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(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London are seen opening higher on Monday, buoyed by a strong US close on Friday and as some European countries start to ease coronavirus lockdown measures.
In early company news, luxury carmaker Aston Martin Lagonda said it received almost complete acceptances for its rights issue of new shares, as new chair Lawrence Stroll said it will be fulfilling pre-orders for the DBX.
Housebuilder Redrow said it secured additional funding in response to the virus pandemic. Contract-for-difference provider Plus500 said its chief executive has decided to step down.
IG futures indicate the FTSE 100 index is to open 39.44 points higher at 5,826.40. The blue-chip index closed up 158.53 points, or 2.8%, at 5,786.96 on Friday.
Aston Martin Lagonda said it received acceptances for 98% of its 4-for-1 rights issue as the embattled luxury carmaker seeks to bolster its finances.
Back in January, Aston Martin had announced a GBP500 million funding plan, which included an investment by Formula 1 team Racing Point owner Stroll, as the Canadain billionaire takes over as Aston Martin's chair on Monday.
Mercedes Formula 1 team principal Toto Wolff bought a stake of 0.95% via investment vehicle ErsteAM, after the rights issue.
Upon taking the chairmanship at Aston Martin, Stroll said the company's most "pressing objective" is to plan to restart manufacturing operations, particularly to start production of the brand's first sports utility vehicle, the DBX.
Stroll said alongside the return to production, Aston Martin will be undertaking a rebalancing of supply to demand for its core models. In the months ahead, as the world starts to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, Stroll said, Aston Martin will start to ramp-up marketing initiatives to continue to build its order book.
"We will continue to focus significant effort and investment into the continued development of our range of mid-engined cars. These are a crucial next stage in the expansion of our product line-up. Descended from the awesome Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar, the Valhalla and Vanquish are set to position Aston Martin firmly in this sector and complete our range of highly engineered and beautiful sports cars. In the longer term we intend to commit to producing electric cars to combine performance and luxury with environmental sustainability," Stroll said.
Redrow said it has secured an extra GBP100 million additional funding under its existing revolving credit facility. The housebuilder noted it now has GBP350 million of committed facilities under the RCF which matures at the end of December 2022.
Plus500 said Chief Executive Asaf Elimelech has decided to step down from his role with immediate effect. The company named Chief Operating Officer David Zruia as interim CEO.
Elimelech will serve a 12-month notice period and will work in a transitional role alongside Zruia until a permanent replacement is appointed, Plus500 added.
Europe saw encouraging signs on Sunday, with Italy, Spain, France and the UK showing drops in daily death tolls and slowing infection rates.
Mounting evidence suggests that the lockdowns and social distancing are slowing the spread of the virus. In turn, this has intensified planning in many countries to begin loosening curbs on movement and easing the crushing pressure on national economies.
Germany will take its first step back towards normality, with smaller shops in some regions opening up for the first time in a month after politicians declared the coronavirus "under control". From florists to fashion stores, the majority of shops smaller than 800 square metres will be allowed to welcome customers again, in a first wave of relaxations to strict curbs on public life introduced last month.
Hard-hit Spain has extended a nationwide shutdown but said it would ease restrictions to allow children time outside. Switzerland, Austria, Denmark and Finland all began reopening shops and schools.
"A number of European countries eased some of their lockdown restrictions. Italy, Spain and Austria saw the re-opening of some businesses. In the grand scheme of things, the level of progress is tiny, but the message it sends out is very positive," commented CMC Markets analyst David Madden.
The pound was quoted at USD1.2473 early Monday, firm against USD1.2457 at the London equities close Friday.
A GBP1.25 billion package is being launched to help protect the UK's innovation sector during the coronavirus emergency.
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said the initiative would include a GBP500 million investment fund for high-growth companies hit by the crisis. The funding would come from both the government and private sector, he said.
Small and medium-sized firms specialising in research & development will be eligible for access to GBP750 million of grants and loans.
The euro was quoted at USD1.0865, up from USD1.0838 late Friday. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY107.82, up from JPY107.52.
Oil was quoted at USD27.57 a barrel on Monday morning, down from USD28.21 late Friday. Gold was quoted at USD1,682.23 an ounce, lower than USD1,690.68.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed down 1.2%. In China, the Shanghai Composite is up 0.3%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is down 0.1%.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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