LONDON MARKET EARLY CALL: Higher Call; Rio Tinto Posts Upbeat Results

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London are seen opening higher on Wednesday as the economic ...

Alliance News 17 February, 2021 | 7:00AM
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(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London are seen opening higher on Wednesday as the economic recovery-fuelled rally shows no signs of slowing, while the mining sector will once again be in focus after positive earnings from Rio Tinto.

IG futures indicate the FTSE 100 index is to open 18.84 points higher at 6,767.80. The blue-chip index closed down 7.25 points, or 0.1% at 6,748.86 on Tuesday.

In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended mostly lower, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite ending down 0.1% and 0.3% respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.1%.

The Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.6% on Wednesday, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is up 1.1%. The Shanghai market remained closed on Wednesday for the Lunar New Year holiday and will re-open on Thursday.

In early company news, Rio Tinto upped its annual payout with a record final dividend as the miner shrugged off Covid-19 to post a hefty profit rise for 2020.

Revenue in 2020 was up 3.3% to USD44.61 billion from USD43.17 billion. Its pretax profit surged 38% to USD15.39 billion from USD11.12 billion.

The Anglo-Australian miner raised its annual dividend by 26% to 557.0 US cents from 443.0 cents.

"USD9.0 billion full-year dividend, equivalent to 557 US cents per share and 72% of underlying earnings, includes USD5.0 billion record final ordinary dividend (309 US cents per share) and USD1.5 billion special dividend (93 US cents per share) declared today," Rio Tinto explained.

Rio Tinto's earnings follows peer BHP's upbeat interim results on Tuesday which saw the company declare a record dividend of its own. Also on Tuesday, commodities trader and miner Glencore restored its payout to shareholders.

The pound was quoted at USD1.3887 early Wednesday, down from USD1.3911 at the London equities close Tuesday.

The NHS is likely to remain "at full stretch" for at least another six weeks, a leading health official said as he warned UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson against easing lockdown too quickly.

Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts in England, has written to Johnson calling for a focus on "data, not just dates" when it comes to the government's approach to the route out of lockdown.

Johnson will scrutinise data this week on coronavirus case numbers, hospital admissions, deaths and the impact of the vaccine rollout as he prepares his plan to reduce restrictions.

Johnson has said he will aim to give target dates for restrictions being eased when he sets out his plan next Monday, but "won't hesitate" to delay plans if infection rates make it necessary.

The euro was priced at USD1.2088, lower from USD1.2110. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY105.92, up from JPY105.78.

Brent oil was quoted at USD63.55 a barrel Wednesday morning, up from USD62.98 at the London equities close Tuesday. Gold was quoted at USD1,790.33 an ounce, down against USD1,803.32.

In the economic calendar for Wednesday, there is UK inflation at 0700 GMT and US producer prices and retail sales due at 1330 GMT. Minutes from the last US Federal Reserve meeting are out at 1900 GMT.

The UK corporate calendar on Wednesday has full-year results from Dunhill cigarette maker British American Tobacco.

By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com

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