Upstream Share Discussion Threads

[master rsi] 06/3/2024 13:14

Budget 2024

#New British ISA announced
The chancellor says the government will create a “British”; ISA adding it will come in the form of an extra £5,000 tax-free allowance for the public to invest exclusively in UK.

#Hunt announces a package of support for the North East
He announces the "North-East trailblazer devolution deal", saying it will provide a package of support for the region potentially worth over £100m.

#The chancellor says he is committed to providing more opportunities across the generations, including building more houses for young people.
The government, the chancellor adds, has allocated £188m for projects in Sheffield, Blackpool and Liverpool.

But today, Hunt says, "I go further", with £242m in Barking Riverside and Canary Wharf.

[master rsi] 06/3/2024 13:08

Budget 2024

#Hunt says UK has lowest national debt in the G7
He says that today's forecasts show debt will fall to below to 94% by 2028 and 2029, down from over 100%.

He says that UK continues to have the lowest national debt in the G7, lower than Japan, France and the United States.

#The chancellor is now turning to growth in the economy.
Now, the OBR expects the economy to grow by 0.8% this year and 1.9% next year – that's 0.5% higher than their autumn forecast. This growth, he adds, is forecast to continue on this trend until 2027.

#Hunt now turns to investment, since 2010 the Conservative has been stimulating investment to raise productivity.

He says business investment this year will be 10.6% of Britain's GDP and continues to rise.
Nissan, Google and Microsoft are among businesses investing in the UK, he says.

[master rsi] 06/3/2024 13:01

Budget 2024

#Hunt says growth under Tories higher than in every large EU country
#Hunt says his policies mean 'more jobs, more investment and lower taxes'
#Household Support Fund extended
#Alcohol duty frozen until next year
#Fuel duty to remain at current rate
#Hunt announces increase to repayment period for new loans

[master rsi] 06/3/2024 12:54

Budget 2024
Summary
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is delivering his Budget, outlining the government's tax and spending plans - watch it live by pressing play above
He's expected to cut National Insurance for workers by another 2p - it also fell by 2p in last year's Autumn Statement
It would mean the main rate falling from 10% to 8% - which could save the average worker around £450 a year
Some Conservatives want cuts in income tax, or an increase in the thresholds where it's paid
"The Conservatives promised to fix the nation's roof," Labour's Rachel Reeves says, but instead they are "now burning the house down"
The UK economy fell into recession last year, and overall tax take is approaching a level not seen since the aftermath of World War Two
Hunt begins his statement by saying that, since the Conservatives took office in 2010, unemployment has halved, and absolute poverty has gone down
He acknowledges high interest rates, but says because of the "progress" made, he can introduce "permanent" tax cuts
Hunt announces a six-month extension to the Household Support Fund, a freeze in alcohol duty, and extends the 5p cut in fuel duty

[master rsi] 06/3/2024 12:48

MARKET REPORT
LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Stocks climb ahead of UK spring budget

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were higher at midday Wednesday, as investors prepared for what the UK spring budget, with tax cuts potentially on the cards.

The FTSE 100 index was up 26.81 points, 0.4%, at 7,672.97. The FTSE 250 was up 148.97 points, 0.8%, at 19,420.00, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.30 points, 0.2%, at 736.19.

The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 768.07, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.9% at 16,778.49, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.1% at 14,501.06.

In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt were both up marginally.

In the UK, focus is on Wednesday's budget. The budget is expected to be announced around 1230 GMT.

On the back of announcing a cut to the main 12% rate of employee national insurance to 10% during the autumn statement, eyes will be on whether UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will unveil some more tax cuts.

The chancellor is hoping to woo voters ahead of this year's general election, especially since the budget could be the last fiscal event before the election.

Hunt is expected to make a 2p cut to national insurance central to his budget, which he said would deliver "more opportunity and more prosperity". The change could save the average worker GBP450 a year, adding up to GBP900 when combined with last year's move.

"To fund such measures, the chancellor will reportedly raise taxes elsewhere and assume stringent public spending increases over the forecast horizon. As the chancellor is sticking to the fiscal rules, there is unlikely to be an adverse market reaction akin to the 2022 mini-budget. Nevertheless, markets will be assessing whether any of the measures announced might boost demand and impact on BoE interest rate decisions," said analysts at Lloyds.

