London pre-open: Stocks picked to follow US lead higher
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open 106 points higher than Wednesday’s close of 5,979.20.
Construction & Materials
9,482.73
17:10 19/04/24
CRH (CDI)
6,252.00p
16:59 19/04/24
FTSE 100
7,895.85
16:59 19/04/24
FTSE 250
19,391.30
17:09 19/04/24
FTSE 350
4,341.08
17:09 19/04/24
FTSE All-Share
4,296.41
17:08 19/04/24
Playtech
443.50p
16:35 19/04/24
Software & Computer Services
2,337.16
17:09 19/04/24
Europe is expected to open higher on Thursday, boosted by a strong session in the US on Wednesday and a positive session in China on the back of People’s Bank of China’s stimulus efforts, OANDA senior market analyst Craig Erlam said.
“The combined effort of these two stimulus measures appears to have brought some stability to Chinese markets for now and the Shanghai Composite is actually on course to record its first gains since last Wednesday,” Erlam said.
Investors in Europe appear content with the stabilisation efforts of the People’s Bank of China which is setting up markets for a more positive end to the week, Erlam said.
US weekly jobless claims data was due out on Wednesday.
Stocks to watch
Building materials group CRH posted a 3% lift in first half pre-tax profits to €63m from €61m, off reported sales up 13% to €9.4bn. The company said it would buy US headquartered firm C.R Laurence Co for $1.3bn to be paid over five years.
Playtech posted a 19% rise in adjusted first-half net profit as revenues grew on the back of a continued operational delivery across all its business segments. For the six months ended 30 June, adjusted net profit came in at €115m from €96.8m in the first half of last year, on revenue of €286m, up 33% from €214.4m.
In the press
A district court judge in the US has thrown out investor lawsuits against Barclays and a host of exchanges, dismissing claims that the bank rigged its “dark pool” trading venue in favour of high-frequency traders. The multi-district litigation was part of a litany of claims set off by Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt, Michael Lewis’s best-selling book published last year. In it, Mr Lewis argued that high-frequency traders were able to gain an unfair advantage because stock exchanges and “dark pools” — broker-run trading venues that allow buyers and sellers to swap shares with greater anonymity — had enabled those traders to obtain and trade on market data faster than other investors. – Financial Times
Facebook has created a virtual assistant powered by artificial intelligence that can do everything from organising birthday parties to calling companies so users do not have to spend hours on hold. The M service — which will run inside Facebook Messenger — is the company’s attempt to challenge Apple’s Siri and Microsoft’s Cortana, virtual personal assistants that communicate using voice recognition software. – Financial Times
Towergate and its majority owner face a £20 million bill after settling a breach of contract claim over its poaching of several executives from its broking rival Arthur J Gallagher. The group, one of Britain’s biggest independent insurance brokers to small and medium-sized businesses, has agreed to pay £8 million to Gallagher in two instalments, the first this month followed by another payment in April. – The Times