FTSE 100 Falls After Losses on Wall Street -2-

0815 GMT - A report that U.K. opposition leader Keir Starmer will say he wants to improve U.K.-EU relations in a speech at Davos Thursday could have positive long-term implications for sterling, ING says. Starmer told the Financial Times that the post-Brexit deal is damaging the U.K. economy and his Labour Party would address this through closer trade with the EU. "The Labour Party is leading by a rather large margin in the latest opinion polls ahead of next year's general elections and evidence of a softer stance on Brexit should benefit the pound in the long run," ING analyst Francesco Pesole says in a note. GBP/USD falls 0.2% to 1.2330 and EUR/GBP rises 0.3% to 0.8770. ([e-mail])

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Boohoo's Further Guidance Downgrade Is Slightly in Line With Expectations

0825 GMT - Boohoo issued a further fiscal 2023 guidance downgrade, but it was roughly in line with consensus forecast, Shore Capital analysts Eleonora Dani and Clive Black say in a note. The London-listed online fashion retailer's revenue for the four months ended Dec. 31 is down 11%, compared with a market expectation of a 10% drop, leading to a fiscal 2023 decline of 10% in line with the consensus forecast, they say. However, Boohoo's inventory fell 27%, while gross margin came in as expected at 49.7%, they add. "We have noticed a recent significant increase in advertising, which might be a sign of the company seeing opportunities for the year ahead," the analysts add. ([e-mail])

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UK Index-Linked Bond Auction Should Go Well Due to Supply, Inflation Data

0836 GMT - Thursday's auction of GBP1.1 billion in the 0.125% August 2031 index-linked gilt should go "relatively well," RBC analysts say in a note. Demand should be supported given the cheapening of the bond and the lack of supply of index-linked gilts with a maturity of less than 20 years for at least another 11 weeks. Wednesday's data revealing U.K. inflation remained high provides another supportive dynamic for the auction, the analysts say. ([e-mail])

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Deliveroo May See Consensus Upgrades for 2023 on 4Q Performance

0856 GMT - Deliveroo's top-line 4Q performance and gross transaction value were in line with consensus estimates as the food-delivery company booked weaker order growth but better average transactional value growth, Citi analyst Catherine T. O'Neill says in a note. The company upgraded its 2022 adjusted Ebitda guidance, implying a loss of around GBP70 million compared with consensus estimates for a GBP96 million loss, says the analyst, adding that consensus estimates for 2023 are an Ebitda loss of GBP15 million. "Given the group has reached breakeven in 2H and exited a couple of unprofitable markets during 4Q, consensus is likely to upgrade to factor in profitability in FY 2023 estimates, as market exits alone could reduce the adjusted Ebitda drag by at least around GBP20 million on an annualized basis," O'Neill says. ([e-mail])

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires;

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-19-23 0424ET