Across the Atlantic, focus will be on monetary policy and political developments.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Federal Reserve Chair Powell will head to Capitol Hill for his semi-annual testimony before Congress.

Powell's testimony comes in a week which sees a number of data releases on the US labour market, culminating in the US jobs report on Friday.

On the political front, Nikki Haley will suspend her US presidential campaign after being soundly defeated across the country in a series of primary elections on Super Tuesday, sources said, AP reported.

The move leaves former president Donald Trump as the last remaining major candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination.

Trump had earlier celebrated an "amazing night" as he closed in on the Republican presidential nomination with big wins in the Super Tuesday primaries, setting up an all-but-certain rematch with President Joe Biden in November.

Stocks in New York were called higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called up 0.2%, the S&P 500 index up 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.8%.

The Bank of Canada announces its latest interest rate decision at 1445 GMT. The bank is expected to keep rates on hold.

After that, the European Central Bank will release its own interest rate decision on Thursday at 1315 GMT. The Frankfurt-based is also expected to keep rates on hold, with eyes on whether it offers any clues on when it will be ready to cut rates.

Barclays analysts said: "In the press conference, we expect President Lagarde will communicate that the debate about the timing of rate cuts and policy normalisation has started. Beyond recognizing progress in the disinflationary process, the conference message will echo the January meeting accounts one, signalling 'that continuity, caution and patience are still needed' in order to become sufficiently confident that inflation will reach the target in a sustainable manner."

The pound was quoted at USD1.2723 at midday on Wednesday in London, up ever-so-slightly to USD1.2721 at the equities close on Tuesday. The euro stood at USD1.0877, higher against USD1.0866. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY149.73, down compared to JPY150.12.

Back in London, ConvaTec rose 7.0% to the top of the FTSE 100 index on Wednesday.

The Reading, England-based medical products and technology company said its pretax profit more than doubled to USD167.4 million in 2023, from USD81.9 million the prior year.

ConvaTec also said revenue increased 3.4% to USD2.14 billion from USD2.07 billion, while organic revenue growth accelerated to 7.2%, "broad-based across all four chronic care categories".

ConvaTec has recommended a final dividend of 4.460 cents per share, up from 4.330 cents the previous year. This would bring the full-year total dividend up to 6.229 cents from 6.047 cents.

In the FTSE 250, Premier Foods jumped 12%, after it struck a deal to suspend pension deficit payments sooner than expected.

The St Albans, Hertfordshire-based food manufacturer, which creates products for various brands including Ambrosia, Bisto, Mr Kipling and Oxo, said it had reached agreement with the RHM Pension Scheme Trustee to suspend pension deficit contribution payments from April 1.

The suspension of future contributions is taking place earlier than originally expected, reflecting the strong performance of the pension scheme, the company said.

As a result, Premier Foods said it would benefit from GBP33 million increased free cash flow for the financial year ending March 29, 2025.

Holiday operator Tui rose by 6.6%.

Investment bank Morgan Stanley upgraded Tui to 'overweight' from 'equal weight.'

Morgan Stanly said that Tui shares could treble, assuming a return to pre-Covid margins and pre-Covid valuation multiple.

Amongst London's small-caps, Digital 9 surged 24%.

The investor focused on "critical digital infrastructure assets" said it has received merger control approval in Iceland for the completion of the Verne transaction. On Tuesday, Digital 9 had received approval in Finland.

Back in November, Digital 9 announced the sale of its stake in the Verne Group for up to USD575 million to funds managed by Ardian France SA, a Paris-based investment and asset management firm.

Brent oil was quoted at USD82.50 a barrel at midday in London on Wednesday, down from USD82.69 late Tuesday. Gold was quoted at USD2,126.77 an ounce, up slightly against USD2,125.97.

Still to come on Wednesday is the latest ADP US jobs report at 1315 GMT, a precursor to Friday's nonfarms.

[master rsi] 06/3/2024 12:21

How the UPS are performing during last month

[master rsi] 06/3/2024 12:04

How the UPS are performing today

[master rsi] 06/3/2024 11:38

BTC - Bitcoin

Bitcoin rallied again on Wednesday after retreating briefly from an all-time high it set less than 24 hours earlier, as bulls showed few signs of pulling...

