Inmarsat Share News (ISAT)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The pound declined further on Tuesday following disappointing construction data, while the FTSE 100 also ended in the red as WPP and housebuilders weighed on London's blue-chip index.Focus now turns to the last in a trio of UK Purchasing Managers' Index readings for August, the services PMI, which is due on Wednesday and expected to improve to 53.9 from 53.5 in July.The FTSE 100 index closed down 0.6%, or 46.74 points at 7,457.86. The FTSE 250 ended down 0.7%, or 147.24 points, at 20,548.61, and the AIM All-Share finished flat, just 0.39 of a point higher, at 1,107.63.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.6% at 12,637.20, the Cboe UK 250 closed down 0.7% at 18,606.70, and the Cboe Small Companies ended down 0.1% at 12,257.55.In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended down 1.3%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt closed down 1.1%.Limiting the FTSE 100's losses on Tuesday, relative to its European counterparts, was a continued depreciation in the pound which fell after a weaker-than-expected construction PMI. The pound was quoted at USD1.2823 at the London equities close Tuesday, compared to USD1.2883 at the close on Monday.The IHS Markit/Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply construction Purchasing Managers' Index fell notably to 52.9 in August from July's 14-month peak of 55.8. The score was also below the expected 54.9.Commercial building was the best performing area of construction output in August, followed closely by residential work. However, the latest expansion of housing activity was the weakest since March.The data saw FTSE 100-listed housebuilders end in the red on Tuesday, with Berkeley Group down 4.4%, Persimmon down 3.3%, Taylor Wimpey 2.2% lower and Barratt Developments declining 2.0%.Sterling also failed to see a sustained lift as Bank of England governor Mark Carney confirmed he is in talks with the Treasury over extending his tenure. In a hearing with the Treasury Select Committee, Carney told MPs he has discussed staying on past his current leave date of June 2019 with the Chancellor and expects an announcement in due course.He said: "I fully recognise that during this critical period it's important that everyone does everything they can to help with the transition to exiting the EU."Even though I have already agreed to extend my time to support a smooth Brexit, I am willing to do whatever else I can in order to promote both a smooth Brexit and effective transition at the Bank of England."His comments came after mounting press speculation that he is in negotiations to stay on until 2020.In eurozone data on Tuesday, producer price inflation accelerated on energy prices in July, advancing 4% year-on-year following a 3.6% rise in June.The euro stood at USD1.1554 at the European equities close Tuesday, against USD1.1623 at the same time on Monday.In the US, the manufacturing sector grew at a faster-than-expected rate in August.The Institute for Supply Management said its PMI climbed to 61.3 in August from 58.1 in July. Economists had expected the index to dip to 57.7. The unexpected increase by the headline index came as the new orders jumped to 65.1 in August from 60.2 in July and the production index surged up to 63.3 from 58.5."After recording 4.2% annualised GDP growth, the ISM manufacturing index suggests the US economy is gaining momentum rather than losing it, reinforcing the case for two more rate hikes from the Federal Reserve this year," said James Knightley, chief international economist at ING.Stocks in New York were lower at the London equities close, re-opening from Monday's Labor Day holiday, with the DJIA down 0.2%, the S&P 500 index down 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.3%. In commodities, Brent oil was quoted at USD78.30 a barrel at the London equities close Tuesday from USD78.18 late Monday.Gold was quoted at USD1,191.88 an ounce at the London equities close Tuesday against USD1,201.48 at the close on Monday.On the London Stock Exchange, WPP ended as the worst performing stock in the FTSE 100, slumping 6.3% after the release of its interim results."Reported revenue is down more than 2%, though this reflects significant currency headwinds, margins are under pressure and, in what essentially amounts to a profit warning, profitability is expected to dip for the year as a whole while a longer term 20% margin target has been abandoned," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.Pretax profit for the first half of 2018 was 8.6% higher year-on-year at GBP846.5 million compared to GBP779.2 million, despite revenue dropping 2.1% to GBP7.49 billion from GBP7.65 billion.Looking ahead, WPP on Tuesday tweaked its guidance for 2018 to see like-for-like revenue and revenue, less pass-through costs, growth "similar to the first half" - meaning better than the previous guidance of flat - though margins are now expected in line with the first half's 40 basis points like-for-like decline. This had previously been guided flat on last year on a constant currency basis.In a well-received quarterly update, motoring, cycling and vehicle products retailer Halfords closed up 6.9% - the best performer in the FTSE 250 - after it said revenue grew 2.7% in the 20 weeks to August 17, with retail up 2.6% and Autocentres up 3.9%.On a like-for-like basis, group revenue was up 2.8% in what the company described as a "solid performance despite a challenging retail environment".Retail Motoring like-for-like sales jumped by 3.8%, driven by growth in fitting services, car cleaning products, tools, and staycation-related products, the company said. Ending 2.2% higher was BBA Aviation, after Berenberg initiated the stock with a Buy rating. Inmarsat closed down 4.2% after RBC cut the satellite communications provider to Sector Perform from Outperform.Alfa Financial, the worst performer on Tuesday, declined 6.4% as it posted a fall in pretax profit to GBP8.6 million for the first half of the year, down from GBP14.0 million in the same period a year ago, on revenue of GBP32.9 million and GBP45.1 million, respectively.In June, the asset finance software firm warned on a hit to trading from a major customer delaying an implementation project.The company's share price fall comes as the latest quarterly index review is set to be announced after the market close on Wednesday, based on Tuesday's closing prices. Alfa Financial is in danger of demotion from the FTSE 250 index, with a market value of GBP444.8 million on Tuesday making it the smallest stock by market capitalisation in the index.For the first time since 2006, the composition of the FTSE 100 is seen unchanged in the upcoming index shuffle, though newly-listed companies such as Avast, Vivo Energy and Amigo Holdings are up for promotion to the FTSE 250.Elsewhere in the events calendar on Wednesday are services PMI readings due from Japan, China, Frank, Germany, the eurozone and the UK at 0130 BST, 0245 BST, 0850 BST, 0855 BST, 0900 BST and 0930 BST respectively. Also in the eurozone are retail sales at 1000 BST, while in the US are MBA mortgage applications at midday followed by the trade balance at 1330 BST and the Redbook index at 1355 BST. The Bank of Canada releases its latest interest rate decision at 1500 BST.In the corporate calendar on Wednesday are annual results from housebuilder Barratt and a trading update from peer Berkeley. In the afternoon are August traffic statistics from British Airways parent International Consolidated Airlines.