London pre-open: Stock set to start fourth quarter on a strong note
Stocks were set to start the session and the last quarter of the year on a positive note, as traders and analysts continued to try and gauge the extent of the recent slowdown in the global economy and its implications for stocks.
The Footsie was being called to start the day 77 points higher from Wednesday´s close of 6,061.61.
As of 07:45 the Shanghai Stock Exchange´s Composite Index was edging higher by 0.48% to reach 3,052.78.
Overnight, the Caixin Chinese manufacturing sector purchasing managers´ index printed at 47.2 for September, up from a preliminary reading of 47 (consensus: 47.0) and after a print of 47.3 for the month before.
"Downbeat sentiment is still weighing on the PMIs, but today's better-than-expected readings still support our view that the economy is holding up better than many think," said Julian Evans Pritchard at Capital Economics.
The results of similar surveys were due out later in the day in the UK, Eurozone and US.
"A lot depends on whether the turmoil accelerates the next recession quicker than we think. If 2016 is a recessionary year for the US and the global economy with China growing notably south of 6% then risk assets will fall significantly further. However if the global economy stumbles on in positive territory then risk assets will likely recover, especially if the ECB and BoJ do more and the Fed continues to hold or as a minimum reduces the dots a fair degree on any small hike," said analysts at Deutsche Bank in a rsearch note sent to clients.
Chemicals-maker completes sale of Alfa Aesar unit
Johnson Matthey has completed the sale of its Alfa Aesar Research Chemicals business to Thermo Fisher Scientific for £256m in cash. Chief executive Robert MacLeod said the sale, announced in June, was “a further step in delivering our long term strategy to focus the group on growth areas where we can apply our expertise in complex chemistry to create long term value for our shareholders".
Wealth manager Rathbone Brothers has agreed to purchase the remaining 80.1% that it didn’t already own in the Vision Group, which is a an independent specialist financial advice network focusing on high net worth private clients. Rathbones, which purchased a 19.9% stake in the Vision Group for £2m in October 2012, said the acquisition of the remaining stake is part of its strategy of broadening its distribution and accessing a greater share of new business intermediated by financial advisers.
LondonMetric Property has sold two of its retail parks for £43.4m, it announced Thursday. The FTSE 250 listed company sold its Westcroft retail park in Milton Keynes for £27.2m and its Mountbatten retail park in Southampton for £16.2 million. Both parks were purchased by large UK institutional investors and reflected a blended net initial yield of 5.7% for the company.