LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Pares Gains After Mixed GDP Data
February 22 2017 - 10:40AM
Dow Jones News
By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Shares of Lloyds and Unilever advance
U.K. stocks trimmed gains Wednesday as investors assessed a
mixed reading on U.K. economic growth, but Lloyds Banking Group PLC
and Unilever PLC held to higher ground after the lender posted a
profit surge and the Dove soap maker said its launching a strategic
review.
The FTSE 100 picked up 0.1% at 7,281.07, but losses among basic
materials and oil and gas shares contributed to holding the overall
gain in check. The London index on Tuesday shed 0.3%
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-in-the-red-as-hsbc-slides-but-bhp-billiton-advances-2017-02-21).
The immediate reaction in equities was muted early Wednesday
after U.K. gross domestic product for the fourth quarter was
upwardly revised to 0.7%
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-economy-stronger-in-4th-quarter-than-thought-2017-02-22)
by the Office for National Statistics. But signs of weakness in the
report included a decline in business investment and slowing in
consumer spending during the last two months of 2016.
"The confirmation of strong overall growth momentum towards the
end of last year is, of course, encouraging. But we reckon that
headwinds to business and, in particular, household spending will
blow harder this year. And we question whether a sterling-related
boost to net trade completely offset these headwinds," said Chris
Hare, economist at Investec, in a note.
"For that reason, we maintain our view that the economy will
slow down, albeit modestly, over the next year or two."
Banks: Lloyds shares (LLOY.LN) (LLOY.LN) popped up 4.6% after
the lender said pretax profit more than doubled to GBP4.2 billion
($5.2 billion), as it reduced the amount set aside to cover
compensation for customers sold payment-protection insurance (PPI)
they didn't need. Lloyds also carried out a program of cost cuts,
including the closure of branches.
Lloyds said it will pay a total ordinary dividend of 2.55 pence
a share, up 13% from a year ago. It will also issue a special
dividend of 5 pence per share.
On the heels of Lloyds report, HSBC shares (HSBA.LN) (HSBA.LN)
(HSBA.LN) rose 1.3%. The shares on Tuesday dropped 6.5%, their
worst decline since March 2009, after the Asia-focused bank
reported a wider fourth-quarter net loss of $4.23 billion.
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hsbc-loss-widens-to-423b-plans-further-buyback-2017-02-21)
But other bank shares turned lower in afternoon trade, with
investors set to look for any indication that borrowing costs in
the U.S., the world's largest economy, are poised to be raised when
the Federal Reserve meets next month. Minutes from the Fed's most
recent meeting are due at 7 p.m. London time.
Shares of Barclays PLC (BCS) (BCS) , whose financial results are
due Thursday, were down 0.8%. Shares of Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
(RBS.LN) (RBS.LN) and Standard Chartered PLC (STAN.LN) were each
off 0.7%.
See:What to expect in Barclays earnings
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-to-expect-in-barclays-earnings-2017-02-20)
Movers: Unilever PLC (ULVR.LN) (ULVR.LN) gained 4.1% after the
consumer products heavyweight said it's conducting a
"comprehensive" review
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/unilever-launches-strategic-review-of-operations-2017-02-22)to
pump out more value for shareholders. Just days before, Unilever
rejecting a $143 billion offer from Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) .
Barratt Developments PLC shares (BDEV.LN) were up 0.7%. The home
builder posted an 8.8% rise in first-half pretax profit to GBP321
million
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/barratt-to-increase-shareholder-returns-2017-02-22)
and said it would return a higher proportion of its earnings
through dividend payments.
The pound was buying $1.2465 compared with $1.2460 late Tuesday
in New York.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 22, 2017 10:25 ET (15:25 GMT)
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