(Alliance News) - European blue-chips got off to a mixed start to the week, with London's FTSE 100 the laggard, after Chinese data over the weekend underwhelmed.
The FTSE 100 index traded down 11.83 points, 0.1%, at 8,668.05. The FTSE 250 was up 20.37 points, 0.1%, at 20,149.49, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.40 of a point, 0.1%, at 694.63.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.2% at 865.84, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.2% at 17,545.05, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 1.3% at 15,416.66.
In Paris, the CAC 40 rose 0.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt edged up 0.1%.
The pound faded to USD1.2890 early Monday from USD1.2920 at the time of the London equities close on Friday. The euro slipped to USD1.0819 from USD1.0851. Against the yen, the dollar was at JPY147.40, up slightly from JPY147.34.
Brent oil fell marginally to USD70.42 a barrel from USD70.47 and gold slipped to USD2,903.14 an ounce from USD2,914.44.
In China on Monday, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.2%, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong dropped 1.8%. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 0.4% and the S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney rose 0.2%.
China's consumer price index fell 0.7% in February, according to data released on Sunday by China's National Bureau of Statistics.
This is the first time in a year that the consumer price index has sunk to deflationary territory, and represented a steeper decline than the 0.4% forecast by a Bloomberg survey.
It also reversed the 0.5% uptick recorded in January, when a surge in spending during the Lunar New Year boosted inflation to its highest rate in months.
China has been battling falling consumption rates since the end of the pandemic. Adding to the pressure is US President Donald Trump's introduction of sweeping tariffs on Chinese products.
Commerzbank analyst Volkmar Baur commented: "At first glance, the inflation data released in China over the weekend does not look particularly flattering. Consumer prices fell by 0.7% year-on-year, and even excluding the volatile food and energy components, the core rate fell by 0.1%. This is the first decline in the core rate since the pandemic, or since the Great Financial Crisis if you exclude the pandemic. So you might think that this does not bode well for domestic demand in China.
"However, the February figures should be treated with caution. The Chinese New Year always causes prices to rise and fall, and as it follows the lunar calendar, it sometimes falls in January and sometimes in February. Looking at the monthly rates for January and February, we can see that prices rose more in January than they fell in February. So the trend may well be positive, but it is distorted by the base values from the previous year. A clearer picture will only emerge in March."
In London, mining shares struggled. China is a big buyer of minerals. Antofagasta fell 1.1%, while Anglo American gave back 0.4%.
Also on the decline, telecommunications firm BT fell 1.8%. Citi cut the stock to 'underweight' from 'equal weight'.
Assura surged 14%. It said it would be "minded to accept" a possible GBP1.61 billion cash bid from a US private equity consortium.
The care property investor and developer said the offer from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and Stonepeak Partners would value each share at 49.4 pence each.
The price is a 32% premium to Assura's undisturbed share price of 37.4p on February 13, the day prior to Assura announcing it received an unsolicited approach from KKR and USS Investment Management.
On the latest proposal, Assura said: "The consortium of KKR and Stonepeak, both long-term infrastructure investors, recognises that Assura's leading platform and portfolio are important social infrastructure assets for the UK, and has indicated its intention to deploy further capital to the portfolio to continue its growth."
Assura also noted it received an all-share takeover approach from fellow London listing Primary Health Properties worth 43p per share.
Assura said the private equity cash bid proposal is more attractive, and with "materially less risk".
Primary Health Properties shares were up 2.1%.
Watches of Switzerland perked up 3.6% as it announced the launch of a share buyback.
It will return GBP25 million to shareholders.
"The group has a clear and disciplined approach to capital allocation - prioritising investment for growth through showroom elevation, new projects and acquisitions, before returning to shareholders any surplus capital above and beyond those requirements, as appropriate," the luxury watches seller said.
"The group's balance sheet continues to be strong and following the successful December 2024 refinancing, the new GBP150 million facility increases group liquidity headroom by GBP50 million, providing additional flexibility. We continue to be active on a number of business development opportunities, both organic and inorganic, and will prioritise these investments, but in addition we now have surplus capital that can be returned to shareholders in line with the framework."
Clarkson tumbled 17%. It reported record annual profit despite "another year of disruption" in 2024. The provider of shipping services said pretax profit in 2024 rose 3.0% to GBP112.1 million from GBP108.8 million. On an underlying basis, it spiked 5.6% to a record high of GBP115.3 million from GBP109.2 million. Revenue improved 3.4% to GBP661.4 million from GBP639.4 million.
"2024 was another year of disruption, complexity and opportunity for global shipping markets and against this backdrop I am immensely proud of the hard work and dedication of all my colleagues in producing another record result. The geo-political outlook remains uncertain as we enter 2025, with ongoing regional conflicts and trade tensions creating uncertainty for markets reflected by freight rates and asset values currently lower than 2024. The resolution or continuation of these events during the year will provide potential headwinds and tailwinds to the group's performance as we support our clients through this complexity," Chief Executive Officer Andi Case said.
Clarkson lifted its final dividend by 6.9% to 77 pence from 72p. Its total dividend was also 6.9% higher at 109p from 102p.
Looking ahead, it cautioned: "The opportunity before us remains significant, as commodity demands combined with energy security and environmental factors, provide a complex backdrop for market growth in the medium term. However, following a year of extensive political change, ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia-Ukraine, adding further complexities, markets have softened as economies grapple with the immediate impacts of this phase of change."
Capital Ltd shed 19% as the mining services company said it expects to report a decline in profit, as it books non-cash provisions for 2024 relating to historical VAT receivables and various laboratory assets in Mali. In addition, it said its chief executive has tendered his resignation.
It now predicts a net profit after tax in the range of USD18 million and USD20 million, a decline of up to 53% from USD38.5 million reported for 2023.
For this year, it predicts revenue in the range of USD300 million and USD320 million.
"Revenues will be H2 weighted given the ramp up of new projects, predominantly in our mining business, and margins will follow a similar weighting," it added.
Capital has accepted the resignation of CEO Peter Stokes. Stokes will stick around for a "brief transitional period".
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5% on Friday. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.7%.
US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell flagged high uncertainty Friday surrounding President Trump's economic policies and their effects, but maintained that the central bank need not rush to adjust interest rates.
"It is the net effect of these policy changes that will matter for the economy and for the path of monetary policy," Powell told a forum in New York.
"We do not need to be in a hurry, and are well positioned to wait for greater clarity."
Powell maintained that the US economy remains in a good position, adding it has been growing at a solid pace.
He said the Fed is focused on separating signal from noise when it comes to the impact of policies.
Still to come on Monday is an Irish industrial production reading at 1100 GMT.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
