- FTSE 100 ends flat, wipes out earlier record high
- Pound falls 0.2% against the US dollar to $1.227
- Sterling rises 0.09% against the euro to 1.1666 euros
FTSE 100 stocks ends flat on Thursday after falling back from a fresh record high as shares in outsourcing group Capita (LON:CPI) slumped 9%.
The blue-chip ticker ended at 7382, having earlier scaled a record high of 7,394.61. A weaker Wall Street compounded the softer tone to the London market.
Capita lost 9.1% to 513.5p, leading the blue-chip losers, after the company revealed that annual pre-tax profits had fallen 33% to £74.8mln and said its chief executive, Andy Parker, would step down later this year.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 ended down 0.2% at 18,950 with building materials merchant Travis Perkins (LON:TPK) among the top fallers. Its shares fell 6.1% to 1469p after the firm said full-year profits had fallen by two-thirds.
Profits last year sank to £73mln from £224mln in 2015 after the company wrote down the value of its plumbing, heating and tile businesses by £235mln.
But shares in aerospace and defence firm Cobham rose 13.4%, one of the top gainers, despite it announcing plans for a £500mln rights issue.
The news came as the company reported pre-tax losses of £847.9mln, compared with £39.8mln the year before, after a series of hefty asset writedowns.
But the top riser, quite appropriately perhaps, was volcanic-sounding Vesuvius (LON:VSVS) up 18% to 550p after the metals engineer reported a rise in revenue as it benefited from weak sterling while the molten metal flow engineer embarked on a restructuring programme to cut costs in 2016.
Read: Vesuvius shares rocket as full-year profits rise despite troublesome steel market
Among small-caps, the FTSE AIM 100 Index ended up 0.4% at 4407 and the FTSE AIM All-Share Index added 0.3% to 913.
London gainers amounted to 29% of the bourse while losers were out front on 36%.
1515 GMT - FTSE 100 breaks even as engineers lead the way
FTSE 100 up 1 points to 7,384
Engineers on the up
Contrasting days for BT and ITV
ConvaTec biggest riser on the FTSE 100
It’s done it! The FTSE 100 has broken back into the black after sitting below yesterday’s close of 7,383 for most of the day.
The blue chip index is still only up 1 point, or 0.01%, to 7,384 so there’s still a little while for it to turn around but, for the moment, it looks like it might end on a high.
Alongisde Cobham PLC (LON:COB) – as we mentioned further below – two other metal bashers posted some strong gains on Thursday to drag the FTSE higher.
Melrose Industries PLC (LON:MRO) reached a record high of 248p, a 14% increase, after the engineering turnaround specialist hinted it could be ready to buy again.
Revenues last year were strong too, boosted by improving margins at Nortek, the US firm it acquired last year.
Vesuvius Plc (LON:VSVS) jumped 18% today to 549p as revenue and profits rose in spite of a challenging steel market.
The steel industry services provider, formerly known as Cookson, was also helped out by the weaker pound as a result of last June’s Brexit vote.
There were mixed fortunes for two UK broadcasters this afternoon.
BT Group PLC (LON:BT.A) was another of those helping to buoy the blue chip index and it gained a little more than 2% this afternoon to sit at 335p.
It marks a steady rise over the past couple of weeks for the telecoms giant following the collapse of its share price in January when it revealed the extent of corruption in its Italian business.
Today’s rise is likely a continuance of that recovery, but it also might have something to do with several reports which claim BT is at the front of the queue to renew its £800mln+, three-year Champions League football deal with UEFA.
The broadcaster moving the other way was ITV PLC (LON:ITV), which slipped more than 3% after French broker Kepler Cheuvreux downgraded the stock.
Kepler said there are “more negatives than positives” at the company, adding that yesterday’s share price rise was “surprising”.
1.15pm...Footsie unexciting
After yesterday’s record-breaking run, today was always likely to underwhelm.
There’s not much to write home about with regards to the FTSE 100, which was down 6 points to 7,376 shortly after 1pm.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell probably summed it up the best: “Absolutely nothing happened this Thursday, investors seemingly spent after yesterday’s record-breaking surge.”
As mentioned earlier, colostomy bad maker ConvaTec Group PLC (LON:CTEC) continued its good form for the second day in a row and was up 6% to 257p after a decent set of full-year results.
One of the biggest risers over the course of the morning and into the early afternoon though was Cobham plc (LON:COB), which wass up 10% to 134p.
That might come as a surprise given that the manufacturer actually opened lower this morning after posting what can only be described as a shocking set of results.
Cobham cited a series of “commercial failures” as the reason why pre-tax profits slumped to £175mln, while orders, revenues, operating profits, earnings per share (you get the picture…) were all lower as well.
In fact, the only thing that went up was the net debt to EBITDA ratio, which increased to 3x EBITDA [underlying earnings].