Large rise yesterday with a Breakout over $69,000 but soon profit took the coin down to $59,000, which has since recovered to $66.874

[master rsi] 06/3/2024 11:01

UKOG shareholders approve share consolidation on ten-to-one ratio

(Alliance News) - UK Oil & Gas PLC shareholders approved a share consolidation on Tuesday at its reconvened general meeting.

The London-based exploration and production company, which focuses on projects in the UK and Turkey, said all resolutions were passed, including one to consolidate 32.5 million shares in a 10:1 ratio to 3.3 million shares.

This is alongside consolidating a similar amount of B shares at the same ratio.

Earlier in February, the general meeting was reconvened as a result of shareholders' questions, prompting UKOG to take further advice in relation to its capital reorganisation and the associated resolutions proposed.

[master rsi] 06/3/2024 10:26

TEP 1,522p (26p / 1.74%%) / Telecom Plus surpasses one million customers

Telecom Plus PLC - London-based bundled household utility provider and owner of Utility Warehouse - Says it has passed the one million customer milestone. The company credits this to its "unique combination of its multiservice customer offering and word of mouth route to market". Telecom Plus says that it continues to trade in line with market expectations, which predict around GBP113.2 million in pretax profit for the year ending March 31.

Chief Executive Officer Stuart Burnett says: "We are now helping more than one million households to stop wasting time and money on their household bills, demonstrating the ongoing strength of our unique business model. Our sights are now firmly set on doubling the business from 1 million to 2 million customers through a combination of the market-leading savings customers receive when they take multiple services from us, and the meaningful additional income partners earn from recommending these savings to their friends and family."

[master rsi] 06/3/2024 09:53

UK construction sector retreat slows a bit in February

(Alliance News) - The downturn in the UK construction sector continued to ease into February, new data on Wednesday showed.

The S&P Global UK construction purchasing managers' index rose to 49.7 points in February, up from 48.8 points in January. This marks the highest reading since August 2023 and is higher than FXStreet market consensus of 49.0 points.

That said, the index remained below the crucial 50.0 no-change threshold for the sixth month running.
All three main categories of construction activity saw a near-stabilisation of business activity in February, S&P said.
Meanwhile, business optimism improved for the third time in the past four months and was the highest since January 2022.

S&P Global Market Intelligence economics director Tim Moore commented: "A stabilisation in house building meant that UK construction output was virtually unchanged in February. This was the best performance for the construction sector since August 2023 and the forward-looking survey indicators provide encouragement that business conditions could improve in the coming months.

"Total new orders expanded for the first time since July 2023, which construction companies attributed to rising client confidence and signs of a turnaround in the residential building segment. Meanwhile, the degree of optimism regarding year ahead business activity prospects was the strongest since the start of 2022, in part due to looser financial conditions and expected interest rate cuts."

The survey features a panel of around 150 construction firms in the UK. Responses were collected between February 12 and 28.

[master rsi] 06/3/2024 09:27

UPS

HE1 2.075p ( 2.05 - 2.10p )

Waiting for Helium drills results, at this price looks like a good one to enter for the news as lately is a support and bounces from it. The bid paid is 2.085p.
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[master rsi] 06/3/2024 09:23

MARKET REPORT
LONDON MARKET OPEN: Stocks up with all eyes on UK Spring budget

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened higher on Wednesday, as investors shook off nerves ahead of the UK Spring budget.

The FTSE 100 index opened up 18.39 points, 0.2%, at 7,664.55. The FTSE 250 was up 119.71 points, 0.6%, at 19,390.74, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.71 of a point, 0.1%, at 735.60.

The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 767.53, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.6% at 16,730.59, and the Cboe Small Companies was up marginally at 14,483.68.

In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.1%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was up 0.1%.

In the UK, focus is on Wednesday's budget. The budget is expected to be announced around 1230 GMT.

On the back of announcing a cut to the main 12% rate of employee national insurance to 10% during the autumn statement, eyes will be on whether UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will unveil some more tax cuts.

"He [Hunt] is expected to aim for tax cuts to please British voters, but he has a limited margin and some tax cuts could lead to inflationary pressures prompting the Bank of England to maintain a tighter monetary policy for an extended period, which may further burden mortgage payers. Hunt should find a fine balance," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.

In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended lower, with the market already in a cautious mood ahead of Jerome Powell's testimony to Congress. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were down 1.0%, whilst the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.7%.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Federal Reserve Chair Powell will head to Capitol Hill for his semi-annual testimony before Congress.

