FTSE 100 index up 50
ITV tops the leader board
Relief for Beazley backers as hurricane-related losses might not be as bad as feared
Close: 50 point gain for the Footsie
The FTSE 100 ended the week on a high note, helped by sterling giving back some of its recent gains.
The blue-chip index rose 50 points to close at 7,373.
Terrestrial broadcaster ITV plc (LON:ITV) was the best performer, rising 3.6% to 174.7p on the back of an upgrade by Barclays Capital.
BarCap has moved to “overweight” from “equal weight” and bumped up the price target to 200p from 190p.
Peel Hunt possibly chose the wrong day to cut its price target for insurance underwriter Beazley PLC (LON:BEZ), as the shares rose 4.3% to 479.5p after it lowered guidance for 2017 by less than expected, to take into account the effects of recent natural disasters in America.
3.30pm: FTSE 100 holds gains
With an hour or so to go of trading, FTSE 100 is holding gains to stand almost 57 points ahead at 7,379.
The pound is still weaker against the Euro and the US dollar, down 0.47% against the latter, which is proving a boon to the Footsie, largely comprised of exporting firms.
Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, said: "The pound got a pounding this Friday, investors focusing on the morning’s batch of bad UK data over the disappointments from the Eurozone and US.
"Thanks to a weaker than forecast annualised Q2 GDP reading, a widening current account deficit and another jump in net lending to individuals (the rise in consumer credit is one of the BoE’s key concerns at the moment) sterling fell around 0.7% against both the euro and the dollar."
In stocks, Aviva plc (LON:AV) gained 1.08% to 515p after it agreed to sell its Italian joint venture to Banco BPM for 265 million euros in cash.
Elsewhere, insurer Beazley plc shares (LON: BEZG) shot up almost 4% to 477.40p after it reckoned losses from recent hurricanes and earthquakes would reduce its 2017 earnings by about $150 million, which was less than analysts had earlier expected.
3.15pm: US consumer confidence declined more than expected
Consumer confidence in the US deteriorated more than expected in September, after hitting a seven-month high in August.
The index of consumer sentiment fell to 95.1 from 96.8 in August, below the initial estimate of 95.3 but above the reading of 91.2 in September last year.
The index measures consumers' attitudes on economic prospects, in areas such as personal finances, government policies and interest rates, and is likely to have been hit by concerns over the recent hurricanes in the US.
US consumer sentiment in September shows only modest impact from hurricanes, and is holding strong and steady. pic.twitter.com/cYNeCTnl0S
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) 29 September 2017
3pm: US stocks start mixed
US stocks, as seen in futures trade, were mixed at the open in New York, with the Dow Jones dropping almost 25 at 22,356.
The tech heavy Nasdaq, meanwhile is up 7.60 a 6,461, while the S&P 500 is ahead by around half a point.
Wall Street shares on Thursday finished at a new record.
In London, FTSE 100 is increasing its gains, ahead by almost 54 at 7,367.
2.20pm: FTSE 100 little changed
FTSE 100 was little changed at the mid-afternoon point, still up - over 48 points- at 7,371.
Chris Beauchamp, market analyst at IG Index, had this to say on the technicals: "FTSE 100’s consolidation over the past four sessions seems to be resolving to the upside, with bulls solidifying their hold above 7300.
"The targets to watch on the upside are the 7400 and then 7450, while the rising trend from the lows of September would suggest dips towards 7280 will continue to be bought."
1pm.. FTSE 100 up 45
FTSE 100 is determined to stay ahead today and as City folk nip out for a bite the UK premier index is up 45 points at 7,367.
The FTSE 250 is also ahead, up 133 at 19, 812. It comes as stocks across the pond are expected to start mixed after reaching new records yesterday.
Dow Futures are down 19 and S$P 500 is trading 1.7 lower.
New research from IHS Markit shows thats short selling interest in FTSE 350 (the combination of both indexes) shares has reached the highest level in over two years.
"The pound’s recent recovery and talk of a possible rate rise from the Bank of England, which was unthinkable 12 months ago, would indicate that some normalcy is returning to the UK market.
"Yet as Theresa May was busy laying out her vision of Brexit last week, short sellers were busy adding to their bearish bets across UK equities," it said.
Still atop Footsie was broadcaster ITV (LON:ITV), up over 4% to 175.80p where it has been all day, while the biggest loser was Hargreaves Lansdowne (LON:HL.), which lost 2% to stand at 1,467p.
Carillion shares shed over 16% to 53,74p as it said its full year resuits woud be below forecasts.
