LONDON (Alliance News) - Stock prices in London are set for a lower open after disappointing Chinese economic data, while in early corporate news RPC has agreed a new takeover deal. China's exports plummeted 21% in February due to the Lunar New Year holiday and pressure from the trade war with the US, official data showed Friday.Exports reached USD135.2 billion following the larger-than-expected annual drop. Chinese imports fell 5.2% year-on-year in February to USD131.1 billion. Total foreign trade decreased 14% compared with last February, reaching USD266.4 billion. Foreign trade was impacted by China's week-long Lunar New Year holiday in early February. Nevertheless, the Chinese economy has also been suffering from a months-long trade war with the US that saw Washington slap tariffs on USD250 billion worth of Chinese imports.Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday in a press conference on the sidelines of the annual parliamentary session some people want to "decouple" the US and Chinese economies, labelling the efforts as "wishful thinking"."China celebrated the Lunar New Year last month so the numbers might not be an accurate reflection of trade," cautioned CMC Markets UK's David Madden. "Equities in Shanghai and Hong Kong are much lower on the back of the trade data." The Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed down 2.0%. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended 4.4% lower in late trade, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is down 1.9%.IG futures indicate the FTSE 100 index is to open 33 points lower at 7,124.55. The blue chip index finished Thursday down 38.45 points, or 0.5%, at 7,157.55.In early UK corporate news, FTSE 100 GlaxoSmithKline's ViiV Healthcare reported positive data for a proposed HIV-1 treatment.Cabotegravir and rilpivirine both met their main endpoints, GSK said, showing a combination of the two injected every four weeks was "non-inferior" to current standard daily oral treatments. In the FTSE 250, RPC has decided to withdraw its recommendation that shareholders accept Apollo Management's offer for the firm, and accept Berry Global's offer instead.Plastics firm RPC has agreed a 793 pence per share deal with US-based Berry Global, having previously agreed a 782p deal with Apollo. RPC shares closed at 796.41p on Thursday. The deals would value RPC at approximately GBP3.22 billion and GBP3.18 billion respectively. This comes as Apollo also announced Friday it has received approvals for its RPC offer from competition regulators in South Africa. Specialist building products firm SIG reported a drop in annual revenue, though it also swung to a pretax profit.SIG's statutory revenue fell to GBP2.74 billion in 2018, from GBP2.88 billion in 2017, but it returned to pretax profit, posting GBP28.5 million from a GBP54.7 million loss a year prior.On an underlying basis, revenue fell 1.2% to GBP2.68 billion, with like-for-like sales down 2.1%. SIG's underlying pretax profit was up 8.5% to GBP75.3 million. SIG is paying a 2.5p final dividend, meaning the total for 2018 is unchanged from the year before at 3.75p. The company said its transformation strategy is now beginning to take shape, with the second half of 2018 seeing "significant" progress.Net debt has fallen 27% to GBP189.4 million, SIG continued, and the firm plans on reducing this further.However, trading conditions do remain challenging, and SIG has guided for further like-for-like sales decline in the first part of 2019. Bodycote reported solid revenue and profit growth for 2018, with all of its divisions managing to report revenue improvement.The thermal processing firm's statutory pretax profit climbed to GBP132.2 million from GBP117.0 million, with the headline figure up 12% to GBP136.4 million. Bodycote's revenue rose 5.6%, and 6.7% at constant currency rates, to GBP728.6 million.The company will pay a final dividend of 13.2p, taking the 2018 total to 19.0p from 17.4p a year before. On top of that, it also will pay a special dividend of 20p, having returned a special payout of 25p in 2017. Bodycote had a strong year, the company said, and it enters 2019 "well positioned". Computacenter has appointed Non-Executive Director Peter Ryan as non-executive chair, replacing current incumbent Greg Lock, who will depart on May 