The Market Close - Paddy Power Betfair upgrades guidance

Highlights of the Day

Asian Markets

Asian stock markets jumped in early trading, reflecting investor relief about upcoming trade talks between China and the U.S.

U.S. Markets

U.S. stocks rose for a third straight session as President Donald Trump said trade talks with China were “moving along nicely,”

Today's News

Paddy Power Betfair slightly upgraded its annual guidance after a strong sales performance in its new US business in the third quarter offset weakness in UK retail and Australia. Underlying Ebitda on a reported basis for the three months through September fell 16% to £101m, even as revenue rose 12% to £483m.

TP ICAP said its revenue for the four months through October had risen by 1% amid ‘mixed’ market conditions. The company also announced that it had acquired energy and commodities brokerage firm Axiom for up to $29.1m including performance-related payments.

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels booked a 38% drop in third-quarter profit and warned that rising labor costs were being exacerbated by Brexit uncertainty. Pre-tax profit for the three months through September slumped to £34m, as revenue fell 3.8% to £253m.

Apple turned in a fourth consecutive quarter of record revenue and profits on, as higher iPhone price and solid app store sales drove the tech behemoth to its best year in history. Increased demand for services such as the iCloud, Apple Music and the App store helped drive revenues almost 20% higher in the three months ended 29 September to $62.9bn, slightly ahead of forecasts, while profits soared 32% to $14.13bn.

International Consolidated Airlines Group said it had a strong balance sheet and lifted a number of its long-term objectives, including targeting higher capacity and earnings growth. For the period from 2019 to 2023, the British Airways owner lifted its target on earnings (ebitdar) to €7.2bn a year, from €6.5bn a year for 2018-2022 previously.

Ultra Electronics said it had agreed to sell its airport systems business to ADB Safegate for £22m. The price included a £2m deferred payment, which would be made following the transfer of certain commercial contracts.

Sage Group said it had appointed chief operating officer Steve Hare permanently to the role of chief executive. Hare had jointed the company in 2014 as chief financial officer and became chief operating officer in August when Stephen Kelly stood down as CEO.

Barclays said that John McFarlane will retire as chairman in May and that Nigel Higgins has been appointed to succeed him, subject to regulatory approval.

Oil Prices dipped slightly, despite hopes rose that the United States and China may resolve their trade disputes soon, easing concerns that an economic slowdown may weigh on fuel demand.

Gold Prices were steady, after rising about 1.5 percent in the previous session, while the dollar inched up ahead of the U.S. payrolls data due later in the day.

Companies Reporting this week

Day	Companies
Monday:	HSBC
Tuesday:	Hunting * Reckitt Benckiser * BP
Wednesday:	Computacenter * Next * GlaxoSmithKline * Standard Chartered * Smurfit Kappa
Thursday:	BT * Smith & Nephew * Royal Dutch Shell * Croda International * Centamin
Friday:	Millennium & Copthorne * TP ICAP * Paddy Power Betfair

Early Market Movements

Market	Index	Change	% Change
UK 100	7,195.1	+80.4	+1.1%
UK 250	19,402.0	+230.1	+1.2%
GER 30	11,631.0	+162.5	+1.4%
FRA 40	5,152.2	+66.4	+1.3%
US 30	25,380.74	+264.98	+1.1%
US 500	2,740.37	+28.63	+1.1%
Oil (Crude)	72.75	-0.14	-0.2%
GOLD	1,234.08	+0.65	+0.1%

UK Risers & Fallers (8:15am)

Company	Price	Change	% Change
Burberry Group	1901	+84	+4.6%
Smurfit Kappa	2574	+106	+4.3%
Kaz Minerals	571	+33.2	+6.2%
BT Group	258.45	-2.8	-1.1%
Centrica	144.95	-1.35	-0.9%
Millennium & Copthorne	479.75	-4.25	-0.9%

Latest Broker Views

Company	Price	Change	% Change
Burberry Group	1901	+84	+4.6%
Smurfit Kappa	2574	+106	+4.3%
Kaz Minerals	571	+33.2	+6.2%
BT Group	258.45	-2.8	-1.1%
Centrica	144.95	-1.35	-0.9%
Millennium & Copthorne	479.75	-4.25	-0.9%

Forthcoming Economic Data

Time/Date	Previous	Forecast	Outcome
10.30pm: U.K. Construction PMI	52.1	52.0	–
1.30pm: U.S. Average Hourly Earnings m/m	0.3%	0.2%	–
1.30pm: U.S. Non-Farm Employment Change	134k	194k	–
1.30pm: U.S. Unemployment Rate	3.7%	3.7%	–