11.45am..Brexit, miracles and Jean Claude
It seems it's not just journos that look to the news pages to see what's going on with Brexit.
Top EU figures also resort to scanning news to look for clues, reports the Express today.
Reportedly, they have raised concerns over a lack of a "unified" message coming out of Downing Street during meetings in Brussels with the Lib Dem MP Tom Brake,
Also today, EU commission president Jean Claude Juncker has said that "miracles" are needed for Brexit talks to progress onto trade negotiations next month.
11.am...FTSE100 getting a boost from sterling
FTSE 100 is up 39 points to 7,367 as the blue chip index benefitted from the weaker pound.
Footsie is at its highest level for two weeks as sterling lost 0.73% against the Euro and 0.57% against the US dollar.
Th FTSE 250 index is also surging - adding 111 to 19,789 as traders appear to be brushing any significant Brexit fears to one side.
Media group ITV (LON:ITV) is top dog on Footsie, adding 3.56% to 174.70p as Barclays upgraded the stock to 'overweight' from 'equal weight', and hiked up the target.
Troubled construction firm Carillion plc (LON:CLLN), shed over 10% to 57.34p as it said its full-year results would be below current expectations.
The firm reported a first-half loss of £1.15bn and took a hefty impairment charge of £134mln on its UK and Canadian construction businesses.
In smaller caps, Strategic Minerals Plc (LON:SML) was a big gainer, adding over 11% to 2.20p as it said it was using cash flow to develop its asset portfolio.
READ – Strategic Minerals enjoying profitability and looking to grow core assets
ITM Power plc (LON:ITM) was a big gainer , surging over 20% to 51p as it revealed it was looking to raise e a total of around £29.4mln via a firm placing and open offer to provide working capital to support delivery of its contract backlog and opportunity pipeline.
On the losing front, Arian Silver Corp (LON: ACQ) lost 39% as it posted the latest six month results.
10.45am: More rate talk from Carney
Around 10.45am, the FTSE 100 index was up about 45 points at 7,367
Bank of England governor Mark Carney has told the BBC that interest rates will rise in the "relatively near term".
The next opportunity for a change in interest rates is the Bank's monetary policy committee meeting on 2 November.
He described the personal lending market as "frothy" as new figures from the central bank show the total amount of outstanding consumer credit reached £203bn in August.
And Mark Carney's double generosity to May and government is his unambiguous statement that Brexit is undermining UK's growth potential
— Robert Peston (@Peston) 29 September 2017
10.00am: Builders boosted by broker note
The UK's big builders got a boost from heavyweight JP Morgan after an upbeat note on the sector, which it says still looks undervalued.
Barratt Developments plc (LON:BDEV) is up 1.32% to 615p in eraly deals, Taylor Wimpey (LON:TW.) gained 1.15% to 194.10p.
Bovis Homes plc (LON:BVS) , up 1.5% to 1,086p and Persimmon added 1.90% to 2,577p. The rise comes despite news of falling prices in London.
Shares in the group are up 30% so far this year, notes the broker.
"We still think the sector is cheap, on 8.7x 2018E P/E and yielding c.6%, particularly given that we still see upside risk to estimates, driven primarily by a combination of conservative guidance and better land buying conditions of recent years being reflected in earnings," it added.
9.40am: New figures show UK economy barely growing
New figures show UK gross domestic product (GDP) grew by just 1.5% annually in the second quarter - the slowest pace of yearly growth since 2013.
"There was a notable slowdown in growth in the first half of 2017. The often buoyant service sector was the only area to grow in the second quarter, mainly due to increases in computer programming and retail," said Darren Morgan from the Office of National Statistics (ONS).
The figures showed that household spending growth continued to slow but business investment grew more strongly than previously estimated.
Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at ThinkMarkets, said: " The number which investors should pay more attention is the saving rate in the Uk which has surged to 5.4%, clearly showing that consumers are not willing to spend on any big-ticket items."
FTSE 100 is up around 31 at 7,353
9.00am: FTSE 100 makes listless start
The FTSE 100 appeared to be resisting the upward pull of the US and Asian share markets as it could only muster a 7 point gain in the first hour of trading to stand at 7,320.21.
The builders appeared largely unaffected by the news that London house prices had fallen for the first time in eight years.
In fact Barrett Developments (LON:BDEV), with a portfolio of not so heavily weighted to the capital as some of its rivals, was up actually up 1.1% early on.