So why the surge in the share price? Analysts reckon it is likely because chief executive David Lockwood has promised to tackle legacy issues within the group.
A £500mln rights issue which was announced alongside the results should also help to bring down Cobham’s mounting debt pile, too.
At the other end of the scale, things still weren’t getting any better for Capita Group PLC (LON:CPI), which was struggling away at the bottom of the blue chip fallers.
The outsourcer was down almost 9% to 515p after it announced the departure of its boss following a fairly disappointing set of prelims.
In the small caps, Jubilee Platinum PLC (LON:JLP) rocketed 45% higher to 6.8p after the Tjate platinum project, in which it has a major stake, was awarded a mining permit.
The execution of the mining right is a significant milestone in the development of the project, located in the Limpopo province of South Africa, and adds extra credibility to Jubilee's mine-to-metals strategy.
The timing of the decision by the Department of Mineral Resources is particularly good, Jubilee said, as commodity markets continue to bounce back.
Plutus PowerGen PLC (LON:PPG) also saw a 40% move in its share price, although unfortunately for the energy firm it was a downward move.
Shares collapsed to 1.45p following proposals from Ofgem yesterday about flexible power generation tariffs.
Plutus hammered the regulator's changes, claiming they could cause “significant harm to the UK's industrial sector, and are deeply flawed, narrowly focused and potentially very damaging.”
Elsewhere, if you’re a fan of real money you can actually touch, you’ll be disappointed with the latest news from Barclaycard.
Average payment on card is now £43, compared with £50 in 2011 (industry data) – also suggesting use of contactless in place of cash
— Kevin Peachey (@PeacheyK) March 2, 2017
The days of sticking a pony in your pocket (as a certain Del Boy used to say) seem to be slowly drifting away...
Mike Ashley has also been in the news a bit today, with rumours circulating that Sports Direct (LON:SPD) is lining up a deal for struggling lingerie firm Agent Provocateur.
The British underwear retailer is said to be on the brink of administration with Ashley & Co supposedly launching a £27.5mln bid for it last weekend.
Should the sale go through, analysts reckon Sports Direct will use it as a platform to develop its own womenswear brand, rather than continuing with the business as it is.
10am...FTSE 100 eases as Capita sinks
FTSE 100 eased lower on a chilly Thursday morning despite getting off to another hot start.
The blue chip index was close to breaking the 7,400 barrier shortly after the opening bell, but it has since given up those gains and was down 5 points to 7,378 just after 10am.
There were a few big names dragging the FTSE 100 index lower, with soon to be-demoted Capita Group PLC (LON:CPI) leading the way following a disappointing set of results; down 8% to 522p.
A day after indexes compliler FTSE Russell announced that the outsourcer would be moved down to the FTSE 250, the company posted a (not completely unexpected) 33% drop in full-year profits to £74.8mln.
Capita said its current boss, Andy Parker, will also step down later this year once a replacement can be found.
Alton Towers owner Merlin Entertainments PLC’s (LON:MERL) prelims also underwhelmed, pushing the stock down 4% to trade at 478p.
Investors clearly didn’t buy into the mantra that recovery from the crash at Alton Towers in 2015 is “well underway”.
At a constant currency level, underlying earnings fell by 3.6% to £433mln, while operating profits also slipped more than 6% to £302mln.
Trying to prop up the blue chip index was ConvaTec Group PLC (LON:CTEC) which also had full-year results out today, although investors were decidedly more approving in their reaction.
The share price was up more than 5% to 256p after adjusted revenues and operating profits, even with some currency headwinds, posted year-on-year gains of 6.5% and 7.1% respectively.
Outside of the markets, if you’re planning on claiming for mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI), you’ve got until 29 August 2019 to do so after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) set the final deadline.
Millions have already been compensated in the wake of one of the banking industry’s biggest ever scandals, with banks setting aside than £40bn to cover the payouts.
9am...FTSE 100 nudges higher but traders remain tentative
The FTSE 100 continued to push into record territory early on – but only just as the index of blue-chip shares added just over 7 points to settle at 7,390.04.
There was a caginess not seen on the other side of the Pond not seen in the US, where the Dow Jones smashed through 21,000 overnight.
The medical products group ConvaTec (LON:CTEC) was up almost 6% to lead the Footsie after the company’s prelims wowed the market.
A positive broker note from the German outfit Berenberg was behind the rise of Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) as it advanced 1.3%.
Investors wanted to get off the ride at Merlin Entertainments (LON:MERL) after a fall of 3% prompted by a disappointing set of full-year figures from the Madame Tussauds and London Eye owner.
There was a minor relief rally by shares in the aero-engineer Cobham (LON:COB), which unveiled plans for a £500mln rights issue. The shares nudged up 3%.
It is hoped the cash will finally put the business back on a far sounder financial footing after what has been a horror 18 months for the company.
