- Blue chips close 8 points down at 7,934
- Retail sales enjoy Easter bump
- Gold hits another all-time high
16.45pm: Blue chips ends day in red
The FTSE 100 closed the day 8 points lower at 7,934.
16.04pm: FTSE 100 slips lower ahead of close
The FTSE 100 has slipped slightly as it heads towards the close, however UK stocks still appear to be muted ahead of last quarter's GDP figure on Friday.
London's blue-chip index is positioned to close around 14 points lower at around 7,928.
Throughout much of the day, mining companies have been pushing the index a tad higher after gold soared to another all-time high.
Fresnillo led the charge jumping by 4.5%, while Rio Tinto and Anglo American jumped around 1.5%.
However, much of the late slip was driven by falls in aerospace/defence stocks BAE Sytems and Rolls Royce, which dropped 5% and 4.5% respectively. Manufacturer Melrose also dropped around 3.5%.
Other fallers included Standard Chartered and Beazley, down 3%, and Rightmove, down 2.5%.
15.46pm: AstraZeneca boss is "massively underpaid," says top shareholder
AstraZeneca boss Pascal Soriot has been "massively underpaid" despite commanding a £18.7 million pay package over the last financial year, one of the company's top shareholders believes.
Ahead of a vote on the pay of management at the pharma giant at its AGM on Thursday, Rajiv Jain, the chief investment officer at GQG Partners, believes Soriot should be given a proposed £1.8 million pay rise.
It comes as both shareholder advisors Glass Lewis and ISS recommended voting against the proposed pay for its management.
Jain said: "There is a compensation issue at AstraZeneca. The CEO is massively underpaid . . . given AstraZeneca’s impressive turnaround since he joined more than a decade ago.”
Soriot took home around £17 million last year, which brought his total earnings during his tenure to around £120 million.
The High Pay Centre, the UK think tank, says such high earnings aren't justifiable.
15.20pm: Slug & Lettuce owner at risk of looming debt pile
Slug & Lettuce owner Stonegate has warned about its ability to continue as it attempts to refinance its debt pile of more than £2 billion.
Stonegate, the brand's owner and the UK's largest pub operator, said in a new account that it was facing "material uncertainty" over its ability to continue as a going concern.
Much of the issues come from the group having difficulty refinancing its £2.2 billion debt pile before 2025.
"Whilst there is a plan in place for refinancing this debt, as at the date of signing the financial statements there is a risk that it exists over the completion of this exercise,” it said in its annual report.
Stonegate operates around 4,000 sites across the UK and owns brands Be at One and Popworld bar chains.
14.34pm: Wall Street opens to marginal lift
US stocks have opened a tick higher as most continue calmly from Monday's muted session ahead of inflation data tomorrow.
The Dow Jones lifted 93 points to 38,986, while the S&P 500 rose 19 points to 5,221.
The Nasdaq ticked 66 points higher to 16,320.
Despite the lack of market movement, a few stocks have risen at the open.
Amercian Eagle Outfitters, the fashion retailer popped 5.5% after it was upgraded by JPMorgan from neutral to overweight.
Similarly, the mining group Freeport-McMoRan jumped close to 3% after receiving a broker upgrade to buy from Bank of America.
Goldman Sachs also dished out an upgrade. The US bank rerated beer maker Molson Coors to a buy, causing shares to jump a little over 1%.
14.14pm: FTSE 100 remains muted after lunch
The FTSE 100 has remained muted throughout much of the day and has come out of lunch around 6 points higher at 7,949.
Much of the gains today have stemmed from some of the index's mining groups as gold prices surge ahead of all-time highs and China prospects improve.
Fresnillo, the Mexican precious metals miner, has led the top risers throughout much of today, up more than 4% and up 23% in the last month.
Ocado was another riser, jumping 2.5% and offsetting some of its recent losses following news that retail sales lifted higher in March.
Other risers include St James's Place and Weir, both up 2.5%.
