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| Yesterday’s UK 100 Leaders | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC | 4,399.0 | 3.5% |
| Rio Tinto PLC | 5,434.0 | 2.2% |
| Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust PLC | 844.8 | 2.1% |
| Bae Systems PLC | 1,368.0 | 2.1% |
| Anglo American PLC | 2,149.0 | 1.8% |
| Yesterday’s UK 100 Laggards | Price (p) | % Chg |
| Croda International PLC | 4,720.0 | -3.4% |
| Entain PLC | 813.3 | -3.2% |
| Ocado Group PLC | 366.3 | -3.0% |
| Burberry Group PLC | 1,131.5 | -2.8% |
| Persimmon PLC | 1,299.5 | -2.6% |
| Major World Indices | Price | % Chg | 1 YEAR |
| UK 100 INDEX | 8,040 | -0.1% | 1.9% |
| DOW JONES INDUS. AVG | 38,461 | -0.1% | 14.7% |
| DAX INDEX | 18,089 | -0.3% | 14.0% |
| NIKKEI 225 | 37,628 | -2.2% | 31.5% |
| S&P/ASX 200 INDEX | 7,683 | 0.0% | 4.9% |
| Commodities | Units | Price | % Chg |
| WTI Crude Oil (Nymex) | USD/bbl. | 82.90 | 0.11% |
| Brent Crude (ICE) | USD/bbl. | 88.16 | 0.16% |
| Gold Spot | USD/t oz. | 2,320 | 0.2% |
| Copper (Comex) | USd/lb. | 451 | 0.5% |
Click graph to enlarge
The UK 100 called to open +6 points at 8,046. The UK 100 looks set to open marginally higher this morning, this comes on the back of another record high day for the UK’s blue-chip index. Stateside yesterday saw the S&P close near its flatline as interest rate fears dampened the enthusiasm stemming from a strong slate of corporate earnings. The S&P eked out a 0.02% gain to close at 5,071.63, while the Dow Jones fell 42.77 points, or 0.11%, to 38,460.92. The Nasdaq edged 0.1% higher to finish the session at 15,712.75.
Anglo American are “reviewing” a takeover bid from BHP Group in what could rank as one of the sector’s biggest deals in years. No price of the “unsolicited” offer has been disclosed, which must be sewn up before a deadline of 22nd May.
AstraZeneca reported quarterly revenue and profit above market estimates, buoyed by resilient demand for its oncology and rare blood disorder drugs and steady growth in revenue from partnered medicines. They reported core earnings per share of $2.06 on total revenue of $12.68bn, ahead of analyst expectations of a core profit of $1.92 and revenue of $11.84bn.
Barclays have reported that their Q1 profit fell 12%, as they showed early signs of the difficulties it will face in delivering on its first strategic revamp in a decade. They reported a Q1 pretax profit of £2.27bn, down from £2.6bn YoY, but this in line with average analyst forecasts of £2.2bn.
Ibstock says Q1 trading conditions “remained challenging” with activity levels subdued.
London Stock Exchange reports Q1 growth in line with plans and products from its partnership with Microsoft were due to be rolled out in H1 2024.
Persimmon says they are on track for 10,000-10,500 home completions in 2024 as they expect their 2024 operating margin to be in line with 2023.
Sainsbury’s have forecast strong profit growth in its new financial year as they reported a 1.6% rise for 2023/24, above guidance, that partly reflected customer wins from rivals.
Unilever report that their underlying Q1 sales grew by a better-than-expected 4.4% as they won back consumers who had traded down to cheaper products. They are confident in their ability to deliver sustained volume growth and maintained their FY outlook.
WPP reported a 1.6% drop in organic growth in Q1, after they were hit by loss of business from a healthcare client and reduced spending by technology companies.
Liberum Downgrades Centamin to Sell from Hold (7 buys / 1 Hold / 1 Sell)
UK
AstraZeneca
Barclays
Hikma Pharmaceuticals
Ibstock
Inchape
London Stock Exchange Group
PPHE Hotel Group
Persimmon
RELX
Sainsbury
Schroders
Travis Perkins
Unilever
W.A.G Payment Solutions
WH Smith
WPP Group
Weir Group
Indivior
US
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Caterpillar Inc
Merck & Co
Willis Towers Watson
Alphabet Inc C
Alphabet Inc A
Gilead Sciences
Intel Corp
Microsoft Corp
Snap Inc A
UK
Natwest Group
Pearson
Smurfit Kappa Group
US
AbbVie
Aon
Ball Corp
Chevron
Exxon Mobil
German GfK Consumer Confidence Survey
EU Economic Bulletin
US Gross Domestic Product
US Initial Jobless Claims
US Pending Home Sales
UK GfK Consumer Confidence
Tokyo Consumer Price Index
UK 100 companies going ex-dividend on 25th April 2024:
Legal & General Group
St. James’s Place
ConvaTec Group
Spirax-Sarco Engineering
Rightmove
UK 250 companies going ex-dividend on 25th April 2024:
Bakkavor Group
Morgan Sindall Group
Tyman
Greggs
Derwent London
ME Group International
Morgan Advanced Materials
Bodycote
Foresight Solar Fund
Murray International Trust
City of London Investment Trust
Shaftesbury Capital
Schroder Oriental Income Fund
Bankers Investment Trust
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