Highlights of the Day
Asian Markets
Asian shares were a tad firmer on Thursday, taking their cues from strong US data although holiday-thinned trade and uncertainty about the impact of recent hurricanes on the US economy are likely to keep investors cautious. |
U.S. Markets
U.S. stocks posted modest gains Wednesday, extending their recent streak of advances that’s taken all major benchmarks to record levels. |
Today's News
Vodafone has launched a new brand-positioning strategy it said marked the most significant change to its logo since 2009. The strategy, to be implemented across all 36 countries in which the Vodafone brand is present, will involve a new strapline, stating “The future is exciting. Ready?”. Vodafone said the “new visual identity” will place much greater emphasis on its ‘speech mark’ logo.
Balfour Beatty has reached an agreement to sell Heery International, its full-service US engineering and programme management, architecture and interior design firm, to a subsidiary of CBRE Group. The transaction, which is subject to certain contractual consents, is expected to complete before year end for a total cash consideration of $57m, subject to working capital and debt adjustments. Heery’s gross assets for the year end 31 Dec 2016 were £78.2m, net assets were £21.5m and pre-tax profit tax was £2.4m.
Aviva has agreed to acquire a majority shareholding in Wealthify Group, the holding company of Wealthify. Wealthify is a low cost, ‘robo’ investment service which is making investment affordable and accessible to the UK mass market. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval. Aviva said the investment was part of its strategy to build customer loyalty by providing customers with a wide range of insurance and investment services all managed through the convenience and simplicity of Aviva’s digital hub, MyAviva.
Low-cost airline easyJet carried 7,718,714 passengers in September – 11.0% up on a year ago. The load factor of 93.6% was up from 91.1% last time. On a 12-month rolling basis, the airline carried 80,249,672 passengers – up 9.7% at a load factor of 92.6% – up from 91.6%.
DFS Furniture’s pre-tax profits fell by 22.3% to £50.1m in the 52 weeks to 29 Jul. Gross sales rose by 1.1% to £990.8m and revenue increased by 0.9% to £762.7m but EBITDA fell by 12.7% to £82.4m. The board has proposed a final dividend of 7.5p per share, giving a total ordinary dividend of 11.2p for the year (+1.8%). The group also paid a special dividend of 9.5p per share in the year taking total dividends in year to 20.7p.
Oil prices were stable on expectations that Saudi Arabia and Russia would extend production cuts, although record U.S. exports and the return of supply from a Libyan oilfield dragged on the market.
Gold was mostly unchanged early as the dollar held firm on strong U.S. services sector growth, with markets awaiting the key U.S. non-farm payrolls report on Friday.
Companies Reporting this week
Day |
Companies |
Today: |
DFS Furniture SkinBioTherapeutics Morses Club Ferrexpo |
Early Market Movements
Market |
Index |
Change |
% Change |
UK 100 |
7,483.6 |
+15.98 |
+0.2% |
UK 250 |
20,021.89 |
-7.53 |
-0.0% |
GER 30 |
12,942.0 |
-28.53 |
-0.2% |
FRA 40 |
5,358.9 |
-4.30 |
-0.1% |
U.S. 30 |
22,661.64 |
+19.97 |
+0.1% |
U.S. 500 |
2,537.74 |
+3.16 |
+0.1% |
OIL (BRENT) |
55.76 |
-0.04 |
-0.1% |
GOLD |
1,274.68 |
-0.17 |
-0.0% |
UK Risers & Fallers (8:15am)
Company |
Price |
Change |
% Change |
Debenhams |
47.9 |
+1.38 |
+3.0% |
Anlgo American |
1450 |
+20 |
+1.4% |
Whitbread |
3887 |
+42 |
+1.1% |
Hays |
188.55 |
-5.15 |
-2.7% |
WPP |
1384 |
-19 |
-1.4% |
Aviva |
492.3 |
-6.6 |
-1.3% |
Latest Broker Views
Company |
Broker |
Recommendation |
Price |
Target |
Berkeley Group |
Canaccord |
Hold |
3782 |
3860 |
Ferguson |
Jeffries |
Hold |
5150 |
5240 |
Reckitt Benckiser |
Credit Suisse |
Outperform |
6825 |
7700 |
SSE |
HSBC |
Buy |
1384 |
1530 |
Forthcoming Economic Data
Time/Date |
Previous |
Forecast |
Outcome |
1:30pm: U.S. Unemployment Claims |
272k |
266k |
– |
1:30pm: U.S. Trade Balance |
-43.7b |
-42.7b |
– |
2:10pm: U.S. FOMC Member Powell Speaks |
– |
– |
– |
Sources:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/asian-shares-edge-up-slightly-after-strong-us-data/articleshow/60948736.cms
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-set-to-catch-their-breath-after-record-run-but-tesla-jumps-2017-10-04
https://www.digitallook.com/news/news-and-announcements/glencore-to-bump-up-stake-in-peruvian-zinc-miner-volcan–2894744.html
http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/5692549/Aviva-to-take-majority-stake-in-Wealthify.html
http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/5692547/easyJet-passenger-figures-up.html
http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/5692300/DFS-profits-plunge-in-challenging-environment.html
http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/5692571/Vodafone-tweaks-its-brand-positioning.html
http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/5692551/Balfour-Beatty-agrees-sale-of-Heery.html
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil/oil-stable-on-expectations-of-extended-output-cut-but-u-s-crude-exports-drag-idUSKBN1CA026
https://uk.reuters.com/article/global-precious/precious-gold-little-changed-ahead-of-u-s-jobs-data-idUKL4N1MG0DW