SL..L Share News (SL.)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares in London are slightly weaker at the open Tuesday, ahead of UK third-quarter GDP, due at 0930 GMT.

Shares in oil major BP lead FTSE 100 gainers, up 1.9%, after it reported a steep drop in earnings and revenue in the third quarter of the year as a result of lower world oil prices, but said it is committed to sustaining its dividend and plans to have "balanced cashflows" by 2017.

Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
----------
MARKETS
----------
FTSE 100: down 0.3% at 6,395.40
FTSE 250: down 0.2% at 17,149.99
AIM ALL-SHARE: down 0.1% at 747.30
----------
Hang Seng: up 0.1% at 23,142.73
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.9% at 18,777.04
DJIA: closed down 0.1% at 17,623.05
S&P 500: closed down 0.2% at 2,071.18
----------
GBP: down at USD1.5346 (USD1.5360)
EUR: up at USD1.1055 (USD1.1047)

GOLD: flat at USD1,166.06 per ounce (USD1,166.22)
OIL (Brent): down at USD47.08 a barrel (USD47.90)

(changes since previous London equities close)
----------
ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
----------
Tuesday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times in GMT)

09:00 EU M3 Money Supply and Private Loans
09:30 UK Gross Domestic Product preliminary
09:30 UK Index of Services (3M/3M)
12:30 US Durable Goods Orders
12:55 US Redbook index
13:00 US S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices
13:45 US Markit PMI Services and Composite Preliminary
14:00 US Consumer Confidence
14:00 US Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index
----------
UK Chancellor George Osborne has said he will act on concerns raised about the impact of tax credits cuts after the House of Lords voted to delay the changes and to compensate those affected in full, the BBC reported. Peers voted by 289 votes to 272 to provide full financial redress to people in the UK who had been affected by the cuts. In addition, they backed a hold on the cuts until an independent study on the impact of the changes has been carried out.
----------
China's industrial profits dropped marginally in September from a year ago, figures from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. Industrial profits edged down 0.1% year-over-year in September, much slower than the 8.8% sharp decrease in August.
----------
The White House and congressional leaders are close to reaching a two-year US budget deal that will increase the spending on defense and domestic programs, according to reports. The federal government currently has in place a stopgap funding that expires on December 11. Also, the nation has a November 3 deadline to raise its debt limit. The new deal this time around will eliminate the threat of a government shutdown or debt default until the presidential election is over.
----------
Indonesia intends to join the Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement, President Joko Widodo told US President Barack Obama at the White House. "Indonesia is an open economy, and with the 250 million population we are the largest economy in Southeast Asia. And Indonesia intends to join the TPP," Joko said following a meeting with Obama in the Oval Office. Earlier this month, 12 Pacific Rim countries reached an agreement on the trade pact that will lift most duties on trade and investment, set new business standards and protect intellectual property rights, but the final text of the agreement has not yet been released.
----------
Troops and rescuers were scrambling to reach thousands of people feared trapped under rubble in northern Pakistan, an official said, a day after a powerful earthquake hit the region, killing at least 300 people. The death toll reached 230 in Pakistan, according to Information Minister Pervaiz Rasheed. Most deaths in Pakistan were reported from the mountainous region of Malakand in the north near the Afghan border, Rasheed said. More than 70 people were killed in eastern Afghanistan in the 7.5-magnitude earthquake that jolted a vast region from Tajikistan to New Delhi in India.
----------
Fierce fighting erupted between Syrian regime forces and the Islamic State militants over the control of a key supply route for the regime to Aleppo, a monitoring group said. The heavy battles taking place on the Khanasir-Ithriya road south-east of Aleppo, came three days after Islamic State fighters cut off the regime's road linking the northern city to government territory in central Syria, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
----------
The State Electoral Commission confirmed the victory of conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party in Poland's parliamentary elections. The party of President Jaroslaw Kaczynski received 37.6% of the votes and will be the most powerful in the new parliament, said the head of the State Electoral Commission, Wojciech Hermelinski. The victory means PiS will have an absolute majority in parliamentary elections and will be able to govern without coalition partners, a first for the country since the end of communism in 1989. Sunday's elections ended eight years in power for the governing centrist Civic Platform and saw no left-wing party enter parliament - another first for the former Soviet satellite state since its 1989 transition to democracy.
----------
Dozens of prominent Australians including academics, scientists, church leaders, bankers, authors and a rugby star called on Australian and other world leaders to ban new coal mines at climate talks in Paris next month. In an open letter printed in newspapers Tuesday the signatories also called for a global moratorium on expanding existing coal mines. The 61 signatories include former chair of the Australian Coal Association and ex-Shell executive Ian Dunlop, former Reserve Bank governor Bernie Fraser, Anglican Bishop George Browning, and rugby star David Pocock who plays in the World Cup final on Saturday.
----------
BROKER RATING CHANGES
---------
CREDIT SUISSE CUTS PEARSON TO 'NEUTRAL' ('OUTPERFORM') - TARGET 970 (1455) P.
----------
TRADERS: MACQUARIE INITIATES STANDARD LIFE WITH 'OUTPERFORM' - TARGET 470 PENCE
----------
UBS RAISES MICRO FOCUS TO 'BUY' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 1460 PENCE
----------
PANMURE CUTS CHEMRING GROUP TO 'SELL' ('BUY') - TARGET 140 (294) PENCE
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 100
----------
BP reported a steep drop in earnings and revenue in the third quarter of the year as a result of lower world oil prices, but said it is committed to sustaining its dividend and plans to have "balanced cashflows" by 2017. The oil and gas major reported a replacement cost profit of USD1.23 billion in the third quarter of 2015, a steep fall from the USD2.38 billion profit reported a year earlier as revenue fell to USD55.87 billion from USD94.76 billion. Revenue fell due to the drop in oil prices, which offset a 4.4% year-on-year rise in production during the quarter, which ended September 30.