Moving the other way were aerospace companies Rolls-Royce and BAE systems, which both slipped around 4%.
It comes a day after US rival General Electric Aerospace began operations as an independent public company, with the conglomorate having successfully spun off GE Vernova.
13.50pm: Thames Water woes see rivals suffer
Thames Water's woes appear to be hurting the wider water industry in the UK after the risk premiums on two companies' bonds were increased.
South Water Services bonds jumped 13 points since March 19, while Northumbrian Water Finance saw its recently issued bonds lift four basis points in the past weeks since pricing on March 22.
It means both companies are now considered underperformers against rivals and indicates that the already shaky foundations of the UK's water industry are being put under stress by Thames Waters' plight.
Earlier today, it was revealed that Australian bank and former part owner Macquarie is a major lender to Thames Water’s parent company Kemble.
According to a Times report, Macquarie provided around £130 million in loans to Kemble between 2018 and 2020, representing up to 9% of the company’s total debt pile.
13.28pm: Wall Street holding steady as small business sentiment plunges
Wall Street is attempting to lift slightly at the open, with the US markets appearing to have started the week stuck in first gear ahead of inflation data tomorrow.
The Dow Jones is up around 78 points ahead of the open at 39,281.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is set to begin trading around 16 points higher at 5,267, with the Nasdaq positioned to open 74 points higher at 18,364.
It comes after data revealed optimism in the US's small business segment has slumped to its lowest level in 11 years due to weakened demand and inflationary concerns.
Sentiment fell for the seventh time in eight months by 0.9 points to 88.5, marking the lowest level since 2012, the National Federation of Independent Business revealed.
Bill Dunkelberg, the group’s chief economist, said: “Owners continue to manage numerous economic headwinds. Inflation has once again been reported as the top business problem on Main Street and the labor market has only eased slightly.”
13.11pm: M&S invests in sustainable cow diets
Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LSE:MKS) will invest £1 million to change the diet of its milk-producing cows to reduce the methane they generate when they pass wind.
The change is just one of several new measures to try and reduce its climate impact and improve sustainability.
Through the investment, the supermarket will work with the 40 dairy farmers in its 'milk pool' in an initiative aimed at removing 11,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere annually, cutting the retailer's fresh milk carbon footprint by 8.4%.
Methane from cattle burps and manure is estimated to be responsible for about 11-14% of human-induced climate emissions.
Another measure unveiled as part of the chain's Plan A sustainability plan is the launch of a £1 million accelerator fund.
12.51pm: Next and Frasers in running for Ted Baker deal
Next and Frasers Group are believed to be in the race to drag fashion brand Ted Baker from insolvency.
Both high-street acquisition kings are said to have spoken with administrator Teneo about a deal for the whole of the group's European retail arm.
Ted Baker employed around 975 workers and operated out of 46 shops in Europe and the UK when it slipped into administration.
Yesterday, Teneo said it would be closing 15 Ted Baker stores in the UK, resulting in the loss of 245 jobs.
Reports today say that both Lord Wolfson's Next and Mike Ashely Frasers Group would try and save some of the shops if a deal were to go through.
Bidder will have less than six weeks before the dealine to table an offer.
12.29pm: US stocks to open muted ahead of Wednesday's inflation reading
US stocks are expected to lift marginally higher on Tuesday as Wall Street appears to be on hold ahead of inflation data on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones is positioned to open around 16 points higher at 39,220, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are up 7 points and 38 points respectively.
Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown that the muted trading from the market is the result of a " holding-pattern scenario ahead of tomorrow’s US inflation data".
She said: "With relatively limited corporate news to change the tide, investors are more concerned with macro events this week. Expectations for how much the Federal Reserve will cut rates this year have fallen to their lowest level since October, following unprecedented labour market figures last week.
"Interest rate-sensitive treasury yields have edged higher as a result, and the overall mood across US and European markets is very much a cautious wait-and-see approach today."
12.07pm: Pound slips against Euro
The pound is nearing a two-week low compared to the Euro as UK markets wait to find out whether the economy has pulled itself from a recession.
