UK Pound Rises; Ashmore, Aggreko, Sainsbury Up

Mayank Mehta
15 Oct, 2009
New York City

UK stocks closed lower on weak banking stocks and speculation lifts the pound. Aggreko gained on full-year guidance. WH Smith full-year profits climb. Ashmore Group asset under management surges 25%. J Sainsbury surges 10% on Qatar speculation.

[R]4:00PM London, 11:00 AM New York – UK stocks closed lower on weak baking stocks and speculation lifts the pound. Aggreko gained on full-year guidance. WH Smith full-year profits climb. Ashmore Group asset under management surges 25%. J Sainsbury surges 10% on Qatar speculation.[/R]

In London trading stocks lost their early momentum. The pound edged higher against euro on the speculation that the central bank is looking to cut its asset purchase program.

In London FTSE 100 Index closed lower 16.36 or 0.3% to 5,239.74 and the pound edged higher to close at $1.624 and at 1.089 euros.

London Mayor Boris Johnson proposed to increased bus and train fares by an average of 12.7%. According to the proposal, seven-day bus pass from January will increase to £16.60 from £13.80 and congestion charge will increase to £10 from £8 a day.

Gainers & Losers

Aggreko PLC added 5.6% to 769.50 pence after the supplier of temporary power and temperature control said total group revenues in the three months to September were 8% lower than a year ago on a constant currency basis.

Ashmore Group plc the investment manager rose 9.4% to 300.40 pence after assets under management increased 25% to $31.1 billion.

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc added 1.5% to 135.00 pence after the Harry Potter publisher said that the business in the current quarter is in line with management expectations.

Burberry Group plc advanced 0.8% to 570.50 pence after the luxury goods retailer said underlying retail sales rose 14% and comparable store sales increased 2%. Underlying wholesale revenues declined 23%, in line with the estimate released in April. Licensing revenue fell 6%. Retailer expects wholesale revenue in the second half to decline 15% and licensing revenue in the full year to fall between 5 and 10%.

GKN plc fell 2.8% to 123.90 pence after the automotive and aerospace engineer said third quarter group management sales fell 3% to £1.1 billion a year ago.

International Greetings plc closed unchanged at 68.00 pence after the greetings card group expects to be profitable in the first half.

Lloyds Banking Group plc rose 1.3% to 94.28 pence said Rathbone Brothers plc confirmed that it is in discussions with the bank to acquire certain assets of private client discretionary investment management with the Bank of Scotland Portfolio Management Service.

Marston’s PLC rose 0.3% to 92.60 pence after pubs operator beer wholesaler said that for fiscal 2009, it expect earnings before tax and exceptional items to be in line with expectations. The pub operator also reported flat sales in the first half.

Mothercare PLC dropped 2.8% to 599.50 pence said second-quarter sales rose 7% compared to the first when group sales rose 9.4% on the strength in home delivery and international operations.

Oxford BioMedica plc surged 57% to 17 pence and surged as high as 69% after the biopharmaceutical company released new data from ongoing Phase I/II trial of ProSavin, its gene therapy for the treatment of Parkinson''s disease that looked promising.

Premier Foods Plc decreased 2.9% to 41.52 after the food producer said third quarter total branded sales up 6%, UK grocery branded sales up 4% and sales of Hovis brands were up 22%. Retailer brand sales were down 8% in the quarter and management expectations for the full year remain unchanged.

SABMiller plc rose 0.3% to 1,635.00 pence after the brewing giant said sales dip slightly as forecast in the six months to September and volume sales increased 1%. The sales in Europe declined but increased double digits in China.

J Sainsbury Plc surged 10% to 342.50 pence on the market rumors that Qatar based sovereign fund is looking to increase its stake in the retailer from the current holding of 26%.

Uniq plc climbed 4.1% to 43.75 pence which makes convenience foods for retailers said sales decline slowed in its third quarter and the business has returned to profit.

WH Smith PLC rose 3.1% to 512.50 pence after the retailer said full-year sales fell 0.7% to £1.34 billion from £1.35 billion a year ago. Net profit for the full-year rose 7% to £63 million or 40.6 pence per diluted share compared to net profit of £59 million or 35.3 pence per share a year ago.

Xstrata plc fell 2.0% to 1,010.00 pence after it withdrew its offer of £29 billion for Anglo American plc five days before the regulator deadline to make a formal offer. Anglo American decreased 4.1% to 2,216 pence.

FTSE 100 Index Movers

Of the stocks in the FTSE 100 index, 45 increased, 57 declined and 0 were unchanged.

Anglo American Plc decliners in the FTSE 100 index with a loss of 4.11% followed by losses in International Power Plc of 3.33%, in Petrofac Limited of 2.74%, in Invensys Plc of 2.70%, in Segro Plc of 2.51%.

J Sainsbury Plc led gainers in the FTSE 100 index with a rise of 10.09% followed by increase in Icap Plc of 5.08%, in 3i Group Plc of 4.04%, in G4S Plc of 2.97%, in London Stock Exchange Group Plc of 2.23%.