Rathbone Brothers confirms talks with Speirs & Jeffrey, One Media iP appoints new non-exec chairman
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open 34 points higher on Monday, having closed down 0.22% at 7,183.64 on Friday.
Stocks to watch
Wealth manager Rathbone Brothers confirmed market rumours that it was in takeover talks with Scottish stockbroker Speirs & Jeffrey Limited. Rathbone said no binding offer had been made and there can be “no certainty that any binding offer will be made nor that agreement will be reached with the board and shareholders of Speirs & Jeffrey”.
Digital media content provider One Media iP Group announced the appointment of Lord Michael Grade as non-executive director and Ivan Dunleavy as non-executive chairman on Monday. The AIM-traded firm said the appointments were part of its stated ambition to capitalise on the growth of the music sector, and to pursue further acquisitions in keeping with its original buy and build strategy.
Newspaper round-up
Donald Trump has sought to allay fears of a trade war with China by predicting that “a deal will be done” that defuses the tit-for-tat tariff battle that sent markets reeling last week. The world’s two largest economies have threatened each other with tens of billions of dollars of tariffs as relations between the countries appeared to plumb a new low. - The Times
Brexit is no longer viewed as the biggest risk for top UK companies, as fears of the UK leaving the EU without a deal have ebbed. A quarterly survey of chief financial officers by Deloitte shows a marked improvement in outlook after the Government agreed terms of the transition agreement with Brussels last month. - Telegraph
London remains an attractive global hub for initial public offerings, despite concerns about Brexit and trade wars, with a number of large flotations already in the pipeline. Achintya Mangla, at JP Morgan, said 2018 looks likely to be “the year of the IPO”. The head of equity capital markets for Europe, the Middle East and Africa said: “There is activity across all sectors and all geographies. There is a good pipeline with sponsor exits, corporate carve-outs and family-owned businesses lining up to come to market. - The Times
US close
Trade jitters weighed on US stock markets again heading into the weekend, with weaker-than-expected readings on the state of the US jobs market for March doing little to buoy sentiment, leading some investors to opt for playing it safe.
Triggering Friday's falls, overnight the US president instructed the country's Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, to consider whether it would be appropriate to slap $100bn-worth of more tariffs on China.
As US Treasury Secretary, Steve Mnuchin explained later in the day, Beijing's decision to retaliate against US tariffs levied on $50bn-worth of Chinese goods, with an identical amount, had been "unfair" and disproportionate, because Beijing's exports to America were more than triple those from the States.
In an interview with broadcaster CNBC, Mnuchin also indicated there was a "level of risk" that the two countries might slide into a trade War.
Against that backdrop, by the closing bell the Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen 2.34% or 572.46 points to end the session at 23,932.76, while the S&P 500 erased all of its gains for the week, finishing 2.19% or 58.37 points lower on the day at 2,604.47, alongside a drop for the Nasdaq Composite of 2.28% or 161.44 points to 6,915.11.