by large suppliers and has stifled competition in the retail market,” as it called for drastic change to ensure the sector is not held back.

Car manufacturers are delaying major investment decisions until they have more clarity on Brexit, according to the president of industry body SMMT, Mike Hawes. The SMMT is hearing from its members that “people are often sitting on their hands waiting for more clarity what the trading relationship will be with our biggest market”, he tells MPs on the business select committee. “The general view is that companies need more certainty by the turn of the year,” Mr Hawes says. Between 2012 and 2015, car makers invested £2.5bn on average a year in the UK, but this year that’s likely to fall below £1bn, he adds.

Aviva has reached an agreement to acquire Irish insurer Friends First Life Assurance Company for a cash consideration of €130m, it announced today. The UK 100 company said that as a result, it would become one of the largest composite insurers in Ireland, with its market share in life insurance increasing to 15% alongside its existing leading 15% market share in general insurance. It said the transaction was in line with Aviva’s strategy to allocate capital in selected markets where it has scale or competitive advantage, and where it can further expand its range of products across life and general insurance.

Oil prices declined for a third day running as evidence of rising U.S. output and a gloomier outlook for demand growth in a report from the International Energy Agency weighed on prices.

Gold prices hit a one-week low after U.S. Treasury yields touched fresh highs as investors priced in a rate hike next month, but the precious metal’s losses were limited by rising uncertainty over the U.S. growth outlook.

Market Close

UK 100	7,414.4	-0.8	-0.0%
UK 250	19,846.6	+58.7	+0.3%
GER 30	13,033.5	-40.9	-0.3%
FRA 40	5, 315.6	-26.1	-0.5%
U.S. 30	23,389.53	-50.17	-0.2%
U.S. 500	2,578.3	-6.5	-0.3%
OIL (BRENT)	61.57	-1.59	-2.5%
GOLD	1,279.17	+0.86	+0.1%

UK Risers & Fallers

Computacenter	1073	+87	+8.8%
Tesco	188.05	+11.05	+6.2%
Vodafone Group	227.05	+11.05	+5.1%
First Group	103.05	-7.3	-6.6%
Anglo American	1455	-42	-2.8%
Antofagasta	949	-25.5	-2.6%

Reported Economic Data

10:30am: U.K. CPI y/y	3.0%	3.1%	3.0%
10:30am: U.K. RPI y/y	3.9%	4.1%	4.0%
11:00am: BOE Gov Carney Speaks	–	–	–
11:00am: Fed Chair Yellen Speaks	–	–	–
2:30pm: U.S. PPI m/m	0.4%	0.1%	0.4%