LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Boosted By Chinese Manufacturing Data; Advertising Giant WPP Adds 8%
01 März 2019 - 2:21PM
Dow Jones News
By Emily Horton
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-factory-activity-rises-says-private-gauge-2019-02-28)London's
FTSE 100 was boosted on Friday by the latest Chinese manufacturing
data and fresh trade deal developments between the U.S. and
China.
WPP climbed after its results announcement.
How are markets performing?
The FTSE 100 rose by 0.6% to 7,119.90 on Friday, after finishing
the month up 1.5%.
The pound retracted slightly after a week of highs, to $1.3236
from $1.3261 late in New York on Thursday.
What's driving the markets?
The latest Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers index--a
private gauge of factory activity in China -- has come in well
ahead of forecast,
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-factory-activity-rises-says-private-gauge-2019-02-28)boosting
investor optimism.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials are reportedly
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-china-preparing-final-trade-deal-that-could-be-signed-within-weeks-report-2019-02-28)
planning a final trade deal in March, ahead of the summit between
President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-china-preparing-final-trade-deal-that-could-be-signed-within-weeks-report-2019-02-28).
"A lot of this is due to the ongoing optimism about the trade
war negotiations between the US and China. The deal could be around
the corner, both parties are in the final steps of finalizing them;
in fact, they are exploring the dates for the joint summit. This
really shows that some tremendous progress has been made" Naeem
Aslam, chief market analysts at ThinkMarkets said in a note to
clients.
Jobs in U.K. factories were reportedly
(https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-pmi/uk-factories-slash-jobs-stockpile-at-record-pace-before-brexit-pmi-idUKKCN1QI46F)
slashed in February and goods were stockpiled at the fastest rate
since records began in preparation for Brexit, the latest survey
from IHS Markit/ CIPS UK revealed on Friday.
According to U.K. national paper The Sun, Britain's pro-Brexit
politicians will reportedly back Theresa May's EU withdrawal deal
in return for her quick departure as Prime Minister
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/brexit-brief-theresa-may-could-secure-deal-in-return-for-early-exit-as-pm-2019-03-01),
What stocks are active?
Advertising giant WPP PLC (WPP.LN) rallied at 8% on Friday, with
the group's results and outlook "broadly in line" with
expectations, according to Barclays analysts Julien Roch and Emily
Johnson.
However, "expectations had been set pretty low for media giant
WPP so its perhaps not a great surprise that performance is better
than advertised" Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell told
clients in a note.
London Stock Exchange Group PLC (LSE.LN) gained 4%, after the
exchange said it no longer expects to hit key financial targets in
2019
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/london-stock-exchange-says-wont-hit-targets-2019-03-01)
as it looks to invest in growing the business.
"Total income growth surpasses expectations, reaching GBP2.1bn
but adjusted operating profit falls below expectations" Helal Miah,
investment research analyst at The Share Centre, said in a note to
clients, adding "increasing levels of diversification [was]
welcomed by investors in an increasingly uncertain political and
economic environment."
The FTSE 100 biggest losers was Rightmove PLC(RMV.LN), which
dropped by 6% after the property website reported is slowest profit
growth in nine years, Reuters reported
(https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rightmove-results/rightmove-shares-fall-on-slowing-full-year-profit-growth-idUKKCN1QI419).
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 01, 2019 08:06 ET (13:06 GMT)
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