FTSE 100 stalls after hitting 1-month high

FTSE 100 futures

FTSE 100 futures are down 2.8 points this morning at 7,780.9 after the blue-chip index hit a one-month high yesterday.

Top UK stock news

The CEO of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) Keith Barr told the Financial Times that the UK stock market is ‘not a very attractive place’ for listed companies and said a number of its shareholders asked if it had any plans to switch its primary listing to the US, where it already has a secondary listing in New York. ‘When we listed, there was probably no reason to even think about listing in the US for our primary listing because the FTSE was the FTSE and it was incredibly liquid … but things have changed,’ Barr said.

Anglo American (AAL) said its De Beers diamond unit sold $540 million worth of rough diamonds in its third sales cycle of 2023, down from last year but up from the last auction. De Beers CEO Al Cook said there are encouraging trends for diamond jewellery demand, especially in China where it is ‘beginning to see some signs of recovery’.

Student accommodation provider Unite Group (UTG) said it has already sold 90% of all tooms for the 2023/24 academic year and said reservations are ‘significantly ahead of recent sales cycles’. It said it is aiming for full occupancy and to grow rental revenue by 6% to 7% over the academic year. Its property portfolio valuation was unchanged on a like-for-like basis in the latest quarter.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) said it has appointed the president of its injectables business, Riad Mishlawi, as the new chief executive officer from the start of September 2023, when acting CEO Said Darwazah will revert to his previous role of executive chairman.

Great Portland Estates (GPE) said it signed £55.5 million of leases in the financial year to the end of March, marking a new record for the business. It said it can weather the macro-economic volatility and believes the shortage of new developments in London will push up prices and that it will wield its low leverage to add to its development pipeline.

Petrofac (PFC) warned it will book an extra $140 million to $160 million of Ebit losses in 2022. This means it now expects to report an annual Ebit loss of $150 million to $170 million, driven by its Engineering & Construction division. It said around half of the additional costs will be paid over the remainder of 2023, with the rest spread over 2024 and 2025.

Embattled cinema chain Cineworld (CINE) sank to an all-time low yesterday after submitting a reorganisation plan to the US Bankruptcy Court. Cineworld confirmed this will see shareholders effectively wiped-out due to the high levels of debt that needs to be repaid.

DP Eurasia (DPEU), which runs Domino’s Pizza franchises in Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia, reported a 7.6% rise in annual revenue in 2022 to TRY2.2 billion as system sales rose 1.5%. Adjusted Ebitda rose 5.3% to TRY311 million despite rampant inflation in Turkey. It said system sales were up 18.2% in the first 11 weeks of the new financial year, excluding discontinued operations in Russia.

Jefferies updated its view on European oil and gas companies this morning. Tullow Oil (TLW) has been cut to Underperform from Hold and the price target of 25p suggests the oil company is overvalued by some 23%. EnQuest (ENQ) has been cut to Hold from Buy and the price target of 20p implies there is 5.5% potential upside from current levels.

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