UK : Stock factors to watch on 11 Aug 2016

Thu Aug 11 2016
Eric Whitman (309 articles)
UK : Stock factors to watch on 11 Aug 2016

Britain’s FTSE 100 index is seen opening down 43 points, or 0.6 percent, on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures up 0.2 percent ahead of the cash market open. The UK blue chip index closed up 15.12 points, or 0.2 percent, on Wednesday at 6866.42 points, its fifth straight day of gains as stronger financial stocks offset weaker energy shares which tracked a pullback in oil prices.

* LSE/DEUTSCHE BOERSE: Deutsche Boerse said on Wednesday that more than 75 percent of its shares have been tendered for its agreed $ 29 billion merger with the London Stock Exchange Group.

* GLENCORE: Glencore’s first-half zinc production was 31 percent lower than in the same period last year following previously announced cuts mainly in Australia and Peru, it said on Thursday.

* COCA-COLA HBC: Soft drink bottler Coca-Cola HBC reported lower revenue for the first half of the year hurt by unseasonably cool weather in Europe and economic problems in other markets, it said on Thursday.

* CINEWORLD GROUP: British cinema operator Cineworld Group Plc said its revenue in the first half grew 8.3 percent to 356.7 million pounds ($ 464.03 million) as titles released during the period such as “The Jungle Book”, “Deadpool” and “Captain America: Civil War” attracted more viewers.

* ALDERMORE: Aldermore Group Plc reported a better-than-expected 45 percent jump in first-half underlying pretax profit and said it had not yet seen a direct impact on its business from Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.

* OLD MUTUAL: Anglo-South African financial services firm Old Mutual posted a 9 percent drop in first-half operating profit to 709 million pounds ($ 922.34 million) on Thursday and said conditions were challenging in its core markets.

* DERWENT: Real estate investment trust Derwent London Plc said it expected a fall in demand in the near term sparked by Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, and cut its rental growth expectations for the full-year.

* PAGEGROUP: British recruiter PageGroup Plc reported a 6.5 percent rise in first-half gross profit, despite seeing a slowdown in the run-up to the Brexit vote.

* HASTINGS GROUP: UK insurer Hastings Group Holdings Plc reported a 20 percent rise in first-half operating profit and said Britain’s vote to leave the European Union would not “significantly impact” the company’s operations or results.

* WILLIAM HILL/ RANK GROUP: British bookmaker William Hill said it remained firmly opposed to engaging with 888 Holdings and Rank Group after the two companies set out more details of their unsolicited 3.16 billion pound ($ 4.11 billion) approach.

* CALEDONIA INVESTMENTS: Caledonia Investments PLC has agreed to pay $ 480,000 to resolve charges that it failed to report to the government share purchases made in 2014, the Federal Trade Commission said on Wednesday.

* TUI GROUP: Europe’s largest tour operator TUI lowered its sales forecast for the full year after attacks and a failed coup in Turkey knocked revenue in the third quarter of its fiscal year.

* POUNDLAND: South Africa’s Steinhoff has improved the terms of its agreed takeover of British discount retailer Poundland, it said on Thursday.

* EX-DIVS: Ashtead Group, AstraZeneca, Barclays, Berkeley Group, BT Group, Diageo, Direct Line, Fresnillo, GKN, GlaxoSmithKline, HSBC Holdings , Informa, Lloyds Banking Group, Merlin, RDS’A , Royal Dutch Shell B, Rio Tinto will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend pay-out on Thursday, trimming 37 points off the FTSE 100 according to Reuters calculations

Eric Whitman

Eric Whitman

Eric Whitman is our Senior Correspondent who has been reporting on Stock Market for last 5+ years. He handles news for UK and Europe. He is based in London