Cussons reassures, MoneySupermarket sales jump
London open
Ahead of the opening bell on Thursday, traders were eyeing an eight-point drop in the FTSE 100, which finished at 7,471.32 a day earlier.
Stocks to watch
Total gold equivalent production for Polymetal's first quarter increased 27% year-on-year to 374,000 ounces as the Kyzyl operation exceeded design throughput and recovery and enjoyed positive grade reconciliation. Revenues increased 28% year-on-year to $454m, largely driven by a 41% uptick in gold sales compared to the prior year.
PZ Cussons issued a more reassuring update on Thursday, following its profit warnings in December and January. The Imperial Leather and Carex soap maker said its expectations for full year profit had not worsened since January's interim results.
Moneysupermarket posted a 19% jump in first-quarter revenue thanks to a solid performance from its home services businesses. Total revenue for the quarter ending 31 March 2019 rose to £104.9m from £88.3m in the first quarter of 2018, with revenue in the home services segment up 70% to £19.6m.
Newspaper round-up
The competition watchdog has called for the Big Four auditors to split their auditing and consulting operations to address "serious" issues in the disgraced accounting sector, but stopped short of calling for a full break-up. Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG, which audit 97pc of all FTSE 350 companies, have faced extensive criticism for failing to flag problems in the accounts of clients including Carillion, BHS and Patisserie Valerie before their collapse. - Telegraph
House prices grew at their slowest pace in more than six years in February as the southeast of England dragged down the rest of the market with its first fall in prices since 2011, according to official figures. Average house prices in Britain rose by 0.6 per cent to £226,000 in the year to February, according to the Office for National Statistics. - The Times
Pinterest Inc’s initial public offering set the online scrapbook company’s valuation at $12.7bn on Wednesday, above its expectations and a sign of strength for the tech IPO market after Lyft Inc’s struggles. Pinterest, where users save ideas for clothes, décor and recipes, is due to start trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. Its performance will be a key test of the tech IPO market after the Nasdaq debut of ride-hailing start-up Lyft at the end of last month. - Guardian
US close
US stocks closed lower on Wednesday as investors thumbed over earnings releases from the likes of Morgan Stanley, BNY Mellon and PepsiCo and but failed to be reassured by data that indicated stabilisation of China's economic growth.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.01% lower at 26,449.54, while the S&P 500 traded 0.23% lower at 2,900.45. The Nasdaq closed 0.05% softer 7,996.08, after registering an intraday high of 7,715.07 at the bell.
However, stocks soon took a turn as losses over at healthcare outfits Anthem, Cigna and UnitedHealth weighed on Wall Street following a report from analysts at JPMorgan highlighting "downside risks" to the sector in the form of US Senator Bernie Sanders' most recent Medicare proposal.