The morning’s big riser was ITV (LON:ITV), which advanced 2.1% on the back of Barclays Capital upgrade.
Another day, means another earnings alert from the market’s problem child Carillion (LON:CLLN), which endured the ignominy earlier this month of being booted out of the FTSE 250.
READ - Carillion warns on full-year results, as it posts a massive first half loss after booking further contract provisions
It said Friday its full-year profits would be lower than current market guidance. Cue the share price fall. It was down just over 12% early on, and has has collapsed 76% in the year to date after a series of mishaps and misadventures.
Proactive news headlines:
ITM Power plc (LON:ITM) is looking to raise a total of around £29.4mln via a firm placing and open offer to provide working capital to support delivery of its contract backlog and opportunity pipeline.
Obtala Ltd (LON:OBT) expects to have arranged and be utilising a US$25mln trade finance facility by the fourth quarter. The money will send revenues soaring at its forestry business, Woodbois, said the Africa-focused business.
Oracle Power PLC (LON: ORCP) is looking for other opportunities in the power sector now that it has agreed the outline terms for development of its Thar thermal power station in Pakistan. “As signalled by its change of name [from Oracle Coal] , the company is looking at diversification opportunities in the power sector,” said Anthony Scutt, chairman.
Indian renewable power group Mytrah Energy PLC (LON:MYT) trebled revenues in its latest half year as more wind farms came on stream and its first solar plant was switched on. Mytrah’s generation capacity rose to 1075 Mw over the six months to June and has since risen to 1180 Mw. The sites are spread over 30 locations and eight states. By this time next year, capacity will have risen to 1,743Mw with 563Mw of new capacity currently under construction.
OPG Power Ventures PLC (LON:OPG) posted record annual revenues but rising coal prices hit profits and have also affected the current year. The India-based electricity generator runs two thermal power stations and had already flagged that a spike in coal prices since the Spring was causing problems.
Advanced Oncotherapy PLC (LON:AVO) remains on track to build a next-generation proton therapy system capable of treating superficial tumours by the end of the third-quarter next year, according to chief executive Nicolas Serandour. "As our technological progress advances we find ourselves in a much stronger position as we assess financing options and we have been encouraged by positive feedback,” he told investors as the company unveiled its interim results.
Interims from WideCells Group PLC (LON:WDC) reveal the company has made tremendous progress - with two of its three divisions now revenue generating. The third, The WideCells Academy, its education and training arm, will commence operations early next year.
Motif Bio Plc (LON:MTFB, NASDAQ: MTFB) chief executive Graham Lumsden said the company had delivered on time or in some cases ahead of schedule on key milestones that will allow it to submit a new drug application by the end of the first-quarter next year.
Audio-visual interaction specialist Mirada Plc (LON:MIRA) has told investors its pipeline is currently the strongest it has ever been after reporting a return to revenue growth last year.
Life sciences investor Amphion Innovations Plc (LON:AMP) saw its net asset value (NAV) per share jump by a third in the first half, reflecting the recovery in the Motif Bio Plc (LON:MTFB) share price.
Porta Communications PLC (LON:PTCM) has told investors it is well placed for the next stage of its development after a solid first half of the year. The company – which is behind City PR firms such as Newgate and Redleaf – saw revenues grow 9% to £19.44mln (H1 2016: £17.80mln) in the six months to 30 June.
Bezant Resources plc (LON:BZT) is working on accessing the deeper levels of its Choco platinum and gold project in Colombia where it expects to find “higher grades”. The miner pumped in more than £1mln into the project during the first half to get the project up and running, with first production and sales achieved over the past month or so.
Strategic Minerals Plc (LON:SML) is looking to increase its core projects further and increase its market cap to £100mln in the near future, it said, reporting a successful first half. Cash flow from the Cobre tailings operation is expected to accelerate in the second half after substantial contract was won in June.
Savannah Resources (LON:SAV) has had a busy first half with more set to come as it moves into production. Copper mining at Oman via an underground mine at Mahab 4 and open-cut development at Maqail South is earmarked to begin in the first half of 2018.
Active Energy Group PLC (LON:AEG), now focused on forestry management and biomass fuel products, is confident on its growth opportunities. Political events in Turkey disrupted sales in the six months to end June and only two partial loads of woodchip were shipped, compounded by the fact the firm is scaling down all its woodchip activity in Ukraine. But a milestone moment was reached last month when a deal was struck with California-based renewable energy group Lumino Capital to build eight plants across Asia, targeted to start in the first half next year.
