Markets Overview:

The UK 100 called to open -22 points this morning at 8,580.  The UK 100 looks set to open lower this morning, as global markets yesterday struggled to find clear direction.

The Dow Jones slipped on Friday as investors awaited much-anticipated trade talks between U.S. and Chinese officials this weekend.  The 30-stock Dow lost 119.07 points, or 0.29%, and settled at 41,249.38. The S&P inched down 0.07%, closing at 5,659.91. The Nasdaq ended the session little changed, ending at 17,928.92.  U.S. stock futures jumped early Monday after the Trump administration announced a “trade deal” with China following negotiations over the weekend in Switzerland.  Dow Jones futures rallied 422 points, or 1%. S&P and Nasdaq climbed 1.38% and 1.94%, respectively.  Without providing specifics, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said two days of trade talks with Chinese officials in Geneva were “productive” and yielded “a great deal” of productivity. Bessent said details would be provided in a briefing Monday morning.

Asia-Pacific markets rose Monday after the White House announced a “trade deal” with China without providing specifics.  India’s Nifty 50 surged 2.29% at the open while the BSE Sensex gained 2.27%.  Hong Kong’s Hang Seng pared early gains to 0.88%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 index increased 0.61%.  Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.17% while the broader Topix index lost 0.21% in choppy trade.  In South Korea, the Kospi index rose 0.49% while the small-cap Kosdaq edged 0.12% higher.  Over in Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 increased 0.17%.

Company News & Broker Comments:

Company News:

Burberry is to step up its cost saving programme after the luxury fashion group slumped to a bottom-line loss of £66 million for the year to 29 March.  The former FTSE 100-listed group warned that 1700 jobs could be impacted after increasing its annual savings target to £100 million by 2027.  The change from the previously announced £40 million will also come from efficiencies around procurement and real estate.  Burberry said the savings will be used to fund its biggest growth opportunities.

Compass Group backed its full-year guidance as it delivered double-digit underlying operating profit growth.  The U.K. catering contractor said Wednesday that its pretax profit for the six months ended March 31 rose to $1.28 billion from $1.20 billion in the same period a year prior.  Underlying operating profit–a company preferred metric which strips out exceptional and other one-off items–increased 11.6% to $1.63 billion while its underlying operating margin improved slightly to 7.2%. The company said its results were boosted by improved operating efficiencies and scale benefits.  Meanwhile, revenue grew organically by 8.5% and it secured new business worth $3.6 billion, it said.  Compass declared an initial dividend of 22.6 cent a share, up around 9% from the 20.7 cent a share it declared in the same period a year prior.  For the fiscal year 2025, the company said it continues to expect high single digit underlying operating profit growth, organic revenue growth above 7.5% and an improved margin.

GSK today unveiled a deal to acquire a “potential best-in-class” specialty medicine to treat and prevent progression of steatotic liver disease (SLD).  Under the agreement to acquire Boston Pharmaceuticals’ lead asset Efimosfermin, GSK will pay $1.2 billion upfront followed by additional success-based milestone payments totalling $800 million.

Vistry Group reported an improvement in its sales rate, rising to 0.91 per outlet per week from the 0.59 announced in March, with the last eight weeks averaging 1.32.  In a statement ahead of its annual shareholder meeting, the housebuilder said it continues to expect a year-on-year profit increase in 2025, with performance more heavily weighted to the second half of the year.  It expects low single-digit build cost inflation this year, as some upward pressure on material and labour costs are being experienced but are being managed through engagement with suppliers.

Reporting Today:

UK

Burberry Group (BRBY)

Keller Group (KLR)

Spirax Group (SPX)

TP ICAP Group (TCAP)

Compass Group (CPG)

US

Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO) AMC

Reporting Tomorrow:

UK

3i Group (III)

National Grid (NG.)

Premier Foods (PFD)

United Utilities Group (UU.)

Aviva (AV.)

Grainger (GRI)

US

Alibaba Group (BABA) PMO

Deere & Co (DE) PMO

Walmart (WMT) PMO

Applied Materials (AMAT) AMC

Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO) AMC

In Focus Today:

German Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices

BoE’s Breeden speech

ECB’s Escrivá speech

ECB’s Nagel speech

Fed’s Waller speech

ECB’s Cipollone speech

Fed’s Jefferson speech

Fed’s Daly speech

Tomorrow’s Ex-Dividends:

UK 100 companies going ex-dividend on 15th May 2025:

Pershing Square Holdings

Admiral Group

Tesco

Unilever

BP

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners

GSK

Shell

UK 250 companies going ex-dividend on 15th May 2025:

Murray Income Trust

Spectris

PageGroup

Lancashire Holdings

Balfour Beatty

Greencoat Uk Wind

PRS REIT

Blackrock Smaller Companies Trust

Target Healthcare REIT

JPMorgan European Growth & Income

Renewables Infrastructure Group

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