----------
Wealth manager St James's Place said its net inflow of funds under management improved year-on-year in the third quarter, as the group continues to grow its business. The company said its net inflow of funds under management in the quarter to the end of September was GBP1.48 billion, up from GBP1.26 billion in inflows a year earlier. Total funds under management for the company increased to GBP54.5 billion at the end of the quarter, up from GBP49.1 billion a year earlier.
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 250
----------
Police arrested a 15-year-old boy in Northern Ireland over last week's cyberattack" on the TalkTalk Telecom website. Scotland Yard has said officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland, working with detectives from the Metropolitan Police Cyber Crime Unit, arrested the boy from a house in County Antrim Monday on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act offences. The identity of the suspect was not disclosed.
----------
Builders' merchant and DIY company Grafton Group said it has signed a deal to acquire Netherlands-based Isero BV for EUR91.5 million in cash. Grafton said Isero is a tools and fixings distributor with 38 branches in the Netherlands, trading under the Gerritse, Breur Ceintuurbaan and Van der Winkel brands. It has acquired the company from H2 Equity Partners, a private equity house.
----------
Recycled packaging manufacturer DS Smith said trading has been in line with its expectations in the first half of its financial year to the end of October, with continued growth in volume and margins. The company said it has continued to manage its asset portfolio and has recently completed the acquisitions of Duropack, Lantero and a Greek packaging business. The performance of the businesses that DS Smith has acquired has been ahead of its expectations, the company said.
----------
Nostrum Oil and Gas lowered its full-year production guidance due to unexpected repair work and reported a fall in production during the first nine months of 2015 that also will see revenue almost halve. The oil and gas company reported a fall in production in the first nine months of 2015, averaging 44,042 barrels of oil equivalent per day compared to 45,204 barrels per day a year earlier. For the first nine months of 2015, Nostrum is expecting revenue to be "in excess" of USD370.0 million, compared to around USD620.0 million a year earlier, reflecting lower production levels and lower oil prices.
----------
International Personal Finance said its credit issued in the third quarter grew year-on-year on a pro-forma basis and said it expects to meet market expectations for the full year. The home credit lender said its pro-forma growth in credit issued in the quarter to the end of September was 8.0%. The pro-forma numbers assume MCB Finance, the digital consumer credit provider it bought in February, was part of the company in the comparable period in 2014.
----------
COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
----------
Carpetright sales grew in the first 25 weeks of its financial year as the UK demonstrated a positive performance and the rest of Europe began to recover. The carpet and floor coverings retailer said total group sales in the 25 weeks to October 24 rose 1.2%, although this was a lower increase than the 2.6% growth reported in the same period the year before. In the UK, total sales rose 2.5%, while like-for-likes were up 4%, compared with 5% and 6.5% the year before, respectively.
----------
Chemring Group warned about its profit outlook for the full year after saying there is potential for revenue from the 40mm ammunition contract it announced in September to be delayed. The company said there is now a "realistic prospect" that its underlying operating profit for the year to the end of October could fall by around GBP16.0 million to about GBP33.0 million.
----------
COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
----------
Goldman Sachs Group is poised to settle allegations that one of its employees took confidential documents from the Federal Reserve in a deal that will cost it USD50 million and restrict its ability to advise New York-based banks for the next three years, according to reports citing people familiar with the matter. As part of the settlement, a former Goldman Sachs employee as well as a former Fed staffer are expected to plead guilty to misdemeanor charges. The reports said that the conduct at issue took place in September 2014 when a Goldman Sachs banker, Rohit Bansal, allegedly forwarded an e-mail to members of his team from Jason Gross, an employee at the Fed, that contained confidential information. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Bansal had worked with Gross at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
----------
JPMorgan Chase is retooling its Chase Pay product next year to make it easier for its credit, debit and prepaid cardholders to buy goods and services through retailers' websites, mobile apps and physical stores. JP Morgan is overhauling its payment product in a way that will allow it to compete more directly with the likes of Apple and PayPal.
----------
Nippon Life Insurance has agreed to buy a majority stake in National Australia Bank's life insurance business and an announcement will be made Wednesday, according to media reports citing people familiar with the matter. Japan's Yomiuri newspaper reported the Australian lender had agreed to sell 80% of its life-insurance business to Nippon Life Insurance Co. for JPY220 billion.
----------
German chemical giant BASF said its third-quarter sales fell 5% to EUR17.4 billion. EBITDA increased by EUR358 million to EUR2.9 billion, mainly due to higher depreciation. BASF said there was a pronounced summer lull this year and no volume momentum in September. Major markets such as Brazil are in a recession or face lower growth rates, such as China, the company noted. BASF said subdued economy, oil price decline and asset swap with Gazprom would burden sales and earnings in the fourth quarter.
----------
Novartis reported that its third-quarter net income plunged 42% to USD1.81 billion from last year's USD3.10 billion. Earnings per share were USD0.75, down 41% from USD1.27 last year. Net sales dropped 6% to USD12.27 billion from USD12.99 billion a year ago. On a constant currency basis, sales grew 6% with strong performance of Pharmaceuticals and Sandoz, which more than offset weakness at Alcon. Looking ahead, the company confirmed its outlook 2015 for continuing operations.
----------
Tuesday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Indus Gas
Clinigen Group
Aberforth Geared Income Trust
Brooks Macdonald Group
----------
By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.