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London open: Stocks steady after downbeat Wall St; UK retail sales in focus
London stocks were flat in early trade on Friday following a downbeat session on Wall Street, as investors eyed the latest UK retail sales figures, with more corporate profit warnings doing little to lift the mood.
At 0830 GMT, the FTSE 100 was flat at 7,697.97, while the pound was up 0.2% versus the dollar at 1.3925 and down 0.1% against the euro at 1.1344.
Stocks in the US closed down on Thursday amid concerns about a possible government shutdown. Although the House of Representatives passed a one-month spending bill, it could be derailed if there is enough opposition in the Senate.
Market participants in the UK were looking ahead to UK retail sales at 0930 GMT.
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: “The latest UK retail sales numbers for December are unlikely to be as positive as the November figures were where Black Friday presales helped boost numbers to 1.1%, but it would be surprising if they are as bad as some are predicting.
“The recent BRC retail sales numbers for December showed an unexpectedly positive number of 0.6%, so despite general expectations that the official retail sales numbers for December could show a sharp decline in the region of -0.9%, we could see a number that comes in better than that.
“That in term would bode well for next week’s preliminary Q4 GDP number.”
In corporate news, further profit warnings were the order of the day.
Funeral provider Dignity nosedived after issuing a profits warning as it announced a 25% price cut in its simple funerals and a freeze on the cost of traditional ceremonies, blaming stiff competition.
Shares in flooring specialist Carpetright tumbled after it issued its second profits warning in as many months as it reported trading in its important post-Christmas period “significantly behind expectations”.
Elsewhere, HSBC was in the red as it agreed a financial settlement with the US Department of Justice to wipe the slate clean after an investigation into the bank’s foreign exchange division misusing confidential client information for its own profit between. The bank will pay the DoJ a total of $101.5m, including a US$63.1m fine and US$38.4m in restitution, and has agreed to put further compliance procedures and controls in place.
AstraZeneca was little changed after the drugmaker announced Japanese regulatory approval for Fasenra (benralizumab) as an add-on treatment for bronchial asthma in patients who continue to experience asthma exacerbations despite treatment with high-dose inhaled corticosteroid and other asthma controllers, as well as for its Merck-partnership’s Lynparza (olaparib) tablets at 300mg twice daily for use as a maintenance therapy for patients with platinum-sensitive relapsed ovarian cancer
Motor and home insurer Esure edged up as it said chief executive Stuart Vann has left the company with immediate effect as it “evolves” its strategy, with founder and chairman Peter Wood taking a more active role.
British Land slipped as it appointed Simon Carter – currently chief financial officer at Logicor – as its new CFO, succeeding Lucinda Bell.
Fevertree Drinks fizzed higher amid takeover talk and as Jefferies initiated coverage of the stock at ‘buy’.
EasyJet flew higher after an upgrade to ‘overweight’ at Morgan Stanley, while InterContinental Hotels was lifted by an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Goldman Sachs.
