Stock prices in London opened higher on Wednesday, beating Asian peers which trended lower over night, and following a flatter session in the US.
The FTSE 100 index opened up 34.20 points, 0.4%, at 8,347.87. The FTSE 250 was up 30.83 points, 0.2%, at 20,443.91, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.94 points, 0.3%, at 778.36.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.4% at 833.39, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 17,713.33, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.1% at 15,888.94.
In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.7%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.4%.
In Asia on Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo ended down 1.6%. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended down 0.6%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 0.8% in late dealings. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.1%.
In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended treading water, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.1%, the S&P 500 up 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.1%.
‘Yesterday was one of those days where we needed to fit a narrative to the market moves as the moves weren’t triggered by meaningful data or comments,’ said Swissquote Bank analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya.
‘Appetite in US stocks remains supported by robust earnings and Fed optimism, but the earnings expectations look somehow inflated, while the Fed optimism is fragile and data-dependent – meaning that the market could be lacking enough confidence to send these indices to fresh record highs before we have more detail on the US inflation update that is due next week.’
Sterling was quoted at $1.2485 early Wednesday, lower than $1.2542 at the London equities close on Tuesday.
The euro traded at $1.0743 early Wednesday, lower than $1.0774 late Tuesday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JP¥155.29 versus JP¥154.49.
In the FTSE 100, Informa led the pack, rising 2.5%, after it increased its share buyback programme for 2024 by 50% to £500 million.
In a market update, the business information publisher and events organiser said all business were delivering ahead of or in line with annual targets.
Informa expects 2024 revenue will be at the the upper end of its £3.45 billion to £3.50 billion guidance range, while adjusted operating profit is expected to be at the upper end of £950 million to £970 million guidance range.
Centrica rose 2.1% to 133.94 pence, after UBS raised its rating for the owner of British Gas to ’buy’ from ’neutral’, setting an increased price target of 170p from 165p.
In the FTSE 250, OSB led gains, rising 5.5%.
The mortgage lender said financial and operational performance in the first quarter of 2024 was stable, with underlying net interest margin on track to meet full year guidance.
It reported first quarter new originations of £1.0 billion, down from £1.2 billion a year earlier, while underlying and statutory net loans and advances on March 31 rose to £26.0 billion from £25.7 billion on December 31.
OSB Chief Executive Officer Andy Golding commented: ‘The group is well positioned to deliver attractive and sustainable returns across the cycle, with a strong and resilient business model, robust capital and liquidity position, secured loan book and proven risk management capabilities. I look to the future with confidence.’
JD Wetherspoon rose 3.2%, after the pub chain said like-for-like sales rose 5.2% in the 13 weeks to April 28 from a year earlier, while year-to-date like-for-like sales rose by 8.3%.
Total sales increased by 3.3% in the quarter and by 6.5% in the year-to-date, it added.
Looking ahead, JD Wetherspoon said it expects profits in the current financial year to be ‘towards the top of market expectations’.
Among London’s small caps, Ocean Wilsons rose 5.6%.
In the first quarter of 2024, the investment holding company said revenue rose to £129.4 million from £109.8 million a year earlier, while profit increased to $21.2 million from $16.4 million.
Across the first quarter, Ocean Wilsons said its portfolio increased in value by $12.7 million or 4.1%, driven by the ‘strong performance of the public asset portfolio and the fact that the defensive portfolio performed well versus government bonds’.
On AIM in London, boohoo lost 4.1%.
The fast fashion firm said pretax loss in the financial year ended February 29 widened to £159.9 million from £90.7 million a year earlier, hurt by a 17% fall in revenue to £1.46 billion from £1.77 billion.
boohoo said the decline in revenue was due to a focus on profitability and difficult market conditions.
Looking ahead, boohoo said it is targeting gross merchandise value growth in the year ahead and continued improvement in adjusted Ebitda margin.
It said it was confident of a 6% to 8% Ebitda margin target in the medium term, while it also said it is on track for £125 million in annualised cost savings for its financial 2025.
Brent oil was trading at $82.18 a barrel early Wednesday, lower than $83.51 late Tuesday.
Israel said it reopened the Kerem Shalom border crossing to humanitarian aid for Gaza on Wednesday, four days after closing it in response to a rocket attack that killed four soldiers.
‘Trucks from Egypt carrying humanitarian aid, including food, water, shelter equipment, medicine and medical equipment donated by the international community are already arriving at the crossing,’ the army said in a joint statement with COGAT, the defence ministry body that oversees Palestinian civil affairs.
The supplies will be transferred to the Gaza side of the crossing after undergoing inspection, it added. The statement said the Erez border crossing between Israel and northern Gaza is also open for aid deliveries into the Palestinian territory.
The Kerem Shalom crossing was closed after a Hamas rocket attack killed four soldiers and wounded more than a dozen on Sunday.
On Tuesday, Israeli troops seized control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt after launching an incursion into the eastern sector of the city.
The United Nations and Israel’s staunchest ally the US both condemned the closure of the two crossings which are a lifeline for civilians facing looming famine.
The US halted a shipment of bombs to Israel last week after it failed to address Washington’s concerns over plans to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a senior US official said Tuesday.
Biden’s administration made the decision when it appeared Israel was on the verge of a major ground operation into Rafah, which Washington has strongly opposed.
Israeli and US officials had been discussing alternatives but ‘those discussions are ongoing and have not fully addressed our concerns,’ the senior US official said.
Gold was quoted at $2,310.82 an ounce early Wednesday, lower than $2,322.59 on Tuesday.
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