Sterling is trading against the Euro at around 85.76p, compared to last week's high of 85.87p per Euro. It lifted around 0.1% to US$1.2668 against the dollar.
Markets will await Friday's UK GDP figures for a better outline of how the economy is faring.
Other hotly anticipated macro events include US inflation tomorrow and the European Central Banks interest rate decision.
11.46am: Former Shell boss makes case for US listing
Former Shell boss Ben van Beurden has given his verdict on the debate on whether the oil giant should move its listing from London to the US.
Van Beurden said he believes rivals listed in the US benefit from higher multiples, wider access to cash and a more welcoming investor community.
He believes the discrepancy in valuations between Europe and North America is a "major issue" and argued Shell is "massively undervalued".
The former oil chief also believes US investors have "more positive" attitudes regarding the industry.
Shell hit an all-time high earlier today, with the group's valuation lifting to £182.4 billion.
It comes a day after Shell boss Wael Sawan said: "If we work through the sprint (turnaround plan) and we are doing what we are doing, and we still don’t see that the (valuation) gap is closing, we have to look at all options.”
11.25am: The Sun owner sees losses shrink as legal fees lighten
The Sun owner News Group Newspapers shrunk its losses down to £66.5 million in the year to July 2023 from £127 million the year prior.
However, online readership took a hit, slipping from 27.8 million in 2022 to 23.8 million last year.
News Group Newspapers, which is part of Ruper Murdoch's News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA), is also still dealing with the fallout of the former paper News of the World and its phone hacking scandal.
One-off legal fees came in at just over £50 million in the 2023 financial year, down from £128 million in 2022.
Meanwhile, News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA)'s other business Times Media, which publishes the Times and the Sunday Times, posted a pre-tax profit of £60.9 million, with turnover jumping year-on-year from £373 million to £385 million.
10.59am: HSBC Argentina exit met with mixed thoughts from analysts
HSBC shares are holding flat after it announced the sensible yet "somewhat dissapointing" sale of its Argentinian business.
The lender announced it had sold its subsidiary and the largest private financial firm in Argentina Grupo Financiero Galicia for around £435 million.
“Argentina has been a problematic market for HSBC in recent years given hyperinflation in the region and a sharp currency devaluation, which has resulted in significant earnings volatility for the business,” said Gary Greenwood at Shore Capital Markets.
However, analysts at KBW, a subsidiary of Stifel, are slightly more disappointed.
KBW said: "It does feel somewhat disappointing that, as a global business, HSBC is unwilling to look through idiosyncratic volatilities.
“In addition, while in the long term the disposal should help to reduce noise around the numbers, in the short term it is likely to generate even more.”
10.37am: Mike Ashley's Sports Direct takes Newcastle Utd to court
SportsDirect.com, the retailer owned by Mike Ashley's Frasers Group, headed to court today to launch its claim against Newcastle United over the exclusivity of its kits.
The claim relates to an exclusive kit deal between Newcastle Utd, which was previously owned by Ashley, and JD Sports.
Ashley's company is seeking £1.5 million in damages after claiming the football club is abusing its dominant position in the market by refusing to stock next season's kit.
The Competition and Appeals Tribunal are expected to hear the case today, but a date for the verdict is yet to be set.
10.14am: Tesla settles lawsuit over fatal autopilot crash
Tesla will pay an undisclosed amount to settle with a family of an Apple engineer who was killed while using the EV's autopilot technology.
Walter Huang's family settled with the car manufacturer in a lawsuit launched after the 38-year-old died when his Tesla veered off a highway in San Francisco back in 2018.
While Tesla has been able to avoid a public court hearing which would have raised wider questions over the EVs safety, other lawsuits and investigations looking into its Autopilot and self driving technology loom.
Musk has switched Tesla's focus towards developing its "Full Self Driving" systems in recent times as rivals, especially those based in China, continue to eat away its market share.