Powell's testimony comes in a week which sees a number of data releases on the US labour market, culminating in the US jobs report on Friday.

The price of gold rose heading into Powell's testimony. Gold was quoted at USD2,129.35 an ounce, higher against USD2,125.97. The precious metal had hit a record high of USD2,141.81 on Tuesday, before retreating.

The pound was quoted at USD1.2711 early on Wednesday in London, down compared to USD1.2721 at the equities close on Tuesday. The euro stood at USD1.0862, down against USD1.0866. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY149.48, lower compared to JPY150.12.

In London's FTSE 100, Legal & General lost 4.4%. It was the worst performer on the index in early trade.

L&G's new chief executive flagged a fresh start for the insurer after operating profit in 2023 fell short of market estimates.

The London-based insurer and asset manager reported flat operating profit in 2023 of GBP1.67 billion compared to GBP1.66 billion in 2022. The was below consensus of GBP1.80 billion.

Citi analyst Andrew Baker said: "We expect some weakness today on the lower operating result in a challenging operating environment".

Convatec, meanwhile, jumped 6.4%.

ConvaTec reported that revenue edged up 3.4% to USD2.14 billion from USD2.07 billion a year earlier. Pretax profit more than doubled to USD167.4 million from USD81.9 million.

On the back of the results, the Reading, England-based medical products and technology company upped its dividend by 3.0% to 6.23 US cents from 6.05 cents.

In the FTSE 250, Premier Foods shot up 11%.

Premier Foods said it has reached agreement with the RHM Pension Scheme Trustee to suspend pension deficit contribution payments from April 1. This suspension is taking place earlier than originally expected, the food manufacturer noted.

As a result, Premier Foods said it will benefit from a GBP33 million increase in free cash flow in the financial year ending March 29, 2025.

Chief Financial Officer Duncan Leggett said: "The further significant progress in the funding position of the pension scheme has enabled us to take another important step to expected full resolution of the scheme by the end of 2026. This suspension of pension payments substantially increases the free cash flow available to us and presents us with enhanced capital allocation options to deliver on our growth ambitions."

Amongst London's small-caps, Digital 9 surged 19%.

The investor focused on "critical digital infrastructure assets" said it has received merger control approval in Iceland for the completion of the Verne transaction. On Tuesday, Digital 9 had received approval in Finland.

Back in November, Digital 9 announced the sale of its stake in the Verne Group for up to USD575 million to funds managed by Ardian France SA, a Paris-based investment and asset management firm.

Closing of the Verne transaction is now expected to take place before the end of the first quarter of 2024.

On AIM, Challenger Energy rocketed 67%.

Challenger Energy said that it has entered into a farm-out agreement with Chevron Uruguay Exploration, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chevron. The agreement is related to a 60% interest in the AREA OFF-1 block, offshore Uruguay.

Chevron will pay Challenger USD12.5 million on completion of the transaction. The funds will be used to support the "further development" of the company's business.

CEO Eytan Uliel said: "We are absolutely delighted to announce the farm-out of our AREA OFF-1 block in Uruguay to Chevron, a globally recognised industry leader. We firmly believe that AREA OFF-1 holds enormous potential, and this farm-out is strong validation of the high-quality technical work CEG has done to-date."

In Asia on Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 0.2%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was close down 0.3%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 1.7% in late dealings. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.1%

Brent oil was quoted at USD82.19 a barrel early in London on Wednesday, down from USD82.69 late Tuesday.

Wednesday's economic calendar has a eurozone retail sales reading at 1000 GMT, after a UK construction PMI at 0930 GMT. The Bank of Canada announces its latest interest rate decision at 1445 GMT.

[master rsi] 06/3/2024 09:08

SOLG 7.22p +0.63p / Cascabel Complementary Investment Protection Agreement
SolGold (LSE & TSX: SOLG) is pleased to announce the signing of a joint declaration with the Government of Ecuador in preparation for the execution of the Complementary Investment Protection Agreement ("IPA") for the Cascabel Project ("Project" or "Cascabel") in Ecuador. The signing took place in Toronto at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada ("PDAC") convention, representing a significant advancement in the Company's commitment to the Project and its partnership with the Ecuadorian government.

