- Blue-chips down 11 points at 7,919.
- Ocado slides on boss bonus dispute.
- Gas Prices up on attacks in Ukraine.
16:50pm: FTSE 100 closes lower
London's blue-chip index has closed 13.35 points lower at 7,917.57.
4.03pm: FTSE 100 stuck in red late on
The FTSE 100 looked to claw back early losses come late trading on Monday, but remained 11 points down in the red at 7,919.
A resurgence saw shares in Kingfisher swing back from earlier losses to top the FTSE 100’s risers come the afternoon, with gains of 2.8%.
B&Q owner Kingfisher had reported a 25% slump in pre-tax profit to £568 million and issued cautious guidance in the morning, though Barclays later doubled down on its share price target, citing “welcome” plans to boost profitability in the retailer’s French business.
Burberry Group PLC (LSE:BRBY) and St James’s Place PLC also enjoyed solid gains, rising 2.5% and 1.8% to sit below Kingfisher as the index’s main risers.
Falling though were Spirax-Sarco Engineering (LSE:SPX) PLC, Rightmove PLC (LSE:RMV) and Ocado Group PLC (LSE:OCDO), with each marking losses of 3.7%, 3.2% and 2.9% respectively.
The latter had faced a blow after a weekend recommendation from proxy advisor Institutional Shareholder Services to vote against its newly proposed leadership bonuses.
3.50pm: Interest rate expectations in spotlight ahead of Fed’s Good Friday
The foreshortened holiday week looks to be a slow one for corporate news. However, a Good Friday holiday announcement could provide some direction on the future direction of interest rates, says Jay Woods, Chief Global Strategist at Freedom Capital Markets.
He highlights the upcoming release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure.
"The market won’t be able to react to this number until April," Woods points out in his weekly newsletter. "A PCE number in line with expectations will help bolster Jerome Powell’s talk that we are 'close' to a rate cut"... Read more
3.43pm: EV adoption in Europe may miss net zero targets - Citi
Citigroup analysts have warned that sluggish uptake of electric vehicles in Europe may hinder efforts to meet 2030 targets.
As per the bank, EV’s are likely to make up just 18% of vehicles on the road in 2025, stretching to 40% in 2030.
“This means we think the industry will struggle to meet the 2030 CO2 emissions regulations,” Citi warned in a note.
Analysts had previously guided for battery EVs to make up 22% and 50% of the market by 2025 and 2030 respectively.
Legislation proposed in January had looked to set targets of a 55% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by cars, alongside 50% for vans, by 2030, prior to an ultimate phase-out of emissions from new vehicles by 2035.
That said, Citi noted a lowering of interest rates by the European Central Bank in the coming months could prompt a recovery in the market.
For the likes of Volkswagen, this would provide further good news given Citi cited the stock as already undervalued.
“With most global assets trading at all-time highs once again, and with rate expectations falling in a resilient if not growing economic backdrop, it feels like some investors have been rotating away from very expensive global narratives back towards some value,” the bank said.
“As ever, Europe, Germany in Europe, and autos in Germany are the fourth derivative value trade.”
3.04pm: Ryanair welcomes Boeing boss departure
Ryanair Holdings PLC (LSE:RYA) boss Michael O’Leary has welcomed a sweeping list of departures at Boeing Co (NYSE:BA, ETR:BCO), including of boss Dave Calhoun.
These come after Boeing has faced scrutiny over safety concerns following an incident in which a door panel fell off one of its Alaska Air-operated 737 Max 9s in early January.
They also come as the industry piles pressure on Boeing and rival Airbus Group (EPA:AIR) to address supply-chain issues with have caused lengthy delays to aircraft shipments since the pandemic.
“We welcome these much-needed management changes in Seattle,” O’Leary said.
“We look forward to working with Stephanie Pope to accelerate Boeing 737 aircraft deliveries to customers, including Ryanair in Europe, for summer and autumn 2024.”
Pope will head up Boeing’s commercial unit, with chief executive Calhoun set to step down by the end of the year.
“We also look forward to continuing to work with Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun and CFO Brian West, and to helping Boeing recover its aircraft deliveries so that Ryanair can continue to grow strongly as Boeing’s number one customer here in Europe,” O’Leary added.
O’Leary had previously warned that airline tickets could be hiked this summer as a result of the delays at both Boeing and Airbus.
2.38pm: US markets open lower
The Dow Jones shed 92 points to sit lower at 39,383 as the markets opened on Monday, weighed down by losses at the likes of Intel, Apple and Microsoft.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq slipped 7 and 13 points respectively in the meantime, to sit at 5,226 and 16,415.
Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC, ETR:INL) was among technology firms to face a hit on Monday morning, with shares in the firm falling 2% in early trading following news China would limit the use of US-made chips in government computers.
