Anglo American completes sale of interest in Dartbrook, LSE to buy Citi indices and analytics business
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open 25 points lower on Tuesday, after closing up 0.4% at 7,547.63 on Friday, before the bank holiday weekend.
Stocks to watch
Anglo American said it had completed the sale of its 83.33% interest in the Dartbrook coal mine located in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia, to Australian Pacific Coal. Dartbrook consists of an underground thermal coal mine and associated processing infrastructure that has been on care and maintenance since 2006.
London Stock Exchange Group has struck a deal to buy US bank Citigroup's fixed income indices and analytics businesses for $685m (£535m) cash. Looking to strengthen its information services division, the LSE said buying The Yield Book and Citi Fixed Income Indices, a fixed income analytics platform and index business comprising a family of fixed income indices, would improve its fixed-income range and offer deeper data and analytics services.
Shopping centre operator Intu Properties announced on Tuesday that both itself and TH Real Estate - on behalf of its pan-European investment vehicle, the European Cities Fund - had agreed to form a joint venture to own Madrid Xanadú shopping centre in Spain. The FTSE 100 company said the Madrid Xanadú shopping centre is the retail and leisure destination for the south-west of Madrid and one of the top ten shopping centres in Spain. TH Real Estate will acquire a 50% interest in the joint venture, which includes the centre and the SnowZone business but excludes the management company, for a price of €264.4m.
Newspaper round-up
One of the eurozone’s top central bankers has stepped up the campaign to claim the City’s lucrative euro-clearing business by declaring that it is impossible for it to remain in London. François Villeroy de Galhau, a member of the European Central Bank’s governing board and head of France’s financial regulator, made the statement as the European Commission worked on proposals intended to force euro-denominated derivatives to be cleared in the eurozone. - The Times
Cruise operators could avoid UK ports if more stringent border controls are introduced when Britain leaves the European Union, the chairman of Carnival UK has warned. David Dingle, who oversees the P&O and Cunard lines, said that it would be “bad news for British jobs” if tourists faced “stricter and more protracted” checks. - The Times
The CBI is working on plans to reset relations with the government after the election amid concerns over an anti-business stance. Corporate leaders have become alarmed by the hostile rhetoric from Theresa May’s government, not least in the Conservatives’ manifesto, and their lack of access to ministers. - The Times
Swing voters do not think the Manchester terror attack will affect how they cast their ballot on 8 June but Theresa May’s response was seen generally as reassuring, according to focus groups in six seats. Undecided voters in Hartlepool, Birmingham, Cambridge, Glasgow, Wells and Harrow were asked for their views on how the parties responded to the attack as part of a project by Britain Thinks, a political consultancy. - Guardian
Britain will play a pivotal role in building China’s new silk road, cementing London’s position as the world’s financial centre after Brexit. Sam Xu, head of China transaction banking at Standard Chartered, said the UK would serve as a financial hub for the “One Belt, One Road” initiative, which spans 65 countries and covers 64pc of the global population. Mr Xu said no other city in the world could match London’s expertise and financial infrastructure. - Telegraph
The United States is considering using emergency tariffs to protect a domestic industry for the first time in 16 years in a move that will stir fears of rising protectionism under President Trump. The World Trade Organisation said yesterday that the US had notified its 163 other members that it had begun a “safeguard investigation” into imported solar cells. -The Times
US close
Wall Street's main market gauges were little changed heading into the Memorial Day weekend and the end of the month, following the release of slightly mixed economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day lower by just 0.01% or 2.67 points at 21,080.28, while the S&P 500 was up by 0.01% or 0.75 points to 2,415.82 and ahead by 1.4% for the week just ended - while also notching up a fresh record close (but not on an intra-day basis) in the process.
Despite the new record close for the S&P 500, some market commentary highlighted how so-called 'short interest' on that stock benchmark continued to climb, rising by 0.3 percentage points during the week to 3.9% - although it remained well below the record readings seen at the start of 2016.
Like London, Wall Street had Monday off for the Memorial Day federal holiday.