FTSE 100 Closes Tuesday Up 0.5% as China Concerns Ease
30 November 2022 - 4:17AM
Dow Jones News
The FTSE 100 closed up 0.5% to 7512 on Tuesday and reached a
three-month high, with Asia-exposed companies leading the gains
amid expectations that the Chinese government will ease
Covid-19-related restrictions, IG's chief market analyst Chris
Beauchamp say in a note. Standard Chartered--one of the largest
foreign bank networks in China--was up 5%, followed by HSBC
Holdings, which rose 4.4%. The raw-materials and energy sector were
also lifted by a weaker dollar and robust commodity prices, with
miner Rio Tinto rising 3.7% and Anglo American by 3.6%.
Companies News:
AstraZeneca to Buy Neogene Therapeutics for $320 Mln
AstraZeneca PLC said Tuesday that it is buying biotechnology
company Neogene Therapeutics Inc. for up to $320 million.
---
easyJet FY 2022 Pretax Loss Narrowed, Revenue Rose on Pandemic
Recovery
easyJet PLC said Tuesday that its fiscal 2022 pretax loss
narrowed and revenue rose as passenger numbers and revenue per seat
recovered following the easing of Covid-19-related
restrictions.
---
Shaftesbury Swung to FY 2022 Pretax Profit on Revaluation Gains
and as Income Rose
Shaftesbury PLC said Tuesday that it swung to a pretax profit
for fiscal 2022, primarily on gains from the revaluation of
investment properties, while net property income rose 28%.
---
Amigo Holdings Swung to 1H Loss, Revenue Fell as Legacy Loan
Book Unwinds
Amigo Holdings PLC said Tuesday that it swung to a pretax loss
for the first half of fiscal 2023 as revenue dropped, and said
meetings with potential investors in relation to a capital raise
are under way.
---
Wise PLC 1H Pretax Profit Boosted by Interest Rates, Higher
Revenue
Wise PLC on Tuesday reported a large rise in pretax profit for
the first half of fiscal 2023 as it benefited from higher interest
rates on customer accounts, and backed its full-year guidance.
Market Talk:
EasyJet's Shares Look Undervalued Given Progress to Date
1221 GMT - easyJet posted a clear, positive rebound in financial
performance in its fiscal 2022 results, although the underlying
positive trend was masked by restrictions in the first half brought
on by the Omicron variant of Covid-19 and operational disruption in
the third quarter, Liberum says. The budget airline's short-term
outlook looks positive, though capacity guidance is slightly more
cautious than expected and there are headwinds from fuel and
market-wide inflationary pressure, Liberum analyst Gerald Khoo says
in a research note. "The current rating more than reflects the
external risks, while giving little credit for the strategic
progress made by the group," Liberum says, retaining its buy rating
and 430.0 pence price target on the stock. Shares are down 4.8% at
374.3 pence. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)
EasyJet's Outlook Is Positive But Costs Still Weigh
1200 GMT - EasyJet has posted a strong end to fiscal 2022, with
record fourth-quarter earnings and an encouraging top-line outlook
for fiscal 2023, HSBC says. The budget airline's peak periods over
winter have returned to normal volumes with strong
yields--Christmas ticket yields, for example, are currently up 18%
on-year, HSBC analyst Anand Date says in a research note. The
challenge remains the cost offset, with management noting
significantly higher fuel prices and "market-wide inflationary
pressure," the U.K. bank says. "By our calculations, [we expect] a
fuel bill for fiscal 2023 of around GBP2.11 billion, or up 64%
on-year," Date says. HSBC raises its price target to 440 pence,
from 380 pence. Shares are down 4.7% at 374.5 pence.
(joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)
EasyJet's Recovery Begins to Take Off
1126 GMT - EasyJet is finally beginning to show strong signs of
recovery, with the latest quarter in particular providing comfort
with record earnings, Interactive Investor says. The budget
airline's headwinds past, present and future have weighed heavily
on shares, falling to around GBP4 now from GBP13 prepandemic and
declining faster than the wider FTSE 250, II head of markets
Richard Hunter says in a market comment. "However, a potentially
new direction of travel is at last emerging and although airlines
remain at the higher end of the risk scale as they have always
historically done, the market consensus of the shares as a buy
reflects growing optimism for the company's prospects over the
longer term," Hunter says. Shares are down 4.4% at 375.7 pence.
(joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)
Market Makers, Gilt Investors Favor Re-Opening of Index-Linked
2051 Gilt, DMO Says
1125 GMT - Most U.K. gilt market makers and investors recommend
the reopening of the index-linked 2051 gilt in the first three
months of next year, the final quarter of the 2022/23 fiscal year,
the U.K.'s Debt Management Office says after consultations with the
market participants. However, investors were split between a
reopening of the 2051 and the 2031 index-linked gilt, the DMO says.
Some market markers favored either the 2031 or 2039 linkers and
there were "isolated calls for a re-opening of IL 2073."
(miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)
Contact: London NewsPlus; paul.larkins@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 29, 2022 12:02 ET (17:02 GMT)
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