LONDON (Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 pared some early gains on Tuesday as the morning's momentum ran dry, despite gains for miners and for NMC Health. The pound was shaky at the start of the week after European Parliament elections revealed a bruising outcome for both the Conservative and Labour parties, with the Liberal Democrats, Greens and Nigel Farage's Brexit Party making headway at their expense. The FTSE 100 was down 5.25 points, or 0.1%, at 7,272.48 Tuesday midday. The FTSE 250 was up 7.30 points at 19,134.56. The AIM All-Share was up 0.2% at 962.02.The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.1% at 12,331.01. The Cboe UK 250 was flat at 17,202.89, with the Cboe UK Small Companies also flat, at 11,847.88."A few quiet days on the Sino-US tariff front have helped Asian and European markets higher this morning but the positive opening on the FTSE was only short lived," observed Fiona Cincotta at City Index. "Declines by steel makers and several industrials are balancing out bounces in NMC Health and mining companies."Miners such as Rio Tinto and BHP Group were higher on Tuesday after Chinese iron ore futures hit a record higher, said David Madden at CMC Markets. "It was reported that Chinese iron ore inventories dropped severely last week, and that triggered a wave of buying," Madden explained.Rio Tinto shares were up 3.1%, while BHP was 1.7% higher. The top performer in the FTSE 100 however was NMC Health, boosted 3.4% on news of a joint venture in Saudi Arabia and upgraded guidance. The venture has been formed by the General Organization for Social Insurance - the largest pension fund in Saudi Arabia - contributing its 39% stake in Tadawul-listed National Medical Care Co at a price of SAR54, or GBP11.36, per share.NMC is contributing its five Saudi Arabian assets plus an additional USD66 million in cash at closing. NMC owns 53% of the joint venture while the General Organization for Social Insurance owns the other 47%.In light of the deal, NMC upgraded its underlying annual guidance, expecting to post revenue between GBP2.50 billion to USD2.54 billion in 2019, up from the previously guided USD2.43 billion to USD2.47 billion.Over in mainland Europe, the CAC 40 index in Paris and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt were down 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively.Data from the European Commission showed eurozone economic sentiment improved in May thanks to positive developments in the industrial sector, services and among consumers.The economic sentiment indicator for May increased in the euro area by 1.2 points from the month before to 105.1, with the industry confidence indicator booking its first solid improvement in 13 months, up 1.4 points in May from April.Eurozone consumer confidence increased by 0.8 of a point while services confidence improved slightly, by 0.4 of a point.In the EU as a whole, economic sentiment improved in France by 4.0 points, in Italy by 1.7 points, and in Spain by 1.3 points. Sentiment worsened in the Netherlands by 1.3 points and, most dramatically, in the UK by 4.8 points.Over the weekend, EU leaders and party officials were forced to rethink their strategies after European Parliament elections ended the domination of the main centre-right and centre-left parties.The results across Europe suggest a decline in the main centre-right and centre-left grouping in the European Parliament, with a boost for the Liberals, Greens and nationalists.Many citizens turned their backs on the centre-right European People's Party - one of its key figures, German chancellor Angela Merkel, saw her party lose ground - and the centre-left Socialists. The two parties have dominated the parliament with a combined majority since elections were first held in 1979.In the UK, the Conservatives were hammered by Nigel Farage's Brexit Party.The Tories dropped to just 9% of the vote in England and Wales and appear on course for their worst ever national election share once the full picture from Scotland becomes clear. Labour also suffered a terrible night as voters split between the clear alternatives offered by Farage and the pro-EU Liberal Democrats.In line with the overall shift in Europe, the Green Party finished above the Conservatives for the first time in a national election."While there are many conclusions that can be drawn from the UK's results in the recent European elections, the overriding one is that both the Tories and Labour will now likely seek to depart the centre ground to recoup some of their losses," commented David Cheetham at XTB.The pound was quoted at USD1.2665 at midday, down from USD1.2687 late Friday.In the US, stocks are pointed to a slow start with the Dow Jones called down 0.1%, the S&P seen 0.2% lower and the Nasdaq to slide 0.2%. Back in London, Galliford Try was up 3.6% after the housebuilding and construction company rejected a GBP950 million merger offer from Bovis Homes. Bovis wanted to purchase the Galliford's Linden Homes and its Partnerships & Regeneration businesses and intended to issue new shares to fund the deal, after which Galliford would have remained an independently listed company focused on contract construction. Galliford said the offer did not "fully value" the two businesses, and reiterated it remains confident in its long-term future.Bovis Homes was up 0.2%.Amigo Holdings gained 3.4% after the lender reported a sharp rise in annual profit and revenue in the firm's maiden set of annual results since listing in London. In the twelve months to March 31, Amigo saw its pretax profit increase 68% to GBP111.0 million from GBP66.1 million the year before. Revenue increased 28% to GBP270.7 million from GBP210.8 million. Looking ahead, Amigo said it has made a "solid start to the year", despite the "mood of uncertainty" around Brexit. The guarantor loans provider said it has not seen any "notable effect" from Brexit but will continue to monitor the situation. Sports Direct International was up 2.2% after receiving GBP120 million for the sale of its Shirebrook distribution centre.The sporting goods retailer will take a 15 year lease of the property and said it intends to continue to operate the property for distribution, offices and retail. Struggling travel agent Thomas Cook was up 8.3% after Berenberg raised the stock to Hold from Sell. "While we think the company is far from being out of the woods, the optionality of a sale of the airline and the potential support of Fosun for the tour operator means that the risk is fairly balanced with failure," the German bank commented.Despite Tuesday's gain, Thomas Cook shares remain 88% lower compared to this time a year ago.
13 Feb 2017 06:53
