Just Group Share News (JUST)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Sterling sank on Monday as Brexit uncertainty was prolonged with the delay of a crunch House of Commons vote on Prime Minister Theresa May's controversial withdrawal agreement.Though the FTSE 100 ended the session firmly lower, the pound's dive helped the foreign earnings-heavy index avoid the steeper falls recorded in mainland Europe.The pound was quoted at USD1.2535 at the London equities close Monday, sharply lower compared to USD1.2750 at the close on Friday. Sterling hit an intraday low of USD1.2506 on Monday, its worst level since April 2017.In a statement to MPs, May also said the government was stepping up preparations for a possible no-deal Brexit. May's statement came amid dramatic scenes at Westminster, as news of her plan to postpone Tuesday's "meaningful vote" broke just minutes after Downing Street had insisted it was going ahead.It is understood that the PM had been warned that she faced a large-scale defeat when MPs voted at the end of five days of debate in the Commons on her plans."It comes as no surprise to see UK-based housebuilders suffering amid the heightened uncertainty of the UK economic picture. Downgrades to UK house price forecasts, coupled with rising rates and expectations of weaker growth provides a perfect storm for the likes of Barratt Developments, Persimmon, and Taylor Wimpey," said IG market analyst Joshua Mahony.Barratt Developments closed down 5.6%, Persimmon down 4.4%, and Taylor Wimpey ended down 3.8%.Mahony added: "The sharp global selloff has largely been avoided for much of the FTSE 100, thanks to a tumbling pound. However, with US-China trade suffering amid the imprisonment of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, and the Brexit process looking more and more shambolic by the day, there is little reason to be optimistic for the time being."The FTSE 100 index closed down 56.57 points, or 0.8%, at 6,721.54. The FTSE 250 ended down 351.80 points, or 2.0%, at 17,492.31, and the AIM All-Share closed down 9.93 points, or 1.1%, at 886.83.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.9% at 11,415.90, the Cboe UK 250 sank 2.3% at 15,624.36, and the Cboe Small Companies slumped 1.3% at 11,039.29.Earlier in the day, official data showed the UK economy suffered a slowdown in the three months to October as a contraction in the manufacturing sector and falling car sales dragged on growth, amid continuing Brexit uncertainty.Over the three months to October, GDP rose 0.4% compared to the previous quarter, according to the Office for National Statistics. This compares to 0.6% recorded in the three months to September.Rolling three-month growth in the manufacturing sector was flat, but month on month it contracted by 0.9%. The manufacture of motor vehicles fell by 6.6%, due in part to the impact of factory shutdowns - such as at Jaguar Land Rover - and weaker consumer demand for cars."The weaker GDP figures for October seem to be mainly a reflection of the unwinding of some temporary factors which had boosted growth in Q3, rather than a significant slowdown in underlying activity. Nonetheless, there is little chance of a rebound in growth over the rest of Q4. As a result, annual GDP growth will probably still come in at 1.3% this year, the weakest since the financial crisis," said Thomas Pugh, UK economist at Capital Economics.Equities in mainland Europe ended sharply lower on Monday, with the CAC 40 in Paris closing down 1.6% while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt shed 1.7%.The eurozone's investor confidence eased sharply in December and declined for a fourth month in a row, marking the lowest level since the same month in 2014, survey data from Sentix showed on Monday.The investor confidence index dropped to minus 0.3 from 8.8 in November, the behavioral research institute said. The latest reading was the lowest since December 2014. Economists had forecast a modest decline in the index to 8.3. In other data from the euro area, Germany's merchandise exports grew more-than-expected in October and at the fastest pace in five months, preliminary figures from Destatis showed.Exports increased a seasonally adjusted 0.7% from September, when they declined 0.4%. Economists had forecast a 0.4% gain for November. Imports rose 1.3% monthly after stagnation in the previous month.The euro stood at USD1.1367 at the European equities close Monday, down from USD1.1397 at the same time on Friday.Stocks in New York were lower at the London equities close, with the DJIA down 1.8%, the S&P 500 index down 1.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite shedding 1.0%.Brent oil was quoted at USD60.87 a barrel at the equities close Monday, down from USD62.92 late Friday. Gold was quoted at USD1,245.50 an ounce at the close Monday against USD1,245.80 at the close on Friday.On the London Stock Exchange, miners traded in the red after weak trade data from China over the weekend. Figures on Saturday showed Chinese exports grew just 5.4% in November, considerably slower than the 16% growth in October. Meanwhile, imports rose 3% - the slowest rate in at least a year - to USD182.7 billion.Antofagasta closed down 4.5%, Anglo American down 2.2% and Glencore down 1.8%.Just Group shares jumped 20% on a favourable outcome from the UK Prudential Regulation Authority regarding equity release mortgages. Monday's policy statement follows a three-month consultation on the regulator's consultation paper on equity release mortgages. The PRA has pushed back the effective date for its new rules to the end of 2019, from the end of 2018 previously, and confirmed that transitional relief for technical provisions for pre-2016 business will be recognised for the remaining period to the end of 2031.Interserve shares collapsed 52% after the support services firm confirmed it is in discussions regarding the agreement and implementation of a deleveraging plan which could see "material dilution" for current shareholders."We are making good progress on our deleveraging plan which we expect to announce early in 2019. Our lenders are supportive of the deleveraging plan which will underpin the long-term future of Interserve," said Chief Executive Debbie White."The deleveraging plan will give Interserve a strong long-term capital structure and provide a solid foundation on which to build the future success of the group," added White. Hollywood Bowl Group closed up 14% after reporting a double-digit rise in annual profit, as well as a payout that was boosted by a higher special dividend.In the financial year ended September 30, the ten-pin bowling centre operator increased its pretax profit 13% to GBP23.9 million from GBP21.1 million last year. The company's revenue increased 5.7% to GBP120.5 million from GB114.0 million the year before, and was up 1.8% on a like-for-like basis.The company hiked its total dividend by 17% to 10.59 pence from 9.08p paid out last year. Hollywood Bowl's higher total dividend included a 30% increase in special dividend to 4.33p from 3.33p.In Tuesday's economic calendar, UK average earnings and the unemployment rate are due at 0930 GMT, while the ZEW economic sentiment surveys for Germany and the eurozone are both due at 1000 GMT. In the US, the producer price index is at 1330 GMT.At 0800 GMT in the UK, Kantar Worldpanel publishes its latest grocery share figures for the 12 weeks to December 2. In the corporate calendar, advertising firm WPP releases a strategy update while equipment rental firm Ashtead publishes half-year results. Flooring retailer Carpetright also releases interim results.