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL, ETR:APC) and Microsoft Corp faced hefty losses too, falling 1.3% and 1% respectively after the European Union said a major investigation would be carried out into their compliance with new laws.
Elsewhere, United Airlines dipped 5.4% as trading got underway on warnings of heightened Federal Aviation Administration scrutiny following a string of incidents.
Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) was among the day’s risers meanwhile, with gains of 6.4%, following a rally last week after the firm’s AI boom-driven earnings beat.
Boeing Co (NYSE:BA, ETR:BCO) also gained early on Monday, climbing 1.5% on news its chief executive Dave Calhoun was to leave the manufacturer as pressure continues to swirl around its safety issues.
2.10pm: Kingfisher bounces back, tops FTSE 100 risers
B&Q owner Kingfisher PLC (LSE:KGF) fought off initial losses of 2% to climb to a 2.3% gain for the day as investors digested news of a slump in annual profits and a skewed outlook.
Kingfisher had reported a 25% reduction in adjusted pre-tax profit to £568 million for the year on Monday morning.
This sent shares downward in initial trading, with caution on trading in the upcoming year also providing pressure as the firm pointed to a “lag between housing demand and home improvement demand”.
Barclays analysts noted the adjusted pre-tax profit figure was slightly ahead of consensus expectations, however.
Though the bank acknowledged difficulties ahead, analysts said Kingfisher’s plans to improve profitability in its French business were “welcome” and retained a share price target of 300p - up 28.4% on Friday’s close.
Shares climbed 2.3% to 238.99p on Monday meanwhile.
1.55pm: Lowest earners see disposable income grow in February - report
Low-income households reportedly saw their disposable income grow in February for the first time since August 2021.
Disposable income for the lowest earners climbed 4.9% over the month, as wage growth continued but inflation slowed substantially, as per the Centre for Economics and Business Research.
“The income tracker has been improving for almost a year now, with households continuing to recover from the depths of the cost-of-living crisis,” economist Sam Miley commented.
That said, discretionary income - related to bills and essentials - for such households remained in negative territory in February, the research said, but grew for the eleventh consecutive month.
“A particularly sharp uptick is expected to take place from April, when inflation will ease significantly off the back of lower household energy bills,” Miley added.
“This will help to support spending power and consumer activity.”
1.42pm: Closing times come earlier for Britain's boozers
A poll of British Bar and Pub Association (BBPA) members shows that 32% of publicans have reduced their trading hours to save on overheads.
Quoted by The Mirror, BBPA boss Emma McClarkin said: “The decision to reduce hours is not one pubs want to make – it is a survival strategy in an unsustainably tough environment."
Pubs are closing as early as 8pm in some cases, while others are choosing to not open on Monday and Tuesday altogether.
McClarkin called on the government to “act to support pubs to alleviate these pressures and ensure the local remains at the heart of our communities”.
In his Spring Budget, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that the beer duty will be frozen until February 2025, but the BBPA said it was “disappointing” that the Chancellor ignored calls to cut duty, reduce VAT or cap the increase to the business rates multiplier.
According to BBPA data, 530 pubs closed in 2023, and the association – which is supported by owners of over 20,000 pubs – warned another 500 to 600 are likely to close in 2024.
12.53pm: Government cuts stake in NatWest to below 30%
The taxpayer now owns less than 30% of NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG) for the first time since the lender was rescued during the global financial crisis.
Some 101,159,756 shares were sold by the Treasury on Monday, taking the government’s stake from 30.98% to 29.82%.
This had sat at 37.98% late last year, with the move meaning the Treasury is no longer technically a controlling shareholder.
“We welcome the government’s continued commitment to returning NatWest Group to private ownership,” a spokesperson from the bank said.
“With the government shareholding now below 30%, we have been pleased with the recent momentum to achieving this shared ambition, which we believe is in the best interests of the bank and our shareholders.”
Plans have been drawn up for the government’s NatWest stake to be sold off in a retail offering later this year, with the expected by summer “at the earliest”.
12.15pm: Nasdaq, US markets to slip at open
US markets are expected to start the week lower on Monday’s opening bell, following a rally prompted by the Fed’s decision to hold interest rates last Wednesday.
Futures had the Nasdaq starting the day 106 points lower at 18,468, while the Dow Jones and S&P 500 were due to sit 94 points and 18 points lower at 39,774 and 5,275 respectively.
Weighing down indexes were technology giants Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL, ETR:APC), Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META, ETR:FB2A, SWX:FB) and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), which all slipped in pre-market trading on news of a major investigation into their compliance with new European Union laws.
These include Meta’s use of paid subscription services on the likes of Instagram and Facebook for those who do not want to see adverts on the social medias.
Apple and Alphabet-owned Google will be probed on how they restrict apps from promoting cheaper alternatives outside of their own stores, meanwhile.
