Saga Share News (SAGA)

LONDON (Alliance News) - London shares prices are set to open higher on Thursday, building on Wednesday's gains, ahead of the Bank of England's latest monetary policy decision at midday.In early UK company news on Thursday, BP has abandoned a AUD1.8 billion deal to buy Australian supermarket retailer Woolworths's fuel network, Dixons Carphone's annual profit fell in line with its May warning, and Saga said trading has been in line with expectations.IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 index of large-caps to open 27.00 points higher at 7,654.40 on Thursday. The FTSE 100 index closed up 23.55 points, or 0.3%,at 7,627.40 on Wednesday.However, CMC Markets chief market analyst Michael Hewson cautioned: "The modest rebound seen in equity markets yesterday shouldn't be taken as a sign that investors are getting used to the idea of a trade war. They are probably just an indication that escalation risks still remain some way away despite the recent rhetoric."In company news, oil major BP said its Australian unit will not continue with the proposed AUD1.79 billion acquisition of the Woolworths fuel network.The deal, which was first announced in December 2016, will not go forward after BP said that "the transaction cannot be structured to meet its strategic objectives".Electricals retailer Dixons Carphone said annual revenue rose while profit fell, as flagged last month, and maintained its total dividend.Like-for-like revenue rose 4% in the 12 months to April 28, as statutory revenue grew 3% to GBP10.53 billion from GBP10.25 billion last year, but pretax profit slumped to GBP289 million from GBP404 million.The company proposed a final dividend of 7.75 pence, maintaininh its full-year dividend at 11.25p.Thursday's results come after a trading update late May which saw the electronics retailer's shares lose 20% in one day. The FTSE 250 constituent had warned that headline pretax profit for the year just ended would slump to GBP382 million from GBP500 million the year prior - in line with the figure reported on Thursday.For the year ahead, Dixons - also as previously announced last month - said headline profit is expected to be around GBP300 million.Over-50s insurance and holiday firm Saga said trading was in line with expectations over the four months to May 31, with Saga branded retail insurance policies up 1% on year.Motor and home markets remain competitive, the company said, though it continues to write new business on "attractive terms".Saga added that motor claims costs have been in line with expectations despite the snow and icy weather conditions, and tour bookings for 2019/20 departures are flat year-on-year with recent "positive momentum"."We have seen good momentum this year across our travel and insurance businesses, particularly in new motor and home insurance policies, underwriting performance and bookings for our new cruise ship, Spirit of Discovery. All of this underpins our confidence that we have put in place the right investment to drive the Saga business forward," said Chief Executive Lance Batchelor.Elsewhere on the London Main Market, Chemring Group said interim revenue fell 8% to GBP229.3 million, though the defence countermeasures maker swung to a pretax profit of GBP4.3 million from a loss of GBP6.8 million last year.The company said the swing to profit in the half year to April 30 was a result of an improved underlying performance as well as reduced restructuring costs. It said underlying pretax profit rose 31% to GBP14.8 million from GBP11.3 million.Chemring declared an interim dividend of 1.1p per share, up 10% on last year's 1.0p. The firm said its full-year expectations remain unchanged, with approximately 80% of expected second half revenue either in the current order book or delivered to date.In focus in the UK on Thursday will be the BoE's meeting, in which no change to monetary policy is expected.There will not be a press conference with BoE Governor Mark Carney immediately after the decision, but he will give a speech at the Lord Mayor's bankers and merchants dinner at Mansion House in the evening at 2115 BST.Sterling was quoted at USD1.3137 early Thursday ahead of the BoE, lower than USD1.3201 at the London equities close on Wednesday."Markets will be looking for possible clues as to whether the MPC still has its sights set on a possible move in August; however given the number of times the Bank of England has cried wolf in raising rates it is hard to place any credibility on their guidance at this point in time," CMC's Hewson commented.In political news, the EU Withdrawal Bill completed its passage through UK Parliament on Wednesday evening when it was finally passed by the House of Lords without a vote.Earlier the Commons rejected a Lords amendment which would have given MPs the power to block a "no deal" Brexit by 319 votes to 303.The prime minister welcomed the passage of the bill - which transfers EU regulations on to the UK statute book - as "a crucial step in delivering a smooth and orderly Brexit".MPs were told shortly before the key vote that an official ministerial statement would be issued on Thursday making clear it is ultimately for Speaker John Bercow to decide whether they get a "meaningful vote" on a no-deal withdrawal from the EU.In the US on Wednesday, Wall Street ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending down 0.2%, the S&P 500 up 0.2% and Nasdaq Composite gaining 0.7%.Facing widespread criticism over a policy that has led to children being separated from their parents at the US-Mexico border, US President Donald Trump indicated Wednesday he plans to sign an executive order to address the issue.The executive order Trump plans to sign would reportedly not end his administration's "zero tolerance" policy for illegal immigrants but will allow families to be detained together.Walt Disney raised its offer to purchase Twenty-First Century Fox to USD71.3 billion, trumping an offer made by rival Comcast. Disney's Wednesday offer is much higher than its original offer of USD52.4 billion and also exceeds Comcast's USD65 billion offer last week.Disney's initial offer was stock-based, but Wednesday's bid mixes cash and stock. Disney is close to winning US antitrust approval for the deal, creating a potentially insurmountable hurdle for raised bid by Comcast, Bloomberg reported citing a person familiar with the matter.Under its raised offer, Disney has agreed to acquire for USD38 per Fox share the same businesses it had agreed to acquire under the previously announced merger agreement, including Fox's stake in the UK's Sky.In Asia on Thursday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.6%. In China, the Shanghai Composite is down 0.7%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is down 0.9%.In the economic events calendar on Thursday there are UK public sector borrowing figures at 0930 BST and the US housing price index at 1400 BST.