The signing was conducted by the Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries, Ms. Sonsoles García, and Scott Caldwell, CEO of SolGold, on behalf of SolGold plc and SolGold Finance AG, along with representatives from Exploraciones Novomining S.A. and SolGold-Ecuador S.A., in advance of the definitive Complementary IPA to be signed in Ecuador.

In addition to the US$311 million investment addressed by the current IPA, under the Complementary IPA, there is a commitment to invest a total of US $3.2 billion over the subsequent years in activities related to the Cascabel mining concession. The Complementary IPA embodies the largest mining investment in Ecuadorian history, highlighting the scale and importance of the Project, SolGold's commitment, and the impact on the broader Ecuadorian mining sector.

SolGold's CEO and President of SolGold Ecuador, Scott Caldwell, commented:

"The Complementary Investment Protection Agreement not only reinforces the protections for our key investment in Ecuador but also symbolizes a deepening of our relationship with the Ecuadorian State. President Noboa's attendance and insightful speech at the PDAC convention were warmly welcomed by the mining community and underscores the significant support of his administration for responsible mining in Ecuador."

[master rsi] 06/3/2024 08:53

TLW 27.90 (-0.36 / -1.27%%) / Tullow cites lower oil prices as FY profits, revenue decline
Oil and gas explorer Tullow Oil reported a drop in full-year profit and revenue on Wednesday, citing lower oil prices.

In the year to the end of December 2023, adjusted EBITDAX - which expands EBITDA by excluding exploration costs - fell to $1.15m from $1.47m a year earlier, while revenue declined to $1.63m from $1.78m.

This was driven by a fall of around 12% in the realised post-hedge oil price to $77.5 a barrel from $88.0 a year earlier.

Chief executive Rahul Dhir said: "2023 was a year of significant achievements, including start-up of Jubilee South East that delivered material production growth from our core operated field, a new revenue stream established from the sale of Ghana associated gas; and reserves growth in Gabon through licence extensions.

"We also generated free cash flow ahead of expectations despite a lower year-on-year realised oil price and demonstrated our ability to access long-term capital through the $400m debt facility agreement with Glencore.

"In line with our strategy, we are continuing to focus relentlessly on operational excellence, capital efficiency and investments to drive growth. This strategy is delivering material cashflow generation and we are on track to deliver our target of circa $800m free cash flow over the 2023 to 2025 period and optimise our capital structure.

"Tullow has a strong and unique foundation to create material value for our investors, host nations and stakeholders and we look to the future with confidence."

[master rsi] 06/3/2024 08:27

UPS

EEE 8.75p ( 8.50 v 9p )

Another good update of the drilling yesterday with a large rise on the share price and then profit taking with more this morning, time to have a look at the stock at this price. Gap being filled and more in the chart.
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[master rsi] 06/3/2024 08:14

FTSE

Opening slightly up with 8 points

[master rsi] 05/3/2024 23:41

OXB 190p (22.80 / 13.64%%) / Oxford Biomedica shares rise on post-acquisition guidance
(Sharecast News) - Shares in cell and gene therapy specialist Oxford Biomedica were jumping on Tuesday afternoon, after the company updated the market on its medium-term financial guidance.

The London-listed firm said the update was on the back of the successful completion of its acquisition of ABL Europe from Institut Mérieux, bolstering its position in the sector.

It said that, in line with guidance issued during its interim results, it anticipated full-year 2023 revenue of about £90m.

The company further expected its operating EBITDA loss for the second half of 2023 to show an improvement of around £10m compared to the first half, as previously indicated.

Due to the integration of its newly-acquired French operations via the ABL Europe acquisition, Oxford Biomedica forecast revenue between £126m and £134m for the 2024 financial year, with revenue set to be weighted towards the second half.

The firm also increased its three-year revenue compound annual growth rate (CAGR) expectation for the 2023 to 2026 period to over 35%, exceeding its previous guidance of over 30%.

Oxford Biomedica reiterated its goal of achieving broadly breakeven EBITDA in 2024, excluding the impact of the ABL Europe acquisition.

When factoring in the transaction, the company anticipated a modest operating loss associated with the French operations.

It said it expected the loss to be fully covered by the €10m cash funding received from Institut Mérieux prior to the transaction's completion.

The company maintained previous guidance to achieve operating EBITDA margins surpassing 20% by the end of 2026, and profitability on an EBITDA level in 2025.