Apple fell 0.7% ahead of the market’s opening on the news, while Meta was down 0.75% and Alphabet slipped 0.34%.
As per XTB’s Kathleen Brooks, news that China would limit the use of US-made chips in government computers is also set to weigh on markets early in the week.
Indeed, Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD, ETR:AMD) was down 3.3% ahead of Monday’s opening bell, while Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC, ETR:INL) was off 4.1%.
“This is a theme that is likely to grow as we move towards the US elections at the end of this year,” she said.
11.54am: Ocado shareholders told remuneration policy is of ‘high concern’
More on Ocado, and it was a weekend report from Institutional Shareholder Services which sent shares in the grocery delivery firm lower on Monday.
Plans to offer the likes of chief executive Tim Steiner a £14.8 million bonus are of “high concern”, according to the proxy advisor.
Such concerns have been “exacerbated by the shareholder experience, with no dividend and a general decline in the company’s share price over the past few years”, it said.
Shareholders will vote on Ocado’s new bonus policy and performance share plan at next month’s annual meeting, with the grocer due to update on its first-quarter performance later this week.
11.42am: FTSE 100 falls back
The FTSE 100 reversed on some of its strong gains seen last last week come mid-morning on Monday, falling 32 points to 7,898.
Among the index’s biggest fallers was Ocado Group PLC (LSE:OCDO), which dipped 3.3% to 452.9p on reports the grocery delivery firm faced a shareholder revolt over chief executive Tim Steiner’s proposed £14.8 million bonus.
As per The Times, proxy advisor Institutional Shareholder Services recommended shareholders vote against Ocado’s new remuneration plan, arguing offers were “materially above market norms” and “not in line with UK market standards”.
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (LSE:SPX) PLC also faced hefty losses, falling 3.4% to 10,235p after last week’s strong performance.
Pershing Square Holdings (LSE:PSH) Ltd was among the day's risers meanwhile, climbing 1% after unveiling a net asset value return of 26.7% for the year.
10.57am: Gas prices jump on Ukraine attack
Gas prices jumped on Monday morning on supply concerns following Russian attacks on underground storage sites in Ukraine.
UK natural gas climbed 5% to 73.75p per British thermal unit come mid-morning after the attacks on a facility in western Ukraine on Sunday.
“With both countries attacking energy infrastructure, the supply of gas and fuel is once again being called into question,” Saxo Bank’s Ole Hansen commented.
“For gas, not least the latest attempt by Russia to hit an underground storage site in Ukraine has raised the temperature today.”
10.01am: London’s Black Sheep Coffee eyes US IPO
The City of London could be set for yet another blow as Camden-founded Black Sheep Coffee reportedly eyes up a US stock market listing.
As per hospitality newsletter Propel, the coffee shop chain is currently raising £15 million in order to ramp up its expansion plans.
Such plans include exploring an initial public offering across the Atlantic, the newsletter said.
London has faced repeated blows in recent months as firms, including chipmaker Arm and building materials giant CRH, have relocated listings to the States in search of higher valuations.
9.36am: UK nuclear industry ‘running to catch up’ - minister
Andrew Bowie has admitted the UK is playing catch up in terms of both nuclear energy and defensive capabilities as the government readies to unveil public funding for the sector on Monday.
“I make no bones about it, we should have done this years ago. We are running to catch up,” nuclear minister Bowie told LBC Radio.
“But we have just this year delivered our civil nuclear road map, we have announced our intention to build a third gigawatt project, we are investing £350 million in new nuclear power to ease Vladimir Putin out of the nuclear fuels market, we are actually committed to delivering small modular reactors through our competition which will conclude this year.
“But of course, this should have been done years ago, which is why we are having to take the action in the way that we are right now.”
Prime minister Rishi Sunak is poised to commit £200 million to the sector over the next decade on Monday, to complement investment from BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, EDF and Babcock, which they say will create thousands of jobs.
9.21am: Direct Line slumps after Ageas walks
Shares in Direct Line Insurance Group PLC (LSE:DLG) lost over 12% on Monday morning, after potential suitor Ageas said on Friday night it was no longer exploring a takeover.
Belgium’s Ageas ruled out making any further offers in a statement on Friday night, after explaining that two bids had been rejected by Direct Line.
“Ageas regrets that it has not been able to work collaboratively together with the board of directors of Direct Line towards a recommended firm offer,” it said.
“Ageas was not able to identify additional elements based on publicly available information that would justify significant adjustments to the terms of its possible offer.”
Direct Line shares fell 12.5% to 182.91p on Monday as a result.
8.52am: The morning so far
Kingfisher’s shares slid 2% in opening exchanges after the B&Q owner posted a rapid decline in full-year revenues and profits and tempered its outlook for the year ahead.
Kingfisher said to expect repairs, maintenance and renovation on existing homes to provide resilience, but remains “cautious on overall market outlook given lag between housing demand and home improvement demand”.
