Proactive Investors -
- Blue chips down 34 points at 8,304
- Retail sales underwhelm
- Energy bills to fall
Abrdn climbs as boss set to depart
Abrdn (LON:ABDN) gained ground on news it would part company with chief executive Stephen Bird after four difficult years
In a statement, abdrn said that he and the group’s board had agreed the time was right for Bird to hand over the reins.
In his time in office, Abrdn’s value has almost halved with the company regularly lampooned for a name change that saw the vowels removed from Aberdeen, its previous name… Read more
Shares climbed 1.1% to 157.75p on the news.
UK economic growth to cool this quarter - analyst
UK gross domestic product (GDP) growth will likely cool between April and June against the first quarter, EY analysts say.
After retail sales data came in worse than expected on Friday, EY said GDP growth would be better than April in May but not be as strong over the second quarter, after the UK exited recession earlier this year.
“It's clear that the retail sector is still struggling to generate much momentum,” EY economist Peter Arnold said.
Sales over the course of April fell 2.3% month-on-month, against a 0.2% decline in March and worse than expectations for a 0.4% drop.
Highlighting softer composite Purchasing Managers’ Index data on Thursday, Arnold added: “It suggests that the UK is likely to see a weaker outturn for GDP growth in Q2, after Q1's very strong performance.”
The morning so far
The FTSE 100 index fell as much as 70 points in opening exchanges. Despite a slight recovery, the blue-chip index remained 47 points lower at 8,292 after the first hour of trades.
Retail sales data for April severely undershot forecasts, falling 2.3% month on month.
It follows a 0.2% fall in March and is much worse than the forecasted 0.4% drop, with sales volumes declining across most sectors.
On the company news front, GSK (LON:GSK) won a high-stake personal injury case in the state of Illinois, US, over its heartburn medication Zantac.
A jury determined that Zantac was not responsible for the plaintiff’s colon cancer, with the judge rejecting a request for $640 million in damages. Shares added 0.2%
National Grid (LON:NG) was the biggest faller of the morning following yesterday’s heavily discounted rights issue.
Speaking of energy, regulator Ofgem has confirmed bills will fall by 7% in July, or £122 on an annualised basis.
The energy price cap will be set at £1,568 for direct debit customers from July to the end of September, down from £1,690 currently, Ofgem said on Friday.
Intertek was among the top risers after the assurance, testing, inspection and certification (ATIC) services provider Intertek provided an upbeat trading update.
The company reported like-for-like (LFL) revenue growth of 7% at constant currency for the first four months of 2024. Shares added 2.1%.
Other top risers in the opening hour included Mondi PLC (LON:MNDI), Ocado Group PLC (LON:OCDO), BT Group PLC (LON:BTA) and Next plc (LON:NXT).
Stocks fall
The FTSE 100 index fell 66 points to 8,272 this morning, extending blue-chip losses encountered on Thursday.
National Grid was the biggest faller after Ofgem announced a drop in the energy price cap. DS Smith, St James’s Place and Entain (LON:ENT) were also off.
Intertek sent higher following upbeat trading update
Assurance, testing, inspection and certification (ATIC) services provider Intertek provided a “typically upbeat and ebullient” trading update today, per the words of Shore Capital Markets.
The company reported like-for-like (LFL) revenue growth of 7% at constant currency for the first four months of 2024.
Divisional growth was strong, with Consumer Products growing by 6.2%, Corporate Assurance by 7.6%, Health and Safety by 9.9%, Industry and Infrastructure by 4.2%, and World of Energy by 9.4%.
“We fundamentally like these ‘ATIC’ activities… being a necessary and growing element within the global economy, underpinning quality companies’ operations,” said Shore Cap.
Shares added 2.85%.