16 at its annual general meeting. Outsourcer Serco has won a USD200 million contract to provide field office support services to the US Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. The deal is for one year, but has four option years. Non-Standard Finance, which is currently attempting to take over larger peer Provident Financial, reported a much narrowed annual loss, with underlying results beating market consensus, the firm said. The unsecured lender's pretax loss for 2018 was GBP1.6 million, from GBP13.0 million a year prior, while its normalised pretax profit rose 12% to GBP14.8 million.Revenue climbed 47% to GBP158.8 million, with normalised revenue rising 39% to GBP166.5 million. The normalised figure is adjusted for the August 2017 acquisition of George Banco and the adoption of a new accounting standard for 2018. Non-Standard Finance is paying a 2.00p final dividend, meaning 2018's total is 2.60p vs 2.20p a year prior. Its total net loan book rose 29% year-on-year to GBP310.3 million, with growth on brand-based lending, guarantor loans, and home credit.Non-Standard Finance had a good year, it said, while it has started 2019 well. Back in Asia, Japan's economy grew at an annualized rate of 1.9% in the last quarter of 2018, revised up from an initial estimate of 1.4%, a government report showed on Friday.The reading was almost in line with the 1.8% growth forecast by analysts surveyed by the Kyodo News agency and represented the first expansion in two quarters, the Cabinet Office said.The pound was quoted at USD1.3085 early Friday, lower from USD1.3096 late Thursday, amid dollar strength. Wall Street on Thursday ended lower with the Dow Jones Industrial Average shedding 0.8%, the S&P 500 losing 0.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite slipping 1.1%.In US political news, despite the failed summit last week between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the US government believes it is still possible to conclude an agreement to denuclearize the country by the end of Trump's first term in 2020.A senior US State Department official said Thursday is the time frame officials are working from."We are not as far along as we wanted to be, but we are making progress," the official said at a briefing.Trump's second meeting with Kim ended without a final declaration. The two sides were divided on the central issue of how North Korea should get rid of its nuclear weapons and what it should get in return.The economic events calendar on Friday has Italy producer prices at 1000 GMT, and the US jobs report for February at 1330 GMT.
UK dividends calendar - next 7 days
Thursday 26 May | |
abrdn Asia Focus PLC | ex-dividend date |
abrdn Equity Income Trust PLC | ex-dividend date |
abrdn Latin American Income Fund Ltd | dividend payment date |
Alfa Financial Software Holdings PLC | ex-dividend date |
Alfa Financial Software Holdings PLC | special ex-dividend date |
Andrews Sykes Group PLC | ex-dividend date |
Balfour Beatty PLC | ex-dividend date |
BlackRock World Mining Trust PLC | ex-dividend date |
Britvic PLC | ex-dividend date |
Burford Capital Ltd | ex-dividend date |
Cardiff Property PLC | ex-dividend date |
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners PLC | dividend payment date |
ContourGlobal PLC | ex-dividend date |
DCC PLC | ex-dividend date |
Diploma PLC | ex-dividend date |
Diversified Energy Co PLC | ex-dividend date |
Downing Renewables & Infrastructure Trust PLC | ex-dividend date |
Ecofin US Renewables Infrastructure Trust PLC | ex-dividend date |
Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC | ex-dividend date |
Grainger PLC | ex-dividend date |
Great Portland Estates PLC | ex-dividend date |
HICL Infrastructure PLC | ex-dividend date |
Imperial Brands PLC | ex-dividend date |
Intertek Group PLC | ex-dividend date |
IP Group PLC | ex-dividend date |
ITV PLC | dividend payment date |
JPMorgan Asia Growth & Income PLC | dividend payment date |
JPMorgan Global Growth & Income PLC | ex-dividend date |
Keywords Studios PLC | ex-dividend date |
LMS Capital PLC | ex-dividend date |
LXI REIT PLC | ex-dividend date |
Petershill Partners PLC | ex-dividend date |
Sage Group PLC | ex-dividend date |
Scottish American Investment Company PLC | ex-dividend date |
TI Fluid Systems PLC | ex-dividend date |