Shares could have slipped more, but as Richard Hunter at interactive investor stated: “Some of the sting was taken out of these numbers after two previous profit downgrades, but the results are nonetheless light of many reasons to be cheerful.”
Elsewhere in company news, Elliott Investment Management’s intentions on Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust PLC (LSE:SMT) became clearer over the weekend.
The activist investor recently built a 5% stake in the FTSE 100 firm. According to a Sunday Times report, it now wants more clarity on the valuation of Scottish Mortgage’s private investments, including SpaceX.
SMT shares fell 0.9% in opening trades.
There is little action on the macroeconomic front today, save for some new home sale data from the US this afternoon.
At the time of writing the FTSE 100 was essentially flat at 7,932 after hitting a 12-month high on Friday.
8.40am: Bitcoin off after Sunday surge
Bitcoin surged against the US dollar on Sunday, but has failed to sustain any momentum this morning, dipping around 0.3%.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency has come off from all-time highs of nearly $74,000 in the middle of March to trade below $67,000 at the time of writing.
A bout of profit taking and some notable outflows from bitcoin ETFs are two of the main culprits.
Despite the near-term losses, year-to-date performance is still strong, with the BTC/USD pair remaining more than 58% in the green.
8.10am: Activist wants clarity on Scottish Mortgage’s private investments
Elliott Investment Management’s intentions on Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust became clearer over the weekend after the activist investor recently built a 5% stake in the FTSE 100 firm.
According to a Sunday Times report citing a “source familiar with the matter”, Elliott wants Scottish mortgage to ramp up share buyback to close the stock’s discount, while exiting some private investments including SpaceX
Sources said Elliott is concerned about the lack of transparency in Scottish Mortgage’s private investments, which have increased in proportion to listed stocks, which may be contributing to the lagging share price.
Alongside SpaceX, Scottish Mortgage’s unlisted investments include TikTok parent ByteDance, US fintech firm Stripe and Swedish EV battery developer and manufacturer Northvolt.
Nabeel Bhanji, a partner at Elliott, said: “We are grateful for the dialogue we have had with the board and management of Scottish Mortgage in recent months. We strongly support the company’s recently announced £1 billion buyback — the largest buyback programme ever announced by a UK closed-end fund — and look forward to continuing our engagement.”
Scottish Mortgage stocks were unbudged on the news this morning, opening flat at 875p.
The FTSE 100 opened a few points higher at 7,935.
7.51am: Wise snaps up Delivery Hero (ETR:DHER, OTCQX:DLVHF)’s chief finance officer
Fintech disruptor Wise PLC (LSE:WISE) has appointed Delivery Hero (ETR:DHER, OTCQX:DLVHF)’s Emmanuel Thomassin as its chief financial officer.
Thomassin will join the Wise in October, replacing Matthew Briers in the role.
He currently serves as Delivery Hero (ETR:DHER, OTCQX:DLVHF)’s CFO, having held the role for a decade since shortly after the firm was founded in 2011.
“Emmanuel has a proven track record of scaling companies in rapidly evolving industries - from startups to public companies,” said Wise chairman David Wells.
“I look forward to working with him as Wise continues on its path to reshape global financial services for the 21st century.”
The move comes as Wise seeks to expand its global footprint.
7.30am: B&Q’s Kingfisher earnings slashed by a quarter
Kingfisher PLC (LSE:KGF), the parent company of home improvement retailers B&Q and Screwfix, faced a challenging trading environment in the last financial year, with revenues and earnings hit by stagnant retail spending.
Year-over-year, total sales decreased by 1.8% with like-for-like (LFL) sales down by 3.1%.
Statutory pre-tax profit fell by 22.3% to £475 million (or down by 25% to £568 million on an adjusted basis), though the group was able to keep its yearly dividend stable at 12.4% with a £300 million share buyback programme also announced.
For the year ahead, adjusted pre-tax profit is expected to be between £490 million and £550 million, with free cash flow projected in the range of £350 million to £410 million.
“Despite all the macroeconomic and consumer challenges in our markets over the past year, we have stayed focused on our customers and our long-term strategy," said chief executive Thierry Garnier.
7.15am: Stocks to open lower
FTSE 100 futures are pointing to losses when markets open this Monday after rallying to a 12-month high on Friday. The index is expected to open 18 points lower at 7,918.
Blue chips surged nearly 3% higher last week after inflation data came in softer than expected and the Bank of England announced a rather dovish hold on interest rates.
There’s little to move the dial on the macroeconomic calendar this morning, while B&Q owner Kingfisher PLC (LSE:KGF)’s final results will be the focus on the company news front.
Over the weekend, it emerged that activist investor Elliott Advisors is calling on Scottish Mortgage to get its portfolio into shape by selling off parts of its portfolio- including risky private investments such as SpaceX.