Yahoo Finance FTSE 100 Live 23 November: Gilt yields rise, index closes flat
FTSE finishes flat
Thursday 23 November 2023 16:49 , Simon Hunt
After a late-morning dip, blue-chips rallied in the afternoon and the FTSE 100 ended the day broadly unchanged.
Investors paid closer attention to the online classifieds today after Rightmove shares were given “top pick” status by a leading City bank.
The property portal rose 1% as UBS said recent competition concerns had been overdone, adding that Rightmove is better placed in a cyclical downturn.
In contrast to the projected upside to 688p, the bank has a “sell” recommendation on Auto Trader after a recent strong run for the shares. The platform slipped 1.4%.
Sentiment towards Auto Trader wasn’t helped by retailer Motorpoint revealing a 6% fall in wholesale used car prices in the past six weeks.
Motorpoint fell 1.8% in the FTSE All-Share as it highlighted the demand impact of high inflation, interest rates and consumer uncertainty. Half-year revenues fell 22.8% to £607.2 million, leading to a loss of £3.7 million.
Gilt yields continued to rise today after the government yesterday said it would be borrowing more than markets had anticipated, while the pound gained slightly against the dollar.
No trade over in the US today because of Thanksgiving.
Here's a last look at your key market data:
City Comment: Anti-London bias does nothing to propel UK growth
Thursday 23 November 2023 15:42 , Simon Hunt
As ever in recent years there was little for London to cheer in yesterday’s Autumn Statement.
The capital did at least get a mention this time, just one, which is one better than in many Chancellor set pieces of the Levelling Up era. That came in a passage about “busting the planning backlog” with £32 million earmarked for developing “fantastic new housing quarters” in Cambridge, Leeds, and yes London. It is not clear how that will divvied up, but let’s say equally, three ways. That implies just over £10 million is being handed over from the Treasury coffers to help solve the housing crisis in the capital. It simply won’t touch the sides.
The business rates relief is welcome, but as we reveal today, less relevant for London than most regions, because of the £51,000 rateable value threshold. There are not too many pubs or restaurant in the capital that will benefit — a cruel Catch-22 for businesses labouring under the burden of heavy costs that make them ineligible for help.
Naturally, putting full expensing of plant and machinery investment on a permanent footing will help many companies, although London’s services-dominant economy will probably have less to gain than the Midlands and the North.
There was nothing in the statement on restoring VAT-free shopping for foreign shoppers, a move that London hospitality and retail bosses say would do more than anything else to propel growth. To be fair, Jeremy Hunt did mutter a few words about reviewing the evidence in questions after his speech — but don’t hold your breath.
London is big and ugly enough to be able to prosper without Treasury largesse. But why not aspire to have the biggest and most powerful engine firing on all cylinders? This Government’s anti-London bias does not help the quest for growth.
Taking the temperature of crude - OPEC delay stokes volatility
Thursday 23 November 2023 14:00 , Michael Hunter
Brent Crude is one of the main movers on today's markets, with Wall Street's closure for Thanksgiving leaving the spotlight on other asset classes.
Oil has been stirred up over the longer term by geopolitical tension in the Middle East.
But it has eased back this week, when major exporting nations delayed a scheduled meeting amid reports of disagreements in OPEC+ over production levels under the terms of existing output cuts,
David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, said: ".Traders were thrown off balance as the all-important ministerial meeting, where the discussions about output cuts take place, has been delayed from this Sunday to Thursday next week.
"There’s speculation that certain OPEC+ members, specifically smaller producers from Africa, are struggling to agree supply cuts."
Brent Crude fell 1.3% today to $80.82 a barrel, leaving it down over 8% for 2023.
Midday markets: Bitcoin bounces back
Thursday 23 November 2023 12:52 , Michael Hunter
Here's the midday market readout, and Bitcoin is bouncing after its recent run lower.
Otherwise, the action is somewhat muted, with US markets shuttered for the Thanksgiving holiday.
There is also a drop of around 1% for Brent crude, although the International oil benchmark is still over $80 a barrel.
