It looks set to be a quiet day for UK traders with the US shut for the Independence Day holiday and Asia’s mixed performance providing little in the way of direction.
Broadly sentiment continues to be driven by twin fears: the impact of the Covid delta variant and rising inflationary pressures.
Away from the equity markets, crude prices edged lower after the United Arab Emirates rejected Saudi Arabian demands to keep a lid on production.
The former is looking to increase output, setting up a potential showdown at the oil cartel’s next major meeting.
Here at home, the end to lockdown restrictions looks likely to occur without further delay on July 19 if the headlines and leaks are to be believed.
The focus will be on the individual exercising common sense rather than centrally rules on mask-wearing and the like, we are told.
The weekend’s business headlines were dominated by Saturday’s revelation that Wm Morrison Supermarkets (LON:MRW) had agreed to be taken over by private equity group Fortress for £6.3bn.
This week we should see whether spurned suitor Clayton, Dubilier and Rice (CD&R) comes back with a better offer for the grocer.
One report suggests that Apollo Global Management could also make a tilt.
Fortress is offering 252p a share in cash plus the declared 2p dividend – well above the 239.8p at which the stock closed on Friday.
If the price pushes above 254p we can assume the bid interest is real.
As the Guardian pointed out in its summation of the weekend’s activities: “Despite all the interested parties remaining tight-lipped on Sunday, CD&R, which has the former boss of Tesco, Sir Terry Leahy, as a senior adviser, was said by insiders to have “plenty more petrol in the tank”.
“It believes that some on the Morrisons board would be more amenable to an increased offer.”
Under UK stock market rules, the rival US investment firm has until July 17 to either make a firm offer or walk away.
Looking ahead, it is all about the food retail sector this week with updates from Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) and delivery and technology specialist Ocado (LON:OCDO).
We also have results from Persimmon (LON:PSN) and Vistry (LON:VTY) that will provide an update on the health of the UK housing market, while on Friday the latest gross domestic product (GDP) number will reveal how quickly the nation is recovering from Covid.
Around the markets
- Pound US$1.3824 (flat)
- Bitcoin US$34,175.22 (-1.84%)
- Gold US$1,787.60 (+0.24%)
- Brent crude US$76.06 (-0.14%)
6.50am: Early Markets - Asia / Australia
Stocks in the Asia-Pacific region were mostly lower on Monday as China’s services sector activity showed growth slowing sharply in June to a 14-month low.
The Caixin/Markit services Purchasing Managers’ Index for June came in at 50.3 — a significant decline from May’s reading of 55.1.
The Shanghai Composite in China dipped 0.07% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 0.71%
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.63% while South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.32%.
Shares in Australia gained, with the S&P/ASX 200 trading 0.06% higher.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMingFodHRwczovL3d3dy5wcm9hY3RpdmVpbnZlc3RvcnMuY28udWsvY29tcGFuaWVzL25ld3MvOTU0MDU0L2Z0c2UtMTAwLXNldC1mb3Itc3ViZHVlZC1zdGFydC1tb3JyaXNvbnMtYmlkLWRyYW1hLWxpa2VseS10by1ob2ctdGhlLWJ1c2luZXNzLWhlYWRsaW5lcy05NTQwNTQuaHRtbNIBAA?oc=5
2021-07-05 05:38:00Z
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