Cadence Minerals Plc (LON:KDNC) said each of its investments made good progress in the first half. Earlier this month, it sold almost half of its stake in AIM-quoted lithium explorer Bacanora Minerals Ltd (LON:BCN) for £6.23mln, and it says it plans to invest some of that profit to identify further new early stage exploration assets.
Sirius Minerals PLC (LON:SXX) told investors that mine development activity levels continue to increase every month. The North Yorkshire mine remains on time and on budget, the company said in a quarterly update.
Amur Minerals Corp (LON:AMC) has told investors it expects to be very busy throughout the remainder of 2017. The company, in its half yearly results, said it is aiming to complete and extend the drilling programme at the Kun Manie project and that work is expected to have a material impact on the economic potential of the mine.
Mosman Oil And Gas Limited (LON:MSMN) has raised £600,000 in a share placing to support the company as it advances its production growth and acquisition strategy. The placing is being arranged by SP Angel and it sees Mosman issuing 50 mln new shares at 1.2p per share.
US Oil & Gas PLC (LON:USOP) has told investors it has brought in US$748,988 of new capital as a result of an equity placing. The Nevada focused oil junior is issuing some 1.9mln shares priced at 30p per share.
Galantas Gold Corporation (LON:GAL) (TSXV:GAL) agreed that the company's shares would be suspended from trading on AIM from 7.30am today pending announcement of the results of the Judicial Review into planning consent for underground development at its wholly owned Omagh Gold Mine, Northern Ireland which is listed for later today.
6.45am: Bright start predicted
FTSE 100 is expected to start higher on Friday after a record close on Wall Street and a mixed session in Asia
The UK blue chip index closed Thursday at 7,322, up over nine points, and is today seen by spreadbetters at IG Index opening around seven points higher.
It was a low volume day on Wall Street. Nevertheless, the Dow Jones put on 40 points at 22,381, while the broader based S&P 500 also added over three, to finish at 2,510, as the market assesses President Trump's pro-business tax reforms.
In China, the Shanghai Composite Index rose eight points but the Nikkei in Japan fell around four as retail sales figures mixed expectations.
Michael Hewson, at CMC Markets, notes it's been a fairly positive month for European and US stocks
"The general data improvement we’ve seen over the last few weeks and months has helped bolster both the euro and the pound, and while the US dollar has come under pressure, it has started to rebound in the last few weeks as investors focus on the potential for the first indications of a wider scale tightening of monetary policy from the larger central banks, as well as the prospect that we might get some limited form of US tax reform," he said.
Today, on the data front, investors are eyeing the final iteration of UK Q2 GDP, expected to be confirmed at 0.3%, and an annualised 1.7%.
In company news, the trading statement from estate agent Purplebricks Group PLC (LON:PURP) is likely to prompt some investor interest.
Significant events expected on Friday September 29:
Trading update: Purplebricks Group PLC (LON:PURP)
Finals: CVS Group PLC (LON:CVSG)
Interims: Styles & Wood Group PLC (LON:STY), Zegona Communications PLC (LON:ZEG)
Economic data: US personal income, consumption; Chicago PMI; final University of Michigan consumer sentiment reading
Around the markets:
- Sterling: US$1.3417, down 0.17%
- Gold: US$1,285.50 an ounce, unchanged
- Brent crude: US$51.50 a barrel, up 0.12%
City headlines:
- Britain risks failing anti-corruption test - The Times
- Chapel Down finds its prayers answered - The Times
- Osborne’s family business takes a pasting from fall in sterling - The Times
- U.S. economy expands faster than expected- The Times
- Renewable electricity sets new U.K. generation record - The Independent
- Royal Mail seeks 20,000 recruits to help deliver Christmas presents - The Independent
- French utility EDF shuts its Tricastin power plant - FT
- Greek bank shares surge on bad loan optimism from IMF official - FT
- Invesco buys Guggenheim’s ETF business for $1.2 billion- FT
- Angry Birds maker pitches IPO price at top of range - FT
- Gulf carrier Etihad turns to MoD for new Chief executive- FT
- Apple Music passes 30 million subscribers - FT
- U.K. consumer confidence picks up in September - FT
- Twitter has suspended hundreds of Russian-linked accounts- The Telegraph
- Brighthouse hoists ‘for sale’ sign amid financial woes - The Telegraph
- Lloyd’s of London starts paying out $4.5 billion of Harvey and Irma claims - The Guardian
- Mortgage warning: Repayments set to leap as rates forecast to rise above 3% - Daily Express