Proactive news headlines
88 Energy Ltd (LON:88E ASX:88E) plans to raise £10.6mln ahead of upcoming Icewine-2 shale drilling programme in Alaska, trading in Australia suspended.
Savannah Resources Plc (LON:SAV) confirms it has raised an additional £1mln, as expected, as major shareholder maintains its 29.9% stake following its recent share placing.
Sound Energy PLC (LON:SOU) is making rapid progress with its third well on the on the Tendrara licence in Morocco.
TE-8 has now reached the second casing point in the Triassic Basalt at 2,076 metres just 10 days after drilling began. The third casing point sits at a measured depth of 2,640 metres.
Plexus Holdings PLC (LON:POS) has received an order for its breakthrough technology from Nexen, which is owned by Chinese giant CNOOC.
Infrastructure and support services firm Stobart Group Limited (LON:STOB) opened higher after telling investors that underlying full-year results are expected to be in line with management expectations, while the company also maintained its quarterly dividend of 3p.
Last-mile broadband provider Satellite Solutions Worldwide Group PLC (LONSAT) is set to continue its recent shopping spree after it agreed a new five-year, £5mln revolving credit facility with HSBC.
Cell-based medicines developer MaxCyte Inc (LON:MXCT) has hailed the potential of its CARMA immuno-oncology platform after recent pre-clinical testing showed it had a significant effect on tumour growth.
Sunrise Resources Plc (LON:SRES) is to broaden testwork at its pozzolan project in Nevada to include possible perlite production.
Perlite is used as an insulator in paint, plaster, concrete fillers and in soil aeration with its main characteristic that it expands hugely when heated. Shares rose 10% to 0.127p.
Mineral sands producer Base Resources Ltd (LON:BSE) expects to boost reserves at Kwale in Kenya after drilling indicated mineral zone extensions to the north and south.
Strategic Minerals PLC (LON:SML) is ready to go with its first drilling programme at its tin and tungsten project at Redmoor in Cornwall, though shares were little changed at 0.9p.
6.45am...tentative start expected
London’s FTSE 100 is set to follow Wall Street’s latest breaking run with a calm start to Thursday’s trading.
The FTSE 100 broke its own records on Wednesday, so perhaps a pause of breath is to be expected.
Wall Street equities rallied on Wednesday as markets were boosted by President Donald Trump’s measured tone in a speech and expectations of tax reliefs and as investors inferred that talk of an earlier than anticipated interest rate rise pointed to strong growth in the economy.
The Dow Jones gained over 300 points, adding 1.46% to close at 21,115 – marking another new record high - whilst the S&P 500 gained 1.37% to finish the trading session at 2,395. The Nasdaq climbed 1.35%, closing at 5,904.
“With senior Fed officials talking up the prospect of a US rate rise just prior to Mr Trump’s speech, markets rode a wave of optimism that an improving global economic outlook, combined with increased spending will boost inflation, which in turn will boost returns for construction and manufacturing companies, while higher rates will boost financials,” said Michael Hewson, analyst at CMC Markets.
“The timing of recent interventions by a number of Fed officials was also curious in their determination to boost market expectations of a move this month to such an extent that it will be extremely difficult to row back from.”
In Asia, equities were mostly higher overnight.
Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.8% to change hands at 19,564, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.44% to 23,880.
The Shanghai Composite, meanwhile, was the only notable benchmark to be negative, down 0.34% at 3,236.
Australia’s ASX 200 advanced strongly, up 1.26% to 5,776.
London’s FTSE 100 is seen steady ahead of Thursday’s open, with IG Markets calling the blue-chip benchmark basically unchanged at 7,379 to 7,383 just over an hour before the open.
Thursday’s anticipated announcements
Finals: Spire Healthcare Group (LON:SPI), Schroders PLC (LON:SDR), RPS Group PLC (LON:RPS), Sportech plc (LON:SPO), Spirent Communications PLC (LON:SPT), Vesuvius (LON:VSVS), Travis Perkins PLC (LON:TPK), Total Produce PLC (LON:TOT), Melrose PLC (LON:MRO), Molins PLC (LON:MLIN), ConvaTec Group PLC (LON:CTEC), Capita Group PLC (LON:CPI), Cobham PLC (LON:COB), Dairy Farm International Holdings (LON:DFI), Gocompare.com Group Plc (LON:GOCO), Merlin Entertainments PLC (LON:MERL), Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd (LON:JAR), Hunting Plc (LON:HTG), Arrow Global Group (LON:ARW)
City headlines
- 'Long shadow' of financial crisis hits incomes - BBC News
- Snap's sought-after shares set for market debut after $3.4 billion IPO – Reuters
- Boots, Walkers crisps and Greggs cost-cutting puts 1400 UK jobs at risk - The Guardian
- British Airways flight grounded after MOUSE spotted onboard the plane - Mirror.co.uk
- Stagecoach and Arriva among three firms in running for East Midlands rail - Leicester Mercury