9.51am: Paco Rabanne owner plans largest beauty stock IPO in years
Charlotte Tilbury and Paco Rabanne owner Puig is setting up for one of the beauty industry's biggest stock market listings in years.
Puig, which is based in Barcelona and is family-owned, is set to list €2.5 billion worth of shares on the Spanish stock exchange on Monday.
Banks have valued the company at between €8 billion and €10 billion, with the group looking to raise €1.25 billion through a primary listing before a secondary sale to lift the cash generated to €2.5 billion.
It is set to be Spain's largest IPO since airport operator AENA debuted back in 2015.
Marc Puig, the group's chair and chief exec as well as the third generation Puig to take the helm, said: "“We believe that the balance of being a family-owned company that is also subject to market accountability will allow us to better compete in the international beauty market during the next phase of the company’s development,”
9.27am: Gold prices hit new all-time high
Gold prices have found themselves at another all-time high, having built on Monday's record peaks.
An ounce of gold is now worth US$2,353.84, improving on yesterday's ATH of US$2,350, having risen around 14% in 2024 alone.
Spot #gold passes $2350...another new high. It may be something! ???? pic.twitter.com/2lQbfeoo2P
— Mathan Soma (@Mathan_Soma) April 9, 2024
However, analysts aren't expecting a downturn anytime soon, with strategists at UBS claiming the price could surge to US$2,500.
"We expect gold ETF holdings to increase once the Federal Reserve starts cutting rates around mid-year, as these buyers tend to move more in sync with interest rate adjustments. This event could trigger another step-up in demand via ETFs," the Swiss bank said.
9.06am: Imperial Brands hikes prices to boost profits
Imperial Brands PLC (LSE:IMB), the tobacco company, is trading flat after it said it is on track to deliver a ramp-up in both interim and full-year profits after it hiked its prices.
First-half operating profit is expected to grow by a low single-digit before the group moves into the second half which is predicted to be more heavily weighted.
Management says it is confident in meeting full-year guidance, which targets improvements to net revenues and aims to deliver a step-up in adjusted operating profit growth.
Combustible tobacco operations, which covers its cigarette brands like Golden Virginia and JPS, is said to have experienced declines in sales in the UK and Germany, albeit offset by jumps in Spain, the US and Australia.
Imperial says second-half performance will be “underpinned by embedded tobacco pricing already taken in the first half”.
8.55am: The morning so far
Tuesday got off on the right foot with the BRC Retail Sales Monitor showing exceptional March consumption trends as early Easter sales helped to drive sales up 3.6% year on year.
This smashed the 1.8% forecast, though Rob Wood, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomic, warned that “we expect the BRC measure of retail sales growth to drop back in April as the boost to year-over-year growth from the early Easter turns into a drag”.
There’s nothing further on the UK macroeconomic calendar, with attention shifting to this morning’s company news.
HSBC said it is exiting the Argentina market through a US$550 million (£435 million) sale of its subsidiary to Grupo Financiero Galicia. Galicia is the largest private financial group in Latin America’s second-largest country.
HSBS boss Noel Quinn said the Argentina market “generates substantial earnings volatility for the group when its results are translated into US dollars. Galicia is better placed to invest in and grow the business”. Shares were relatively unbudged, adding 0.2% to 645.8p.
On the small-cap market, Gresham Technologies plc (LSE:GHT) will add to London's raft of stock market delistings after accepting a 163p per share bid from STG Partners.
It marks a 27% premium to last night’s closing price; shares duly rallied by a quarter.
BP said it anticipates higher production results in the first quarter, though also warned of adverse financial impacts due to declines in natural gas marker prices, the devaluation of the Egyptian pound and price lags in BP’s production areas.
The oil major’s shares were up nearly 2% in opening exchanges.
Natural resources stocks were up across the board, with Fresnillo PLC (LSE:FRES) adding 3.8%, Rio Tinto plc 2.2%, Anglo American PLC (LSE:AAL) 1.9% and Antofagasta plc 1.5%.