Oxford Biomedica reported a cash position of £103.7m as of 31 December, excluding the €10m cash funding for ABL Europe received from Institut Mérieux on completion on 29 January.

Institut Mérieux now held a 6.2% stake in Oxford Biomedica, and would further increase its shareholding with the issue of new shares as agreed during the transaction.

During 2023, Oxford Biomedica continued expanding and diversifying its client base, securing multiple new and expanded agreements for the development and manufacturing of various vector types.

The total contracted value of client orders signed in the 2023 financial year totalled £131m, representing an increase of over 50% compared to the prior year, excluding Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing.

Chief executive officer Dr Frank Mathias expressed confidence in the company's strategy and outlook.

[master rsi] 05/3/2024 22:54

PANR 28.64p (2.88 / 11.18%%) / Pantheon Resources in talks for potential Alaskan gas supply

Pantheon Resources PLC - Oil and gas company focused on developing the Ahpun and Kodiak fields, onshore US - Notes share price movement. Confirms discussions with shareholders for a potential supply of natural gas to consumers in south central Alaska. Says company's planning basis continues to rely upon reinjection of all hydrocarbons that cannot be exported through the Trans-Alaska pipeline system main oil line.

[master rsi] 05/3/2024 22:30

Director dealings:
Tracsis revealed on Tuesday that chief financial officer Andrew Kelly had disposed of 9,165 ordinary shares in the AIM-listed transport technology group.

Kelly, who took over as CFO in 2021, sold the shares on Monday at an average price of 920.0p each, for a total value of £84,318.

Following the sale, Kelly's beneficial interest in the company sits at 10,324 ordinary shares, representing 0.03% of Tracsis' total issued share capital.

Top Director Buys

Hargreaves Services (HSP)

Director name: McDowell,Roger

Amount purchased: 74,757 @ 521.04p

Value: £389,513.88

Europa Oil & Gas (holdings) (EOG)

Director name: Holland,Will

Amount purchased: 540,939 @ 1.07p

Value: £5,788.05

Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (cdi) (GTE)

Director name: Guidry,Gary

Amount purchased: 810 @ $5.31

Value: $3,546.71

Southern Energy Corp. Npv (di) (SOUC)

Director name: Atkinson,Ian Kenneth

Amount purchased: 19,257 @ $0.17

Value: $2,699.51



Top Director Sells

Hargreaves Services (HSP)

Director name: McDowell,Roger

Amount sold: 74,757 @ 521.00p

Value: £389,483.97

Tracsis (TRCS)

Director name: Kelly,Andrew

Amount sold: 9,165 @ 920.00p

Value: £84,318.00

[master rsi] 05/3/2024 22:05

MARKET REPORT
LONDON MARKET CLOSE: Stocks mixed but gold glows on Fed cut hope

(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 ended slightly higher on Tuesday, in an otherwise uninspiring day for equities, as attention turns to Wednesday's UK budget.

The FTSE 100 index ended up 5.83 points, 0.1%, at 7,646.16. The FTSE 250 closed up 21.95 points, 0.1%, at 19,271.03, while the AIM All-Share fell 2.80 points, 0.4%, at 734.89.

The Cboe UK 100 rose 0.1% to 765.76, the Cboe UK 250 ended up 0.2% at 16,627.63, and the Cboe Small Companies closed down 0.1% at 14,481.05.

In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended down 0.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt fell 0.1%.

In New York on Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.6% at the time of the closing bell in Europe, the S&P 500 was 0.8% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slumped 1.6%.

IG analyst Axel Rudolph noted it is commodity and cryptocurrency markets were all the excitement has been so far on Tuesday.

"The mantle of this year's equity rally has been passed to gold and Bitcoin which have both hit record highs on Tuesday. The rally in both the precious metal and cryptocurrency, which kicked off last week when Fed Governor Waller talked of a strategy shift towards reducing central bank's mortgage-backed securities holdings to zero, gathered momentum as investors bought gold and US-listed Bitcoin ETFs. The rally in US stock indices is taking a breather, though," Rudolph said.

Gold was quoted at USD2,125.97 an ounce late Tuesday, higher against USD2,116.16 on Monday, as optimism around US interest rate cut builds. The precious metal had hit a record high of USD2,141.81.

