UK Stock News:
BP (LON:BP) reported 1Q results: “BP’s first-quarter replacement cost (RC) loss was $485M, compared with a profit of $2,103M a year ago. (…) underlying RC profit for the first quarter was $532M, compared with $2,577M for the same period in 2015. (…) All amounts, including finance costs, relating to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill have been treated as non-operating items, with a net pre-tax charge of $917M for the first quarter. (…) BP today announced a quarterly dividend of 10.00 cents per ordinary share ($0.600 per ADS), (…) (Upstream) The replacement cost loss before interest and tax for the first quarter was $1,205M, compared with a profit of $372M for the same period in 2015. (…) (Downstream) The replacement cost profit before interest and tax for the first quarter was $1,880M, compared with $2,083M for the same period in 2015. (…) (Rosneft) Replacement cost profit before interest and tax and underlying replacement cost profit before interest and tax for the first quarter was $66M, compared with $183M for the same period in 2015.”
British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) issued an Interim Management Statement for the March quarter: “Revenue was up by 7.5% at constant rates of exchange or 6.1% on an organic basis. (…) At current rates of exchange, revenue was up by 1.7% as movements in the majority of the Group’s key trading currencies relative to the same period last year adversely impacted reported revenue. (…) Cigarette volume from subsidiaries grew by 3.6% to 158B with organic volume up 2.4%. Excluding the effect of inventory movements in the comparator period, like for like volume was up by 1.1% demonstrating the strength of the portfolio. Volume increased in a number of markets including Ukraine, Middle East, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Russia, Turkey, Vietnam, Japan, Romania, France, Spain and Mexico. This more than offset lower volume in markets including Pakistan and Malaysia, which were impacted by significant excise led price increases. (…) GDB (Global Drive Brands) volume was up by 10.5%.”
Whitbread (LON:WTB) announced FY15/16 results: “Whitbread has continued its good financial performance, with total revenue up 12.0% to £2,921.8M, (…) underlying profit before tax was up 11.9% to £546.3M. (…) Profit before tax was £487.7M (2014/15: £463.8M), up 5.2% and after taxation, statutory profit for the year was £387.3M, up 5.8% on last year. (…) Underlying basic EPS for the year were 238.65p, up 11.7% on last year, (…) The recommended final dividend is 61.85p, an increase on last year of 8.6%, making the total dividend for the year 90.35p, a growth of 10.0%.”
St. James’s Place (LON:SJP) provided an update: “Group funds under management of £62.0B (2015: £55.8B) (…) During the first quarter of 2016 gross inflows to our funds under management were up 16% at £2.45B (2015: £2.11B) and we continue to experience high retention of existing clients and their investments, such that we are able to report net inflows of £1.36B (2015: £1.32B) in the quarter.”
AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) announced that the US FDA has approved Bevespi Aerosphere (glycopyrrolate and formoterol fumarate) inhalation aerosol indicated for the long-term, maintenance treatment of airflow obstruction in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Global News
In Asia stocks retreated as investors braced for central bank policy meetings in the United States and Japan this week. Japan’s Nikkei lost 1.1%. Chinese stocks were flat, with the CSI 300 little changed and the Shanghai Composite falling 0.1%. Japan’s automakers were lower, with Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE:TM) falling 1.1% while Honda Motor Co Ltd (NYSE:HMC) lost 1.4% and shares of Nissan Motor Co Ltd (OTC:NSANY) were 1.5% lower.
In Currency Markets the yen rose against other major currencies on Tuesday, pulling up from multi-week troughs against the dollar and euro but capped by wariness ahead of this week’s Bank of Japan policy review that will come on the heels of the Federal Reserve’s meeting. The dollar edged down 0.1% to 111.02 yen. The pound was steady at $1.4492 after hitting a 10-week high of $1.4520 on Monday. The euro held steady at $1.1265.
Crude oil futures rose on Tuesday, pushed up by a weaker dollar and a flood of new cash into the market, but analysts warned that fundamentals remain weak as a producer race for customers heats up in the Middle East. Front-month Brent crude futures were trading at $44.91 per barrel, up around 1%, from their last settlement. U.S. crude futures were also up around half a dollar and 1% at $43.10. Citi said it was likely that Saudi Arabia was targeting a 0.5 million bpd in sales to bring its production up to 11 million bpd or higher.
In the US stocks were slightly lower on Monday, tracking a decline in oil prices, while earnings and guidance from companies including Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) and Xerox (NYSE:XRX) also weighed on U.S. stocks. The S&P 500 lost 0.18%, to 2,087.79. Xerox shares lost 13.3%, their sharpest one-day fall since September 2009 after the printer and copier maker reported lower revenue. The U.S. Justice Department approved Charter Communications’ proposed purchase of Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC), whose shares jumped 4.1%. Charter rose 4.6%.
Economic Calendar
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