London Stocks Seen Opening Higher

London Stocks Seen Opening Higher

0653 GMT - The FTSE 100 is expected to open around 38 points, or 0.5%, higher, according to IG, having closed on Monday at 8023.87, potentially taking it to record highs. "Asian shares extended gains on Tuesday, taking cues from Wall Street ahead of earnings results from major U.S. tech giants this week," IG analysts say in a note. Focus will center on releases of U.K. and eurozone flash purchasing managers' indexes for April, which will give an up-to-date sense of how the economy is performing and could be a clue as to when the Bank of England could start cutting interest rates. The U.K. PMI data are due at 0830 GMT. (jessica.fleetham@wsj.com)

COMPANIES NEWS:

Primark Owner AB Foods Profit Rises on Easing Costs

Primark owner Associated British Foods reported higher profit, benefiting from some normalization of its markets and in the supply chain despite sales coming in below expectations.

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JD Sports Fashion Buys Hibbett, Valuing It at $1.1 Bln, in Push Into U.S. Market

JD Sports Fashion is buying Hibbett in a deal that values the American sporting-goods retailer at $1.08 billion.

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Jupiter's Market Returns Lift Assets Under Management

Jupiter Fund Management posted a rise in client assets over its first quarter on positive market movements.

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Anglo American Copper Output Jumps, Offsetting Diamond Tumble

Anglo American cut its diamond production guidance after a tumble in first-quarter output, offset by jumps in copper and coal production.

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Taylor Wimpey Sales Rate Falls Amid Market Uncertainty

Taylor Wimpey said a key sales rate fell as uncertainty hit the housing market and some customers struggled with affordability, but backed its guidance for the year.

MARKET TALK:

Taylor Wimpey Benefiting From Homebuyers' Continuing Resolve

0650 GMT - Despite uncertainty in the wider economy and the likely prospect of a general election in the U.K. this year, Taylor Wimpey is poised for growth in 2025 as the shares offer an attractive and sector-leading dividend yield for 2024, RBC analyst Anthony Codling says ina note. The house builder's spring selling season is progressing well and the reiteration of guidance for 2024 show that the resolve to move that homebuyers had at the start of the year hasn't disappeared, Codling says. "Taylor Wimpey remains our top pick of the larger U.K. housebuilders as it is focused on buying land and selling houses, without the distractions that M&A and management change may bring," Codling says. (anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)

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GBP/SGD Likely to Stay Under Pressure, Charts Show

0648 GMT - GBP/SGD will likely remain under pressure, based on charts, UOB Global Economics & Markets Research says in a report. Over the past few sessions, the currency pair has broken below the bottom of the daily Ichimoku cloud, while the 21-day exponential moving average has crossed below the 55-day EMA, markets strategist Quek Ser Leang notes. Also, the weekly moving average convergence divergence indicator has crossed into negative territory, which suggests GBP/SGD will probably stay under pressure, at least for the next one to two months, the strategist says. Support levels to watch are the early January low of 1.6720 and the weekly Ichimoku cloud's bottom, which is at 1.6625, the strategist adds. GBP/SGD is little changed at 1.6823. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

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U.K. Govt's Borrowing Takes Big Tax Cuts off the Table

0642 GMT - The British government has little scope to offer pre-election tax cuts after it borrowed more than forecast last fiscal year, Capital Economics' Ruth Gregory says in a note. Public-sector borrowing came in higher than expected in March, figures show Tuesday, taking the total for last fiscal year to some GBP121 billion, ahead of watchdogs' forecasts for a total of around GBP114 billion. Tax receipts are holding up well but with the budget deficit running high and debt-servicing costs likely to rise, the treasury has little room to cut taxes in a bid to win over voters in the upcoming general elections, Gregory says. "If the Chancellor was hoping March's figures would provide more scope for tax cuts at a fiscal event later this year, he will have been disappointed," she says. (joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby)

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Taylor Wimpey's Sales Rate, Guidance Look Reassuring

0638 GMT - Taylor Wimpey's update sees the house builder on track to deliver guidance and it outlined a reassuring performance as it targets growth in 2025, Citi analyst Ami Galla says. The company's private sales rate of 0.73 per outlet per week and 13% cancellation rates imply sales rates for the past eight weeks at 0.81, which looks reassuring, Galla says in a note. The company said website traffic and site visits into the spring selling season were encouraging with its overall order book at GBP2.09 billion and analysts estimate the company to be nearly 70% forward sold for the year, she says. "We expect consensus estimates to remain broadly unchanged on the back of the reassuring update," Galla says. (anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires;

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 23, 2024 02:55 ET (06:55 GMT)

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