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| Wednesday January 11 2017 |
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By Callum Jones
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Good afternoon: Having broken records yesterday by closing at a fresh high for the ninth consecutive day the FTSE 100 may not be done yet. Britain’s leading stock market index started this afternoon up 0.1 per cent, at 7,284 points. At 10.29am it reached another another record intraday high of 7,292.69.
The UK trade deficit grew from £2.6 billion to £4.2 billion between October and November. “The widening of the deficit in November 2016 is attributed to trade in goods in which there were increased imports from both EU and non-EU countries, partially offset by an increase in exports to EU countries,” the Office for National Statistics said.
The ONS has had a busy morning. Its industrial output data for November shows a 2.1 per cent rise, higher than expectations. Output within the manufacturing sector rose by 1.3 per cent while construction faced a 0.2 per cent decline.
Mark Carney will no doubt be counting down the minutes; at 2.15pm, he is due to appear before MPs in Westminster. The treasury select committee is not known for giving the governor of the Bank of England an easy ride.
J Sainsbury is at the top of the FTSE leaderboard after posting an unexpected 1 per cent rise in like-for-like sales over the crucial Christmas period. In another flurry of retail trading updates, both House of Fraser and Joules Group have reported strong Christmas sales.
TUI, the owner of Thomson Holidays, led the FTSE fallers this morning after Credit Suisse reduced its target price. Shares in Cobham are heading south on the FTSE 250 after the air-to-air refuelling specialist issued a fresh profit warning.
And finally: some good news from Cineworld. Blockbusters including Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them boosted revenues at the cinema chain by 12.6 per cent last year, with admissions passing 100 million for the first time.
That’s all from me. Keep up to date throughout the afternoon at thetimes.co.uk/business. Have a nice day.
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| Callum Jones |
| Business reporter |
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| Market Snap |
Britain’s leading stock market index is on course to close at a record high for the tenth consecutive day.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.2 per cent at 11am, with retail and telecoms stocks taking it towards 7,300 points. On Tuesday the index closed at 7,275.47. It was the first time since the FTSE was created in 1984 that it reached a fresh closing high for the ninth day in a row.
The pound continued to slide during early trading, dipping below $1.21 for the second consecutive day. It rebounded yesterday to close at $1.2160 and recovered today during late morning trading to $1.213.
Supermarket stocks led the risers on the FTSE after J Sainsbury surprised analysts with a festive rise in like-for-like sales. Shares were up 3.6 per cent to 268p, and Wm Morrison rose by 0.9 per cent to 248¼p. Dixons Carphone gained 3.3 per cent to 356p.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, suggested that markets had been encouraged by strong sales at Argos after Sainsbury’s completed its acquisition of Home Retail Group, its parent company, in September.
“Sales at Argos rose 4.1 per cent in total and 4 per cent on a like-for-like basis, exceeding analysts’ expectations, helped by the rollout of digital stores and click-and-collect points within Sainsbury’s supermarkets,” he said. “It is still early days – and for those who believe that life begins to the left of the decimal point a 0.1 per cent increase in like-for-like sales at the supermarket operation is no big deal – but at least Sainsbury is generating some positive momentum.
BT was also performing well, up 2.6 per cent after Morgan Stanley raised its target price from 450p to 490p. Vodafonerose by 2.2 per cent to 215p.
TUI, the holiday operator, was the biggest faller among blue chip shares, down 4 per cent to £11.42 after Credit Suisse downgraded the stock, saying that it expected tough conditions in its two largest markets, Britain and Germany. The downgrade also hit Thomas Cook Group, which fell 4.4 per cent.
While the FTSE 100 was on the rise the mid-caps were having a tougher morning. The FTSE 250 slipped by 0.12 per cent at 18,391 points, with Cobham shares heading south after it issued another profit warning. The air-to-air refuelling specialist led the fallers, down 14.3 per cent to 141p. Evraz, the Russian miner, was the top riser on the FTSE 250, up 4.7 per cent to 218¼p.
Callum Jones
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FTSE risers and fallers*
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Up
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Dixons Carphone
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+3.569%
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J Sainsbury
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+3.555%
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BT Group
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+2.992%
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Anglo American
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+2.707%
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Vodafone Group
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+1.831%
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Down
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Tui
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-4.282%
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Babcock International Group
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-2.520%
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Direct Line Insurance Group
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-1.849%
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Royal Bank of Scotland Group
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-1.721%
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Fresnillo
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-1.676%
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Markets
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FTSE100
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7283.70
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+0.11%
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FTSE250
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18391.45
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-0.12%
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Cac
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4893.70
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+0.11%
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Dax
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11616.96
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+0.29%
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BrentCrude
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53.97
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+0.62%
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Gold
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1189.00
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+0.11%
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GBP/$
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1.2122
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-0.44%
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GBP/€
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1.1526
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-0.08%
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10Y Gilt
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101.338
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+0.1%
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*As at noon
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US look ahead
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Today Donald Trump will hold his first press conference since being elected in November. We’ve heard more from him on Twitter than we have from public addresses, but perhaps today will be the day that he’ll give more detail about his bold plans for the American economy. These include spending $1 trillion on infrastructure, slashing corporate and personal taxes, cutting regulation and scrapping trade deals with China, Mexico and other countries. Investors have taken big bets that he’ll follow through with his promises, sending the Dow Jones within less than a point of the 20,000 mark and other indices to record highs. The press conference is due to start at 11am (4pm GMT)
Yields on US treasuries have spiked since the election, which is likely to impact American homeowners. At 7am MBA publishes its mortgage application report, which is expected to show further softening in the market last week. At 1.20pm William Dudley, president of the New York Fed, speaks in New York about banking culture.
James Dean
US Business Editor
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callum.jones@thetimes.co.uk
@CallumIJones