Hipgnosis going to court
Thursday 23 November 2023 10:30 , Simon Hunt
The saga surrounding Hipgnosis Songs Fund took another turn today after the company said it and its founder Merck Mercuriadis had been taken to court and it was losing PwC as its auditor.
A previous music business Mercuriadis had been involved in, called Hipgnosis Music Limited, has served legal proceedings in the High Court, alleging that there was "a diversion of business opportunity from Hipgnosis Music Limited" to Hipgnosis Songs Fund and the investment adviser - Hipgnosis Song Management Limited - and that the company "unlawfully assisted Mercuriadis with, or received, this alleged diversion".
The firm said it denied the claims and intended to defend itself in court.
Hipgnosis Music Limited appointed liquidators in June 2021, company filings show. In July 2023, an oblique ‘progress update’ over its winding up said an internal assessment “revealed matters that the joint liquidators considered merited further investigation [during which time] there is material uncertainty as to the value of any claims.”
Amid the legal wranglings, the firm also said today that PwC will not be offering its services to audit the firm’s accounts for the year to March 2024.
Auto Trader lower as FTSE 100 drifts, Hornby shares rise
Thursday 23 November 2023 10:24 , Graeme Evans
Investors paid closer attention to the online classifieds today after Rightmove shares were given “top pick” status by a leading City bank.
The property portal rose 1.4p to 504.2p as UBS said recent competition concerns had been overdone, adding that Rightmove is better placed in a cyclical downturn.
In contrast to the projected upside to 688p, the bank has a “sell” recommendation on Auto Trader after a recent strong run for the shares.
The platform slipped 10.4p to 701.4p as one of the biggest fallers in a session when the FTSE 100 index drifted 3.88 points to 7465.63.
Sentiment towards Auto Trader wasn’t helped by retailer Motorpoint revealing a 6% fall in wholesale used car prices in the past six weeks.
Motorpoint reversed 4.4p to 73p in the FTSE All-Share as it highlighted the demand impact of high inflation, interest rates and consumer uncertainty. Half-year revenues fell 22.8% to £607.2 million, leading to a loss of £3.7 million.
Despite the downturn, the company’s boss Mark Carpenter is confident next year will be a turning point for the market.
He said: “The rapid fall in used car values since the period end is unquestionably a near term challenge, however it also provides reassuring signs of supply finally beginning to improve in the nearly new market that we have dominated in the past.”
On AIM, Hornby shares rallied 0.9p to 16.9p even though underlying losses widened to £4.2 million in the six months to 30 September. Revenues grew by 6% to £23.8 million, offset by higher costs as the model trains and Scalextric maker ramps up a strategic overhaul.
Chief executive Olly Raeburn said: “We head into the key Christmas trading period with a strong order book, a full calendar of promotional activity and a strong team in place.”
Travelodge surges to another record
Thursday 23 November 2023 09:45 , Simon Hunt
Travelodge has hit a fresh record in sales and profits as the budget operator benefitted from a resurgence of hotel stays at major British events such as Wimbledon and the Edinburgh festival.
Revenue for the first nine months of the year climbed 16.7% to £782 million, while underlying earnings rose 22.4% to £201 million. The results are just marginally behind results from top hotel rival Premier Inn, in which its revenues climbed 17% and earnings rose 23%.
“There has been consistently strong leisure demand, whether visiting friends and family, taking short breaks across the country, or attending events such as Edinburgh Festival, sports events such as Wimbledon and the British Open, and various music festivals across the UK — including Reading Festival and Creamfields,” the firm said, adding that it had also seen a robust recovery of business travel.
Travelodge said it opened its sixth hotel in Madrid and views Spain as a key growth opportunity, with comparatively lower concentration of budget hotels.
The firm also plans to open a further six hotels next year and between 15-20 hotels thereafter.
Travelodge’s owners, asset management firm GoldenTree, were reportedly mulling a sale of the business earlier this year and seeking a valuation of £1 billion or more. But a Travelodge spokesperson said reports were speculative and no sales process was underway.
