London Stocks Seen Opening Little Changed

London Stocks Seen Opening Little Changed

0651 GMT - The FTSE 100 is expected to open unchanged, according to IG, having closed on Thursday at 7646.05. The S&P500 and Nasdaq both fell on Thursday as shares in Tesla and Netflix plunged. Sentiment could be lifted by news that U.K. retail sales rose more than expected in June, up 0.7% on month versus consensus for a 0.2% increase in a WSJ poll, though offsetting that was a drop in the GfK consumer confidence measure. Glencore will be among individual companies in focus after a trading update where it backed its full-year guidance as first-half copper production slipped but met expectations. ([e-mail])

COMPANIES NEWS:

FirstGroup FY 2024 Performance in Line So Far; To Launch Buyback Program of Up to GBP115 Mln

FirstGroup said Friday that its fiscal 2024 performance in the year-to-date has been in line with expectations.

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DP Poland 1H Sales Up 18% on Higher Order Count

DP Poland said Friday that first-half like-for-like sales rose 18% on year, supported by an 11% rise in order count, and that it expects its performance to continue improving as it remains optimistic about its outlook.

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THG Confirms Sale of Loss-Making Units for GBP4 Mln

THG said on Friday that it has sold THG OnDemand and ProBikeKit for a total consideration of around 4 million pounds ($5.1 million) following a conclusion of its strategic review of loss-making areas within the THG OnDemand division.

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Liontrust Asset Management Says Takeover Offer for GAM Holding Won't Be Increased

Liontrust Asset Management on Friday said its offer to buy Zurich-listed investment manager GAM Holding is final and won't be increased.

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BowLeven Says It is Unaware of Reasons for Share-Price Surge; Fundraise Planning Continues

BowLeven said Friday that it wasn't aware of any particular reason for the sudden increase in the price of its shares, and that planning for an additional equity raise continued.

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Petershill Partners' 2Q Aggregate Assets Under Management Rose

Petershill Partners on Friday said its aggregate assets under management rose over the second quarter of 2023 and kept its full-year guidance for raising organic gross fee-eligible AUM.

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Premier African Minerals Loans GBP1.7Mln From CEO

Premier African Minerals said Friday that it has entered into a loan facility agreement of up to 1.7 million pounds ($2.2 million) with Chief Executive George Roach.

MARKET TALK:

UK Retail Sales Show Resilience, But Impact of Rates on Spending Still to Come

0646 GMT - The 0.7% increase in U.K. retail sales in June suggests the recent resilience in economic activity in the country hasn't faded quite yet, Ashley Webb, economist at Capital Economics, says in a note. Even the GfK measure of consumer confidence, which, despite falling in July, actually suggests the annual rate of retail sales growth is improving from a decline of 1.0% in June to around 0%, he says, judging that the consumer-confidence data was even weaker toward the end of last year. But still, with the full drag of interest rates still to be felt, it is too soon to conclude that the rebound in retail sales will be sustained and, indeed, that the economy will avoid a recession, Webb adds. ([e-mail])

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UK Retail Sales Set for Further Growth

0638 GMT - U.K. retail sales should recover further in the second half of the year, despite some cautiousness among consumers, economist Gabriella Dickens at Pantheon Macroeconomics says in a note. Sales rose more than expected in June, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics, which pointed to warm weather and the start of the summer discounting season. Volume growth should continue into 2H, though households might hold back a little, Dickens says, noting that the GfK consumer-confidence survey fell back this month. "June's rise was due to one-offs, but we are cautiously optimistic for 2H," she says. ([e-mail]; @joshualeokirby)

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More European Chemical Profit Warnings Could Be in the Cards

0542 GMT - European chemical companies including BASF, Wacker Chemie and Evonik Industries have recently issued profit warnings, but several of their peers could still be at risk of downgrades, Jefferies analysts say in a research note. "The majority of our European chemicals coverage still require an above-average 2H earnings contribution to achieve consensus and guidance estimates," Jefferies says. Yara, OCI, Covestro and Croda International seem the most dependent on a recovery in the second half, relative to historical trends, to achieve consensus estimates, Jefferies says. Meanwhile, K+S, Solvay and BASF are those with the least second-half recovery required, according to Jefferies. ([e-mail])

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires;

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-21-23 0310ET