European blue-chips traded higher heading to Wednesday afternoon, but trade lacked conviction, typifying a recently uninspiring run for the FTSE 100.
‘After a good start to the year, the UK index has stubbornly remained in a small trading range since June,’ AJ Bell analyst Dan Coatsworth commented.
The FTSE 100 index traded up 9.07 points, 0.1%, at 8,289.43. The FTSE 250 was down just 10.15 points at 20,963.79, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.26 points, 0.2%, at 738.83.
The Cboe UK 100 was 0.1% higher at 831.98, the Cboe UK 250 also edged up 0.1% to 18,470.37, but the Cboe Small Companies fell 0.2% at 16259.97.
The CAC 40 was up 0.1% in Paris. The DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up fractionally.
‘Despite the overall market being stuck in the mud, there were a few standout names pushing ahead. International Consolidated Airlines is having a whale of a time on the stock market this year and its shares just hit their highest level since March 2020 thanks to a ratings upgrade from Deutsche Bank. Endeavour Mining perked up after announcing promising results from a pre-feasibility study on a project in West Africa. While there is still a lot more work required to understand the potential of the asset, the PFS provides an early indication of the project economics and they appear good enough for Endeavour to push to the next stage,’ AJ Bell analyst Coatsworth added.
British Airways parent IAG added 2.8% after Deutsche Bank raised it to ’buy’. Gold miner Endeavour rose 2.6%. It said a pre-feasibility study at an Ivory Coast project confirms its potential to become a tier one asset for the company.
The pound rose to $1.2732 early Wednesday afternoon in London, down from $1.2748 at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday. The euro faded to $1.0501 from $1.0507. Versus the yen, the dollar shot up to JP¥152.54 from JP¥152.02.
‘The dollar is on fire. Ahead of today’s US November CPI and tomorrow’s anticipated rate cuts by the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank, the greenback is rising against all G10 currencies and nearly all emerging market currencies,’ Bannockburn Global Forex analyst Marc Chandler commented.
‘Ahead of today’s CPI, the futures market has about an 85% chance of a Fed cut next week and has 100 bp of cut discounted between now and the end next year, which is about a quarter-point less than the median Fed dot in September.’
US consumer price inflation is expected to have crept up to an annual rate of 2.7% in November, according to FXStreet cited consensus, from 2.6% in October. The data is released at 1330 GMT.
US stocks are set to open mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is called down 0.1%, the S&P 500 up 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.3%.
Brent oil was quoted at $72.79 a barrel midday Wednesday, rising from $72.65 at the time of the London equities close Tuesday. Gold rose to $2,695.11 an ounce from $2,690.00.
Back in London, Kainos added 5.6%. IT firm Kainos re-appointed Brendan Mooney as its chief executive officer, just over a year after he stepped down from the position. Mooney replaces Russell Sloan in the post, who leaves the Workday partner with ‘immediate effect’.
Mooney has worked for Kainos since 1989 and was CEO for more than two decades before he left the position in September of last year.
Chair Rosaleen Blair said: ‘We are delighted to welcome Brendan back to the role of CEO. Having overseen a hugely successful period of growth for Kainos, he needs very little introduction to anyone connected with the group. Brendan’s knowledge of the group, its challenges and opportunities is unsurpassed and we look forward to a clear focus on a return to growth. I would also like to thank Russell for the enormous contribution that he has made to Kainos in his 25 years with the group. He played a key role in the development of Kainos. In his time with the business, it went from a small private company to an international business operating in over 20 countries. He leaves with our gratitude and respect and we wish him every success in the future.’
Close Brothers jumped 8.9% as it reported it has received permission to appeal a Court of Appeal verdict in a motor finance commissions case.
‘Close Brothers Group will not be commenting further on an ongoing appeals process, and any further announcements will be made as and when appropriate,’ the London-based bank, broker and asset manager added.
The update follows the Court of Appeal judgment in October in the Hopcraft versus Close Brothers Ltd, Johnson versus FirstRand Bank Ltd, and Wrench versus FirstRand Bank Ltd cases. The court decided it is unlawful for car dealers to receive a commission from lenders providing motor finance without first telling the customer about the commission and getting their informed consent to the payment.
On the decline, ProCook shed 7.8%. The pots and pans seller reported a slow start to its key third-quarter, amid weak footfall ahead of the UK budget.
It also reported its pretax loss in the half-year to October 28 was unchanged annually at £3.2 million. Revenue rose 7.5%, however, to £28.3 million from £26.3 million.
In the first eight weeks of the third-quarter, revenue was 7.5% higher on-year, up 0.9% like-for-like.
‘Retail performance was hampered by weak footfall during the early weeks of the second half, coinciding with the budget event, but has improved since. As a result, retail like for like revenue was -4.0%. New stores contributed a further [10.3 percentage] points to deliver total retail revenue growth of 6.3% over the eight weeks,’ ProCook added.
Billington added 11% as the structural steel firm expects to report an annual profit beat. It hailed ‘continued strong delivery’ in the second half of 2024. It sees 2024 pretax profit ahead of market expectations.
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