Titon Holdings PLC | ex-dividend date |
Tritax EuroBox PLC | ex-dividend date |
Victrex PLC | ex-dividend date |
Vivo Energy PLC | ex-dividend date |
Whitbread PLC | ex-dividend date |
Friday 27 May | |
Alternative Income REIT PLC | dividend payment date |
Centaur Media PLC | dividend payment date |
Clarkson PLC | dividend payment date |
CQS Natural Resources Growth & Income PLC | dividend payment date |
CQS New City High Yield Fund Ltd | dividend payment date |
Dunedin Income Growth Investment Trust PLC | dividend payment date |
Edinburgh Investment Trust PLC | dividend payment date |
Fevertree Drinks PLC | dividend payment date |
Fevertree Drinks PLC | special dividend payment date |
Fresnillo PLC | dividend payment date |
Greencoat UK Wind PLC | dividend payment date |
Gresham House PLC | dividend payment date |
Harworth Group PLC | dividend payment date |
Headlam Group PLC | dividend payment date |
Henderson Far East Income Ltd | dividend payment date |
JPMorgan American Investment Trust PLC | dividend payment date |
M&G Credit Income Investment Trust PLC | dividend payment date |
Mobius Investment Trust PLC | dividend payment date |
Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust PLC | dividend payment date |
Rightmove PLC | dividend payment date |
Schroder Asian Total Return Investment Co PLC | dividend payment date |
St James's Place PLC | dividend payment date |
Standard Life Investments Property Income Trust PLC | dividend payment date |
Starwood European Real Estate Finance Ltd | dividend payment date |
Target Healthcare REIT PLC | dividend payment date |
Tyman PLC | dividend payment date |
UK Commercial Property REIT Ltd | dividend payment date |
Vesuvius PLC | dividend payment date |
Monday 30 May | |
Bakkavor Group PLC | dividend payment date |
Central Asia Metals PLC | dividend payment date |
Mortgage Advice Bureau Holdings PLC | dividend payment date |
Tuesday 31 May | |
4imprint Group PLC | dividend payment date |
AEW UK REIT PLC | dividend payment date |
Anglo Pacific Group PLC | dividend payment date |
Arbuthnot Banking Group PLC | dividend payment date |
Bankers Investment Trust PLC | dividend payment date |
City of London Investment Trust PLC | dividend payment date |
Custodian REIT PLC | dividend payment date |
Diverse Income Trust | dividend payment date |
Ecofin Global Utilities & Infrastructure Trust PLC | dividend payment date |
Henderson International Income Trust PLC | dividend payment date |
JPMorgan Global Core Real Assets Ltd | dividend payment date |
Picton Property Income Ltd | dividend payment date |
Sportech PLC | dividend payment date |
Wednesday 1 June | |
Alliance Trust PLC | ex-dividend date |
BAE Systems PLC | dividend payment date |
Bodycote PLC | dividend payment date |
Derwent London PLC | dividend payment date |
Essentra PLC | dividend payment date |
Evraz PLC | ex-dividend date |
Henderson Diversified Income Trust PLC | ex-dividend date |
Henderson European Focus Trust PLC | ex-dividend date |
Henry Boot PLC | dividend payment date |
Hilton Food Group PLC | ex-dividend date |
IntegraFin Holdings PLC | ex-dividend date |
JPMorgan China Growth & Income PLC | dividend payment date |
JPMorgan Claverhouse Investment Trust PLC | dividend payment date |
Legal & General Group PLC | dividend payment date |
Majedie Investments PLC | ex-dividend date |
Menhaden PLC | ex-dividend date |
Momentum Multi-Asset Value Trust PLC | ex-dividend date |
National Grid PLC | ex-dividend date |
Porvair PLC | dividend payment date |
Premier Miton Global Renewables Trust PLC | ex-dividend date |
Regional REIT Ltd | ex-dividend date |
Residential Secure Income PLC | ex-dividend date |
Restore PLC | ex-dividend date |
RM Infrastructure Income PLC | ex-dividend date |
Sabre Insurance Group PLC | dividend payment date |
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust PLC | ex-dividend date |
Severn Trent PLC | ex-dividend date |
Triple Point Social Housing REIT PLC | ex-dividend date |
Tritax Big Box REIT PLC | dividend payment date |
Utilico Emerging Markets Trust PLC | ex-dividend date |
Vodafone Group PLC | ex-dividend date |
VPC Specialty Lending Investments PLC | ex-dividend date |
Warehouse REIT PLC | ex-dividend date |
Zotefoams PLC | dividend payment date |
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