Shares in Fresnillo and Endeavour rose 3.7% and 4.4% in London.

Recent US data has been tepid, and a services purchasing managers' index reading on Tuesday helped soothe some inflation worry.

The Institute for Supply Management's services PMI faded to 52.6 points in February, from 53.4 in January. It had been expected to come in at 53 points, according to FXStreet cited consensus.

The prices paid index cooled to 58.6 points in February from 64.0 in January. That metric was in focus after January's red-hot reading.

"Services sector inflation remains a thorn in the side of the Fed," Scope Markets analyst Joshua Mahony explained ahead of the data.

The pound was quoted at USD1.2721 at the time of the London equities close on Tuesday, higher compared to USD1.2696 at the equities close on Monday. The euro stood at USD1.0866, up against USD1.0858. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY150.12, lower compared to JPY150.51.

In the UK, focus is on Wednesday's budget.

On the back of announcing a cut to the main 12% rate of employee national insurance to 10% during the autumn statement, eyes will be on whether Hunt will unveil some more tax cuts.

Ebury analyst Matthew Ryan commented: "A two-percentage point cut to national insurance contributions has been widely reported and will be heavily expected by market participants. The big question mark surrounds whether or not Chancellor Hunt will pull the trigger on a cut to income tax. The chancellor would likely justify such a move by raising taxes elsewhere, while saying that progress had been made on the government's economic objectives. One could argue, however, that this would be a rather audacious throw of the dice, as it may act to keep inflation higher for longer at a time when the UK economy is firmly stuck in stagnation.

"We think that the government has a difficult balancing act on its hands, as it attempts to bring voters onside, while preventing another collapse in UK bond markets. A modest and responsible fiscal injection could be supportive of UK assets on Wednesday, although the opposite would be true should investors perceive the tax cuts to be both reckless and unfunded."

The budget is expected to be announced around 1230 GMT.

In London, Intertek rose 6.2%.

The London-based consumer product testing and certification agency reported that revenue in 2023 rose 4.3% to GBP3.33 billion from GBP3.19 billion a year earlier. Pretax profit edged up 0.6% to GBP422.3 million from GBP419.8 million.

On the back of the results, Intertek proposed a final dividend of 74.0p per share, up from 71.6p. This brings the full year dividend up 5.6% annually to 111.7p.

Ashtead fell 9.4%. It reported a sharp drop in profit in the third quarter of its financial year, saying rental revenue growth in the key US market was hurt by fewer natural disasters requiring emergency response, and by the strike by actors and writers in Hollywood.

London-based Ashtead provides equipment hire and makes by far the most of its money in the US via its Sunbelt arm.

Ashtead reported pretax profit of USD442.0 million for the three months that ended January 31, down 12% from USD505.1 million a year before. On an adjusted basis, excluding amortisation, pretax profit was USD473.0 million, down 11% from USD534.7 million.

Total revenue was USD2.66 billion, up 9.5% from USD2.43 billion, as rental revenue rose by 9.4% to USD2.36 billion from USD2.19 billion.

In the FTSE 250, Spirent Communications shot up 59%, after it agreed a GBP1.01 billion takeover by Viavi Solutions.

The Crawley, England-based automated test and assurance solutions provider said the all-cash offer was for 175 pence per share, comprising 172.5p cash and a 2.5p special dividend. It values Spirent's entire equity at GBP1.01 billion.

Viavi Solutions is a Chandler, Arizona-based manufacturer of testing and monitoring equipment for networks. It is traded on Nasdaq in New York and has a market value of USD2.17 billion.

Brent oil was quoted at USD82.69 a barrel late in London on Tuesday, down from USD83.37 late Monday.

Wednesday's economic calendar has a eurozone retail sales reading at 1000 GMT, after a UK construction PMI at 0930 GMT. The Bank of Canada announces its latest interest rate decision at 1445 GMT.

[master rsi] 05/3/2024 21:54

DOW

Finishing 404 points lower ....

US stocks closed sharply lower on Tuesday as shares in tech giant Apple weighed on the Street.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.04% at 38,585.19,
while the S&P 500 lost 1.02% to 5,078.65
and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.65% weaker at 15,939.59.

The Dow closed 404.64 points lower on Tuesday, extending losses recorded in the previous session.

[master rsi] 05/3/2024 16:36

How the UPS are performing during last month