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LONDON MARKET OPEN: Stocks higher ahead of US jobs report
Stock prices in London opened in the green on Friday, with investors confident of a softer US jobs report, which take some sting out of hawkish Federal Reserve interest rate expectations.
The FTSE 100 index rose 20.31 points, 0.2%, at 8,192.46. The FTSE 250 edged up 14.81 points, 0.1%, to 20,067.14, and the AIM All-Share rose 1.54 points, 0.2%, at 769.65.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 818.09, the Cboe UK 250 added 0.2% to 17,375.23, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.1% at 15,796.01.
The CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.1%. The DAX 40 in Frankfurt added 0.3%.
The pound was quoted at $1.2549 early Friday, up from $1.2487 late Thursday. The euro stood at $1.0732, rising from $1.0690. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP¥153.19, down from JP¥154.05.
In Hong Kong on Friday, the Hang Seng was up 1.4% in late trade. The S&P/ASX 200 ended 0.6% higher. Financial markets in Shanghai and Tokyo were closed for public holidays.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.9% on Thursday. The S&P 500 rose 0.9% also, while the Nasdaq Composite shot up 1.5%.
Friday’s US jobs report is expected to show nonfarm payrolls rose 243,000 last month, according to FXStreet cited consensus, easing from 303,000 in March.
‘This will be an important release for the Fed as well, since the resilience in the labour market has enabled them to keep the focus on inflation. Indeed, the March report showed nonfarm payrolls rise by a 10-month high of 303,000, whilst the three-month average growth was at a 12-month high of 276,000. However, even as the nonfarm payrolls numbers have been strong, other indicators have pointed to growing weakness in the labour market, and this week’s JOLTS report for March showed that both job openings and the quits rate were down to their lowest in over three years,’ analysts at Deutsche Bank commented.
SPI Asset Management analyst Stephen Innes said Fed Chair Jerome Powell may have let the ‘NFP cat out of the bag’ with his dovish post-decision press conference on Wednesday.
‘Remember, folks, this is less about inflation and more about jobs after Chair Powell, in no uncertain terms, noted that a material weakening in the labour market could precipitate rate cuts even if inflation were to remain relatively sticky and moderately elevated,’ Innes added.
Apple shares rose 6.0% in after hours trade on Thursday, after the tech firm announced a new $110 billion share buyback programme.
The Cupertino, California-based firm reported its second quarter results, ended March 30.
Net sales fell to $90.75 billion from $94.84 billion a year earlier. Net income fell to $23.64 billion from $24.16 billion.
Over the first six months of its financial year, net sales fell to $210.33 billion from $211.99 billion a year earlier. Net income rose to $57.55 billion from $54.16 billion.
On the back of the results, Apple declared a cash dividend of $0.25 per share, up 4% annually. The company has also authorised a $110 billion buyback programme.
In London, Trainline shares shot up 7.3%. It reported expectation-beating revenue, and said net ticket sales came in at the top end of its guidance range.
The travel ticketing platform also announced a new share buyback.
Revenue in the year ended February 29 rose 21% to £396.7 million, from £327.1 million. Revenue topped the ‘previous guidance range’. Pretax profit jumped to £48.1 million from £22.1 million.
Net ticket sales were up 22% on-year to £5.30 billion, at the top end of its previous guidance range.
Chief Executive Officer Jody Ford commented: ‘New entrant carrier competition is revolutionising rail in Europe as more customers benefit from greater choice, lower prices and the opportunity to choose greener travel. We are becoming the aggregator of choice in the UK and internationally and are delivering strong growth, particularly in those markets liberalising fastest such as Spain.’
For the new financial year, it predicts net ticket sales growth of 8%-12%, and revenue to rise between 7%-11%.
Trainline announced a £75.0 million share buyback programme. It recently completed a £50.0 million buyback which kicked off in September.
On AIM, chartered surveyor firm Fletcher King jumped 20%. It reported a ‘strong second half business performance’, a turnaround from the more ‘cautionary business outlook’ it gave back in December.
Revenue for the year ended April 30 ‘is now expected to be materially higher than management expectations’. Pretax profit is expected to be between two and three times higher than the £192,000 it reported for the prior year.
Angle surged 16%. It said it has struck a deal with AstraZeneca to develop a ‘Parsortix-based androgen receptor’ detection assay to be used in prostate cancer studies. Medical diagnostics provider Angle said the deal is worth £550,000.
‘Assay development will take place in the Angle’s UK laboratories, with project completion expected in Q1 2025. A successful development phase will demonstrate the importance of the Parsortix system in assessing the efficacy of prostate cancer therapeutics and offers the potential for long-term, ongoing business for the company supporting clinical studies,’ it said.
Parsortix is a liquid biopsy treatment.
Angle added: ‘Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men with 1.5 million new cases diagnosed globally each year and 5 million men living with prostate cancer (5-year prevalence). The androgen receptor plays a pivotal role in prostate cancer tumour growth and progression with anti-androgen therapy frequently given as first-line treatment.’
Brent oil was quoted at $83.99 a barrel early Friday, up from $83.40 at the time of the London equities close on Thursday. Gold was quoted at $2,299.63 an ounce, down from $2,303.10.
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