Unilever lifts quarterly dividend, copper production falls at Rio Tinto
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open 14 points lower on Thursday, having closed down 0.46% at 7,114.36 on Wednesday.
Stocks to watch
Unilever upped its quarterly dividend 12% as underlying sales grew 2.9% in the first three months of the year, despite sales volumes remaining in the red for the third consecutive quarter. Turnover grew 6.1% to €13.3bn in the first quarter, including a positive currency impact of 2.4%, as prices rose 3.0% but volumes shrank 0.1%. USG was 3.4% excluding spreads.
Rio Tinto's first quarter copper production fell 37% month on month and year on year due to issues at its mines in Chile and Indonesia. The FTSE 100 company cut its mined copper guidance to between 500,000 and 550,000 tonnes for the year from its previous guidance of between 525,000 and 665,000 tonnes.
Technical products supplier Diploma announced it has bought Abacus ALS, the largest privately owned supplier of in-vitro diagnostics products in Australia and New Zealand, for up to £15.7m (AUD 26m). The acquisition is expected to be immediately earnings enhancing and is part of the company's strategy to expand its healthcare business.
Investors in paper and plastics product supplier Essentra were gathering for the company’s annual general meeting on Thursday, where chairman Paul Lester was set to confirm trading for the financial year to date had been in line with the board's expectations. The FTSE 250 firm’s like-for-like revenue modestly declined as anticipated, but the trend in all three divisions in the first quarter improved compared with each of the previous two quarters, his statement read.
Newspaper round-up
Theresa May is being forced into a concession over migrant targets as part of the price for calling a snap poll. The prime minister is ready to soften her longstanding opposition to taking foreign students out of immigration totals. - The Times
Global investors are pulling cash out of America and sinking it into eurozone shares, in spite of the uncertainty surrounding the looming French election, according to the latest monthly poll of investor attitudes. The great majority reckon that US equities are overvalued, with allocations of fresh money to Wall Street at their lowest level for nine years, according to a survey of professional investors by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. - The Times
Austerity is over as governments across the rich world increased spending last year and plan to keep their wallets open for the foreseeable future. After five years of belt tightening, the International Monetary Fund says the era of spending cuts that followed the financial crisis is now at an end. - Telegraph
The controversial Fox News host Bill O’Reilly has been dropped from the network after allegations of inappropriate behaviour and sexual harassment, in a development that could have significant implications for the Murdoch empire on both sides of the Atlantic. Ofcom, the British media regulator, is considering whether 21st Century Fox, the parent company of Fox News, is a “fit and proper” owner of pay-TV broadcaster Sky. - Guardian
A failure by Amazon and eBay to act against overseas sellers flouting VAT rules is helping companies to avoid up to £1.5 billion in tax, a report has found. The government’s spending watchdog yesterday accused the American tech giants of failing to remove foreign sellers from their online marketplaces even after trading standards officers identified those not charging VAT on goods sold to British customers. - The Times
US close
US stocks were mostly lower on Wednesday, after opening in the green following strong earnings from financial firms led by Morgan Stanley.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 0.58% at 20,404.49 and the S&P 500 lost 0.17% to 2,338.17, while the Nasdaq 100 added 0.15% to 5,399.64.
On the economic front, the Federal Reserve released its beige book in late trading, showing modest growth in the US economy for the period from mid-February to the end of March.
It wasn’t entirely rosy, however, as most Fed districts reported that businesses were finding it more difficult to hire for low-skilled positions, and modest wage pressures broadened.
In corporate news, Morgan Stanley gained 2.01% after the bank posted better-than-expected first quarter results, with a 74% jump in profit boosted by its trading and investment banking businesses.