Though Thursday heralds the end of an Easter-shortened week, investors have more than enough on their plate to chew over with the latest eurozone interest rate decision and a slew of earnings from US banking heavyweights.
The European Central Bank releases its latest monetary policy decision at 1245 BST, with a press conference with President Christine Lagarde following after at 1330 BST.
‘The ECB meets today, where our economists are not expecting a change in tune...Instead, they believe with the new staff forecasts in June, the ECB will announce that APP purchases will end in July, ahead of liftoff in September,’ said Deutsche Bank.
On the corporate side, earnings are due from US banks Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo before the New York market open.
The FTSE 100 index was down 15.98 points, or 0.2%, at 7,564.82 early Thursday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was down 38.40 points, or 0.2%, at 20,946.05, while the AIM All-Share index was just 0.19 of a point at 1,057.00.
The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.2% at 752.67. The Cboe 250 was down 0.2% at 18,410.22, and the Cboe Small Companies down 0.1% at 15,409.72.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was slightly higher, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.1%.
The pound was quoted at $1.3133 early Thursday, up from $1.3060 at the London equities close on Wednesday. The euro was priced at $1.0906, higher from $1.0863.
In London, budget airline Wizz Air was atop the midcaps, rising 5.8%. The airline expects a widened annual loss but saw a better than expected fourth quarter performance and is preparing for strong demand over the upcoming summer season.
In the final three months of the company's financial year, ended March 31, it expects to report a net loss between €190 million and €210 million - which would beat previous expectations, thanks to a ‘stronger trading environment’.
To begin financial 2023, Wizz said it is ramping up operations for a ‘busy’ summer programme with available seat kilometres 30% ahead of the April to June 2019 quarter and more than 40% ahead of the July to September 2019 quarter.
‘We have been encouraged by demand trends in recent weeks and given the shorter booking horizon expect the bookings for this summer to build significantly after Easter,’ the airline added.
In a positive read-across, British Airways-parent International Consolidated Airlines advanced 2.1% and easyJet gained 1.2%. Hotel operator InterContinental Hotels Group was up 2.0%.
discoverIE Group was also enjoying a strong start to the session after it raised expectations following a ‘strong’ trading performance in the firm's final two months of its financial year, which ended March 31.
The FTSE 250-listed maker of customised electronics, for sectors such as renewables and transport, was up 2.6%.
It said orders remain ‘well ahead’ of sales, rising organically by 13% year on year and up 27% on the period two years ago. Group sales in the final 2 months are up 20% on the year prior and 22% higher on the same period two years ago.
As a result, group orders for the annual period are up 36% year on year, as sales rise 25%.
discoverIE ended its financial year with an order book of £224 million, a record for the company.
Dunelm's third quarter sales shot up, it said, thanks to the reopening of its stores, leading the firm to confirm its confidence in meeting market expectations for its annual profit.
In the 13 weeks to March 26, total sales rose 69% year on year to £399 million, with year-to-date sales up 25% to £1.20 billion.
It noted in the third quarter last year its store estate was closed to customers and only Click & Collect and home delivery services were available.
The homewares retailer said: ‘Customers responded well to our Winter Sale held in the first few weeks of the quarter, with a very strong sales performance across most categories. We have continued to refresh our product ranges, with our new 'Summer Living' products performing particularly well during March, as customers looked to ready their homes and gardens for summer.’
For financial 2022, Dunelm notes the latest range of analyst forecasts puts its pretax profit between £195 million to £215 million, with consensus at £207 million. In financial 2021, it posted a pretax profit of £157.8 million.
Dunelm was 2.2% higher in early trading in London on Thursday.
At the other end of the FTSE 250, Hays shed 2.8%. The recruiter hailed a record performance at the start of 2022 amid a shortage of skills worldwide, but revealed a hit of around £5 million after pulling out of Russia.
The group posted a 32% surge in like-for-like fees over its third quarter to the end of March, with record-breaking results across 19 countries and its highest-ever monthly fees in March.
Fees in the UK and Ireland rose 29%, it added.
Hays said the closure early last month of its offices in Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine will result in about £5 million in one-off costs. Full-year guidance remains for full-year operating profit of £210 million to £215 million, excluding the Russia hit.
In Asia on Thursday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 1.2%. In China, the Shanghai Composite closed 1.2% higher, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 0.5% in late trading. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney ended up 0.6%.
Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP¥125.20 early Thursday, down from JP¥125.69.
Brent was quoted at $107.40 a barrel on Thursday morning, up versus $106.79 at the time of the equity market close in London on Wednesday.
Gold stood at $1,974.80 an ounce, lower against $1,977.64 late Wednesday.
As well as the ECB's interest rate decision, Thursday's economic calendar has the latest US initial unemployment claims at 1330 BST.
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