CEO Jo Boydell said: “We are encouraged to see the positive trading patterns continuing…as we benefit from staycations, event bookings and continued demand from customers seeking value for money.”
Oil stocks boost FTSE 100, FirstGroup falls 3%
Thursday 23 November 2023 08:44 , Graeme Evans
The support of oil stocks BP and Shell today helped the FTSE 100 index to find positive territory with a rise of 9.30 points to 7478.81.
The biggest fallers are National Grid, Vodafone and Imperial Brands after their shares excluded the value of their forthcoming dividend awards.
Auto Trader shares also fell 10.8p to 701p after UBS revealed a “sell” recommendation but quality assurance firm Intertek moved 27p higher at 3856p after its latest update left 2023 guidance unchanged.
The FTSE 250 index fell 30.87 points to 18,449.30, with FirstGroup 3% lower and outsourcer Mitie 1% higher after their half-year results. Virgin Money edged a penny higher to 158p after annual results.
Jet 2 points to another strong summer getaway season as revenue rises by a quarter
Thursday 23 November 2023 07:56 , Michael Hunter
Package holiday operator Jet 2 said summer bookings are already looking sunny for next year, as it reported a rise in a quarter in half-year revenue.
It brought in £4.4 billion in the six months to the end of September. Profit rose 47% to £660 million.
Holiday makers flocked back to the sun last summer, in the second year free of Covid restrictions and one when the travel industry had time to scale back up.
And Jet 2 said today that 2024 already looked promising.
"Looking ahead, current seat capacity for Summer 2024 at 17.19m seats is approximately 12% higher than Summer 2023. Bookings and pricing at this early stage are encouraging, with average load factors 2.0ppts ahead of Summer 2023 at the same point."
Oil price steadies after 5% fall, FTSE 100 seen higher
Thursday 23 November 2023 07:25 , Graeme Evans
Brent Crude has steadied at about $81 a barrel, having fallen 5% on Wednesday after OPEC+ postponed its policy meeting until next Thursday.
The delay to Sunday’s scheduled announcement has been interpreted as a sign that alliance members are not in agreement about further supply cuts.
The pressure on prices also reflected another increase in US crude oil inventories to their highest level since July. Brent traded as low as $78.47 a barrel, compared with above $90 a barrel a month ago.
On Wall Street, traders were in upbeat mood ahead of today's Thanksgiving holiday as the S&P 500 index lifted 0.4% and Nasdaq neared its highest level this year.
The 0.5% rise for the tech-focused index came despite a 2.5% fall for chip giant Nvidia in the wake of Tuesday night’s third quarter results.
The underperformance of the FTSE 100 index continued after a fall of 12.48 points to 7469.51, whereas the FTSE 250 improved 0.7% and European markets also gained.
The top flight is set to open 0.2% higher, according to IG Index.
Recap: Autumn Statement
Wednesday 22 November 2023 23:30 , Simon Hunt
Good morning from the City desk of the Evening Standard.
Lower National Insurance payments, a boost to the minimum wage and what the Chancellor claimed to be “the largest business tax cut in modern British history” were unveiled by Jeremy Hunt this afternoon in the Commons.
He also stood by the controversial “triple lock” boost to state pensions and took a “carrot and stick” approach to cutting spending on working-age benefits.
The measures come into an election that must be held by the end of next year, and the giveaways were made possible because the economy had turned a corner, Hunt said.
Many of the measures had been trailed in advance, making market reaction muted, but shares in firms with high rates of investment spending rallied on news tax breaks there worth around £11 billion a year would be made permanent.
Here's a summary of our other top headlines from yesterday:
Sam Altman reinstated as OpenAI CEO in latest twist to boardroom bust-up
B&Q owner Kingfisher issues stark profit warning after sharp slowdown in France during warm Autumn
European tech valuations continue to fall and investment dries up, but UK shows first signs of green shoots with deal volumes starting to rise again
SigmaRoc buys limes businesses from CRH for £645 million
And...take a look at the vision for a 'pedestrian friendly' Ludgate Circus revealed in £80m Fleet St revamp
