London close: Stocks gain as traders weigh corporate news
London stocks advanced on Thursday as traders digested a slew of corporate news.
The FTSE 100 closed up 0.57% to 7,229.50 points.
Paper and packaging company Mondi was the standout gainer, having announced earlier in the week that it had bought Excelsior Technologies Limited from funds managed by Endless LLP and certain other minority shareholders, for £33m on a debt and cash-free basis.
Pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline was also in the black a day after hitting its full-year earnings target, but saying growth in 2017 could be severely hampered by the looming prospect of generic competition to its key Advair respiratory drug.
Medical devices group Smith & Nephew retreated as it reported full year sales in line with forecasts and earnings that beat consensus despite declining sales in the fourth quarter.
On the downside, travel company TUI AG traded lower as peer Thomas Cook reported a narrowing of losses for the first quarter but sounded a cautious note on the outlook.
Meanwhile, investors were still mulling over a vote by the House of Commons approving the Brexit bill. Late on Wednesday, MPs approved the historic Brexit bill on its third reading by 494 votes to 122, with a majority of 372, which will now be passed to the House of Lords.
It puts Prime Minister Theresa May on track to get the bill through parliament by 7 March to trigger Article 50 on 9 March.
On the data front, a survey showed a pick-up in UK house prices in January. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ house price balance rose to 25% last month from 23% in December, beating expectations of 22%. The survey also said rents in the UK are expected to rise 25% in the next five years while house prices are set to increase 20%.
In the Eurozone, Germany’s trade surplus hit a record high in 2016. It rose to €252.9bn, well above the previous high of €244.3bn in 2015.
In the US, the Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 234,000 in the week to 4 February from 246,000 the previous week, compared to forecasts of 249,000.
Wholesale inventories in the US rose 2.6% in December, compared to 0.5% in November, the Commerce Department said.
Meanwhile, US equities were given a boost after President Donald Trump said he will be announcing “something phenomenal in terms of tax” over the next two to three weeks when he releases his plans to reform the tax system.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,229.50 0.57%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,627.59 0.12%
techMARK (TASX) 3,333.49 0.44%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 233.10p 2.51%
Standard Life (SL.) 366.10p 2.49%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 825.50p 2.48%
Prudential (PRU) 1,600.50p 2.11%
Barclays (BARC) 229.55p 2.04%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,575.00p 2.02%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,046.00p 1.95%
Provident Financial (PFG) 2,771.00p 1.91%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 489.20p 1.85%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 242.50p 1.81%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Anglo American (AAL) 1,295.50p -2.67%
Worldpay Group (WPG) 274.00p -2.60%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,529.00p -2.55%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,165.00p -2.02%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,980.00p -1.66%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,125.00p -1.62%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,420.00p -1.59%
Kingfisher (KGF) 328.00p -1.44%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 173.80p -1.36%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,990.00p -1.29%
FTSE 250 - Risers
International Personal Finance (IPF) 186.80p 5.24%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 335.40p 5.14%
Shawbrook Group (SHAW) 264.00p 4.43%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 362.00p 3.99%
Pennon Group (PNN) 845.00p 3.49%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,538.00p 3.42%
Hunting (HTG) 568.50p 3.27%
Vectura Group (VEC) 140.60p 3.23%
Electrocomponents (ECM) 504.00p 3.19%
Fidessa Group (FDSA) 2,312.00p 3.08%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 85.45p -7.17%
Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 579.00p -6.08%
RPC Group (RPC) 999.50p -5.62%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 300.30p -2.66%
Marshalls (MSLH) 299.90p -2.31%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 266.50p -2.13%
IP Group (IPO) 180.60p -2.06%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 528.00p -2.04%
Stagecoach Group (SGC) 213.10p -2.02%
Hill & Smith Holdings (HILS) 1,191.00p -1.98%