This is likely due to a surge in precious metals prices after gold hit an all-time high on Monday.
The FTSE 100 reversed early losses to post a six-point gain to 7,949 at the time of writing.
8.28am: BP anticipates higher production but warns on gas prices
BP plc anticipates higher upstream production in the first quarter compared to the previous quarter, per a trading update released on Tuesday.
The oil production and operations segment is expected to be particularly strong, with a slight rise in the gas and low carbon energy segment.
However, BP warned of adverse financial impacts in both segments due to declines in natural gas marker prices, the devaluation of the Egyptian pound and price lags in BP’s production areas.
A combined financial impact of between US$500 million and US$1 billion is predicted for both segments.
The customers and products segment is predicted to benefit from improved refining margins, expected to contribute an additional US$100-200 million.
However, this is offset by a significant reduction in turnaround activity compared to the previous quarter, and impacts from a power outage at the Whiting refinery.
Oil trading results are anticipated to be strong, recovering from weaker performance in the last quarter of 2023, although fuel margins are expected to be weaker.
BP shares added 1.3 in early exchanges In response to the mixed trading update.
The FTSE 100 was last seen six points lower at 7,939.
7.59am: HSBC exits volatile Argentina market
HSBC is exiting the Argentina market through a US$550 million (£435 million) sale of its subsidiary to Grupo Financiero Galicia.
Galicia is the largest private financial group in Latin America’s second-largest country.
HSBS boss Noel Quinn said: This transaction is another important step in the execution of our strategy and enables us to focus our resources on higher value opportunities across our international network.
“HSBC Argentina is largely a domestically focused business, with limited connectivity to the rest of our international network.
“Furthermore, given its size, it also generates substantial earnings volatility for the group when its results are translated into US dollars. Galicia is better placed to invest in and grow the business.”
7.45am: Aviva completes AIG acquisition
Aviva plc has formally completed the £453 million acquisition of AIG Life Limited from Corebridge Financial.
The deal was first announced in September, with Aviva touting “significant capital and expense synergies”.
“It strengthens our prospects in the highly attractive UK protection market and continues our progress in repositioning the group towards capital-light growth,” chief executive Amanda Blanc said at the time.
Blanc was appointed to Aviva’s top position on a mandate to turn the FTSE 100 insurance giant’s fortunes around; acquisitions have played a star role in Blanc’s strategy, including last month’s acquisition of Probitas, which saw Aviva enter the Lloyd’s market.
Aviva itself has been a rumoured takeover target, with the likes of Allianz of Germany, Intact Financial (TSX:IFC) of Canada and the Scandinavian group Tryg reportedly eyeing up a bid.
Aviva’s shares are currently 18% higher year to date.
7.18am: retail sales surge in March
Retail sales in the UK spiked 3.2% year-on-year in March, marking the strongest month since last August and smashing the 1.8% forecast.
Early Easter sales helped to drive up food sales ahead of the long weekend, with analysts also suggesting a rebound in spending points to an easing in cost-of-living pressures.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive at the BRC, said: “After a difficult start to the year, retailers are hopeful that with warmer weather around the corner, consumer confidence will spring back up.
“A strong retail industry can boost investment across our towns and cities, and as we gear up for a general election, it is essential the next government recognises this and rethinks the burdensome costs imposed on retailers."
7.08am: Stocks to open sideways
The blue-chip index is expected to hold onto yesterday’s 32 points of gains, with futures contracts suggesting a flat opening at 7,944.
While the FTSE 100 slipped lower in early Monday trading, the index was able to regain momentum, helped by a surge in mining stocks and strong performances from the likes of Ladbrokes owner Entain, easyJet and Scottish Mortgage.
Some bullish news emerged from the macroeconomic calendar this morning, with the BRC Retail Sales Monitor showing a 3.2% year-on-year spike in March, trouncing the 1.8% forecast.
On the company news front, CMC Markets PLC (LSE:CMCX), Imperial Brands PLC (LSE:IMB) and BP plc will shortly provide some trading updates.