Highlights of the Day
Asian Markets
Asian shares were mostly higher as investors await word from the Fed on rates and the outlook for winding down its massive balance sheet. |
U.S. Markets
U.S. shares with the U.S.30 hitting an all-time high as bank and technology shares gained. The U.S.500 technology sector rose 0.71%, recovering from its biggest two-day decline in nearly a year. |
Today's News
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions strongly denied that he had ever discussed interference in the U.S. presidential election with Russian officials, as the U.S.Congress pursued a controversy that has dogged the White House since Donald Trump took office. “The suggestion that I participated in any collusion, that I was aware of any collusion with the Russian government to hurt this country…or to undermine the integrity of our democratic process, is an appalling and detestable lie,” Sessions said.
Theresa May softened her tone on the country’s negotiations to leave the EU, welcoming the “good process” set out by the bloc for the talks. Speaking alongside French President Macron after a working dinner in Paris, May said that with “willingness and intent on both sides to build… [a] future partnership,” she believed a deal could be reached that would be in the interests of all sides. May, who last week lost her majority in a general election she had called in the hopes of bolstering her mandate for the talks, said she had confirmed to Macron that “the timetable for the Brexit negotiation remains the same and will begin next week.”
British American Tobacco expects profit growth to be weighted to the second half of the year, due to the phasing of volume shipments, next generation product investments and marketing spend. The group said the business continued to perform very well and trading was in line with expectations with continued market share growth, driven by the Global Drive Brands. It said first half EPS was expected to benefit from a significant currency translation tailwind of around 14%.
Bellway saw strong sales demand with a 13% increase in the reservation rate to 221 per week in the period from 1st February to 4th June. The group said the increase in housing completions for the full year to 31at July was expected to approach 10%. It said a robust trading performance should result in an operating margin slightly in excess of 22% for the full financial year.
WH Smith said in the 15-week period from 1st March to 10th June 2017 total group sales were up 2%, with like-for-like sales flat. Within this, the Travel business’s total and LFL sales were up, while those for the High Street business were down. It said that in its Travel business total sales were up 8% (of which 2% relates to forex benefits from the growing international business) and like-for-like sales were up 5%. “This sales performance reflects our ongoing focus on customer service, execution, space and category management as well as the continued increase in passenger numbers,” the company said.
Charles Stanley Group swung into the black in the year to the end of March with a reported pre-tax profit of £8.8m against a loss of £0.3m last time. The group said reported revenue in line with previous year despite disposal of non-core activities – £141.6m. Chief executive Paul Abberley said: 2017 was a year of significant progress at Charles Stanley with our transformation programme delivering increased profitability, more satisfied clients and improved staff engagement.
Volkswagen is facing its biggest legal challenge in Europe over the “dieselgate” scandal with a UK class action against the car maker teaming up with a similar claim in the Netherlands. British law firm Harcus Sinclair has joined forces to unite its 41,000 claimants with as many as 180,000 affected VW drivers in Europe to create a international “super claim”.
Oil prices fell around after data showed a build in U.S. crude stocks and OPEC reported a rise in its production despite its pledge to cut back on output.
Gold crept up early as the market waited for the end of a two-day U.S. Federal Reserve meeting, with the central bank expected to hike interest rates and give indications on its monetary policy for the rest of the year.
Companies Reporting this week
Day |
Companies |
Today: |
Bellway * Biffa * Castings * Charles Stanley Group * Enteq Upstream * Mulberry Group * Norcros * Severfield |
Tomorrow: |
Atkins (WS) Consort Medical John Laing Environmental Assets Group Limited Liontrust Asset Management Majestic Wine |
Friday: |
Real Estate Credit Investments * Record |
Early Market Movements
Market |
Index |
Change |
% Change |
UK 100 |
7,507.6 |
+7.1 |
+0.1% |
UK 250 |
19,934.8 |
+75.3 |
+0.4% |
GER 30 |
12,796.5 |
+31.5 |
+0.3% |
FRA 40 |
5,291.8 |
+30.0 |
+0.6% |
U.S. 30 |
21,328.47 |
+92.80 |
+0.4% |
U.S. 500 |
2,440.4 |
+11.0 |
+0.5% |
OIL (BRENT) |
48.36 |
-0.36 |
-0.7% |
GOLD |
1,268.50 |
+1.95 |
+0.2% |
UK Risers & Fallers (8:15am)
Company |
Price |
Change |
% Change |
Bellway |
2956 |
+106 |
+3.7% |
Easyjet |
1378 |
+25 |
+1.8% |
Taylor Whimpey |
181.5 |
+3.1 |
+1.7% |
Hochschild |
273.9 |
-10.3 |
-3.6% |
GKN |
349.7 |
-5.4 |
-1.5% |
Mediclinic |
804.5 |
-8.0 |
-1.0% |
Latest Broker Views
Company |
Broker |
Recommendation |
Price |
Target |
Ashtead Group |
JP Morgan Cazenove |
Overweight |
1,630.00 |
1,800.00 |
GlaxoSmithKline |
Liberum Capital |
Buy |
1,685.00 |
1,900.00 |
Legal & General Group |
JP Morgan Cazenove |
Underweight |
259.90 |
197.00 |
Tesco |
HSBC |
Buy |
183.00 |
260.00 |
Forthcoming Economic Data
Time/Date |
Previous |
Forecast |
Outcome |
8:30am: U.K. Average Earnings Index 3m/y |
2.4% |
2.4% |
– |
8:30am: U.K. Unemployment Rate |
4.6% |
4.6% |
– |
12:30pm: U.S. CPI m/m |
0.2% |
0.2% |
– |
12:30pm: U.S. Core CPI m/m |
0.1% |
0.2% |
– |
12:30pm: U.S. Core Retail Sales m/m |
0.3% |
0.2% |
– |
12:30pm: U.S. Retail Sales m/m |
0.4% |
0.1% |
– |
Sources:
https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/asian-shares-mostly-up,-but-china-weaker-despite-solid-industrial-output-495136
http://uk.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks-idUKL3N1JA4L8
http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/5567094/Bellway-sales-rise-in-robust-market.html
http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/5567088/WH-Smiths-total-sales-up-2pct-in-15wks-to-June-10.html
http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/5567097/BATS-in-line-with-expectations.html
http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/5566952/Press-Roundup.html
http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/5567099/Charles-Stanley-swings-into-profit.html
https://www.igitallook.com/news/press-round-up-short-premium/wednesday-newspaper-round-up-euro-clearing-bp-vw-jaeger–2720801.html
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/alliance-news/detail/1497419646556734300.html
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/alliance-news/detail/1497418312716703700.html
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-idUSKBN19502V
https://www.reuters.com/article/global-precious-idUSL3N1JB11J