(Alliance News) - Stocks in London opened higher on Friday, after worse than expected retail sales results from the UK, and as calls grow across the pond for US President Joe Biden to reconsider his re-election bid.
According to the Office for National Statistics, UK retail sales volumes fell by 1.2% in June from a month before, swinging from a rise in May. Meanwhile, separate data showed a subdued increase in consumer confidence in July, amid a "wait and see" stance.
In Europe, produces prices declines as expected annually in Germany, as per data from the Federal Statistical Office.
In early corporate news, Segro said its Italian joint venture, Segro European Logistics Partnership, has disposed of multiple logistics warehouse assets.
The regulatory news service of the London Stock Exchange was not updating on Friday morning. Calls to RNS for comment were not answered early Friday.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
----------
MARKETS
----------
FTSE 100: up 0.2% at 8,204.89
----------
Hang Seng: down 1.8% at 17,455.94
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.2% at 40,063.79
S&P/ASX 200: closed down 0.8% at 7,971.60
----------
DJIA: closed down 533.06 points, 1.3%, at 40,665.02
S&P 500: closed down 0.8% at 5,544.59
Nasdaq Composite: closed down 0.7% at 17,871.22
----------
EUR: lower at USD1.0888 (USD1.0908)
GBP: lower at USD1.2933 (USD1.2972)
USD: higher at JPY157.57 (JPY156.70)
GOLD: lower at USD2,418.60 per ounce (USD2,465.41)
OIL (Brent): lower at USD84.71 a barrel (USD84.99)
(changes since previous London equities close)
----------
ECONOMICS
----------
Friday's key economic events still to come:
08:30 EDT Canada PPI
08:30 EDT Canada retail sales
10:00 CEST eurozone current account
10:00 CEST Italy construction output
11:00 CEST Italy current account
10:00 CEST Spain trade balance
----------
UK retail sales declined more than expected last month, official numbers on Friday showed. According to the Office for National Statistics, UK retail sales volumes fell by 1.2% in June from a month before, swinging from a rise in May. This compared to FXStreet-cited market consensus of a 0.4% monthly decline in June. On an annual basis, sales fell by 0.2% in June. In the second quarter as a whole, sales volumes fell by 0.2% on an annual basis and by 0.1% when compared with the first quarter.
----------
According to separate data from the ONS, UK public sector net borrowing was GBP14.51 billion in June, down from GBP15 billion in May and GBP17.7 billion in June last year. Public sector net debt as a proportion to UK gross domestic product fell to 99.5% in June from 99.8% in May, which had been the highest level since March 1961, the ONS said. However, it was higher than the 96.7% registered in June the year prior.
----------
Produces prices declines as expected annually in Germany, data published by the Federal Statistical Office showed Friday. Producer prices fell 1.6% year-on-year in Germany in June, decelerated from a contraction of 2.2% in May. The decline in June was in line with the FXStreet-cited consensus. Monthly, producer prices edged up 0.2% in June, compared to no change the statistical office had reported for May.
----------
Consumer confidence in the UK has seen a subdued increase amid a "wait and see" stance on the economy, figures suggest. GfK's long-running Consumer Confidence Index increased by one point to minus 13 in July. FXStreet-cited consensus had been expecting a reading of minus 12. While the view on personal finances over the last year was up two points to minus eight – its highest point since January 2022 – consumers' confidence in the same measure looking ahead 12 months was less positive, falling one point to positive three. Confidence in the UK's wider economy over the next 12 months has paused, at an identical minus 11 to last month.
----------
Keir Starmer ended his first week as UK prime minister as popular as Boris Johnson was at the height of the vaccine rollout, a poll has found. Some 36% of the public told pollster Ipsos they thought Starmer was doing a good job as prime minister, the highest rating for a premier since February 2021 when 37% said the same about Johnson. But conversely, just 14% of the public think the new prime minister is doing a bad job, well below the 41% that thought negatively of Johnson in February 2021 – and the 57% that thought badly of Rishi Sunak just before he called the election.
----------
Former US president Barack Obama has told allies that Joe Biden needs to reconsider his re-election bid, the Washington Post reported. Obama believes that Biden's path to victory has diminished and that the 81-year-old should "seriously consider the viability of his candidacy," the newspaper said, citing people briefed on his thinking. Meanwhile, the New York Times cited several people close to Biden as saying they believe he has begun to accept that he may lose in November to Republican rival Donald Trump and may have to drop out, with one quoted as saying: "Reality is setting in."
----------
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Thursday promised to bring an end to raging international crises and restore American prestige on the world stage, saying he could "stop wars with a telephone call". He also suggested that Kim Jong Un – the reclusive North Korean dictator whom he met in person during his presidency, and whose country possesses a nuclear arsenal – longed to see him back in the White House. "I get along with him, he'd like to see me back too. I think he misses me, if you want to know," Trump said.
----------
Japanese inflation was slightly higher in June, with prices rising 2.6% on-year compared with 2.5% in May, internal affairs ministry data showed Friday. But the core Consumer Price Index reading, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, was still softer than market expectations of a 2.7% increase. "While the pace of increase in electricity and gasoline bills slowed, energy prices rose," boosting the overall figure, the ministry said.
----------
BROKER RATING CHANGES
----------
Berenberg raises Anglo American price target to 2,100 (2,000) pence - 'sell'
----------
Jefferies raises AJ Bell to 'buy' (hold) - price target 485 (410) pence
----------
Berenberg raises Craneware price target to 2,700 (2,600) pence - 'buy'
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 100
----------
Segro said its Italian joint venture, Segro European Logistics Partnership, has disposed of multiple logistics warehouse assets. The London-based property investment firm sold four warehouses, two located in Milan and two in Rome, covering 338,745 square metres for a EUR327 million cash consideration. The portfolio is fully leased to three customers in the online and traditional retail sectors, and generates a passing rent of EUR19 million with an average lease term of 10.5 years. All four warehouses were developed by Vailog Segro, an Italian developer which Segro fully acquired in April last year after first buying a majority stake in 2015.
----------
GSK celebrated positive trial results, after its Blenrep combinations in multiple myeloma application was accepted for review by the European Medicines Agency. The approval follows positive trial results, which showed significant progression-free survival benefit and positive overall survival trends for Blenrep combinations versus standard of care.
----------
By Holly Beveridge, Alliance News senior reporter
Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
