The Morning Call - Markets down across the board following Barcelona terror attack

Highlights of the Day

Asian Markets

Asian stocks sank as global investor sentiment was battered by big losses on Wall Street amid U.S. political turmoil and a deadly van attack in Spain.

U.S. Markets

Wall Street suffered turbulent trading, with analysts pointing to disappointing corporate results and rising political uncertainty. The U.S.500 index recorded its worst fall in three months, dropping 1.5% to 2,430 points.

Today's News

Spanish police said they had killed five “terrorists” who reportedly tried to mow down pedestrians in the resort town of Cambrils, hours after a similar attack in Barcelona. “We are working on the hypothesis that events in Cambrils were a terrorist attack. We have killed its alleged perpetrators,” Catalan police wrote on Twitter. The news came hours after police launched a manhunt for the driver of a van who ploughed into crowds of people on one of Barcelona’s busiest thoroughfares, killing 13 people and injuring 100. Seven people were injured in the attack in Cambrils, 120 kilometres south of Barcelona, including one police officer.

Two more top Republican leaders rebuked Donald Trump over his reaction to the deadly weekend violence that erupted between white supremacist groups and counter-demonstrators. Senator Lindsey Graham called on Trump to “fix” his remarks, while Senator Bob Corker said he feared the nation would be imperilled unless Trump changed. Corker’s criticism of Trump was among the harshest yet. He said Trump had “not yet been able to demonstrate the stability, nor some of the competence, that he needs to demonstrate in order for him to be successful.”

AstraZeneca and Merck have been given approval by the US drug administrator to sell their olaparib ovarian cancer drug, branded Lynparza, in a new tablet form and to a wider range of cancer sufferers. The US Food and Drug Administration granted approval for the drug, which is a PARP inhibitor, meaning it stops the actions of the poly ADP-ribose polymerase protein that helps damaged cells to repair themselves.

Reckitt Benckiser has completed the sale of its food business, including the French’s, Frank’s RedHot and Cattlemen’s brands, to McCormick. The business was sold for $4.2 billion, subject to customary adjustments. Reckitt Benckiser intends to use the net proceeds to reduce its debt.

Hargreaves Lansdown has appointed Fiona Clutterbuck and Roger Perkin as independent non-executive directors with effect from 1 September. Clutterbuck is a qualified barrister with extensive corporate finance experience. During her career, Clutterbuck has held the positions of managing director and head of financial institutions advisory at ABN AMRO Investment Bank, managing director and global co-head of financial institutions group at HSBC Investment Bank and was a director at Hill Samuel Bank Limited.

The UK competition regulator has accepted proposed changes from FirstGroup and MTR Corp for the South Western rail franchise that include a price cap to protect passengers. The UK Competition & Markets Authority said it has accepted fare controls proposed by FirstGroup and MTR that address its concerns on competition on the London to Exeter rail route. Earlier this year, the Department for Transport awarded the South Western rail franchise to MTR and FTSE 250-listed FirstGroup, which already operates the Great Western Railway that runs the only other train service between London and Exeter.

The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG) made a profit before tax of £31.1 million in the first half, an increase of 63%. Earnings per share increased by 35% to 3.5p. The company said the results represent a robust performance against the backdrop of lower wholesale power price forecasts. Positive movements included reductions in valuation discount rates (reflecting strong demand for renewables), foreign exchange gains, changes in taxation assumptions and other efficiency gains recognised in the valuation.

GCP Infrastructure Investments said it will subscribe for a series of loan notes for about £140.0m over two years. GCP, which invests in UK infrastructure debt, said £90.0m of the £140.0m will be advanced to the company in the “coming days”, with expected loan note terms of between 13 and 25 years. The subscription for the loan notes comes after GCP in April entered into a commitment with Macquarie Group to subscribe for a series of loan notes, subject to regulatory approval of Macquarie’s acquisition of the UK Green Investment Bank.

Oil prices dipped as part of a broad-based selloff across markets and despite signs that crude markets are gradually tightening.

Gold prices was mostly steady early amid weaker Asian stocks, with some investors gravitating towards safe-haven assets.

Companies Reporting this week

Day	Companies
Today:	The Renewables Infrastructure Group

Early Market Movements

Market	Index	Change	% Change
UK 100	7,336.6	-51.3	-0.7%
UK 250	19,666.9	-106.2	-0.5%
GER 30	12,203.46	-60.40	-0.5%
FRA 40	5,092.8	-83.8	-1.6%
U.S. 30	21,750.73	-274.14	-1.2%
U.S. 500	2,430.0	-38.1	-1.5%
OIL (BRENT)	51.06	+0.03	+0.1%
GOLD	1,288.77	+0.62	+0.1%

UK Risers & Fallers (8:15am)

Company	Price	Change	% Change
Ferrexpo	275.75	+5.35	+2%
RSA Insurance	659.5	+10	+1.5%
Fresnillo	1584	+18	+1.1%
Easyjet	1260	-41	3.2%
SIG	174.4	-4.1	-2.3%
International Consolidated Airlines Group	605	-41	-3.2%

Latest Broker Views

Company	Broker	Recommendation	Price	Target
Kingfisher	Societe Generale	Hold	291.2	301
RSA Insurance	JPMorgan	Neutral	659.5	700
G4S	HSBC	Reduce	296.8	245
Kaz Minerals	HSBC	Reduce	703	490