FINANCIAL MARKETS UPDATE 12/04/2016

The FTSE 100 is called to open 4 points lower at 6196

UK Gilt 10 Year Yield 1.3937 Spot Gold $1255.25 -2.55 Brent Crude $42.79 -14.1

$ per £ 1.4235

$ per € 1.1414

€ per £ 1.2472

U.S. stocks fell, erasing gains in late afternoon trading, as investors braced for what is forecast to be the worst earnings season since the financial crisis. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.3 percent to 2,041.99 at 4 p.m. in New York, wiping out an advance of as much as 0.8 percent, after the steepest decline last week in two months. Financial shares, the worst performing group in the S&P 500 in 2016, gained, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. climbing. Signs of a pick-up in Chinese industrial demand pushed raw-material producers higher, while health-care and consumer-staples companies weighed on the index.

PRESS COMMENTARY

Shire, Endo possible targets for Allergan, dealReporter said, citing unidentified bankers.

Financial Times: Regulators in Brussels were under intense pressure to block CK Hutchison’s £10.5 billion deal to acquire UK mobile operator O2 after the UK competition watchdog intervened, arguing that the proposed deal would harm British consumers.

The Daily Telegraph: Tata moved a step closer to exiting its heavily loss-making British steel assets as the Indian conglomerate sold its Scunthorpe site for £1 at the same time as the Government admitted it could co-invest in a plan to rescue Port Talbot.

COMPANY NEWS

Asos 1H Retail Gross Margin Beats, On Track to Achieve Outlook. Asos 1H total rev. GBP667m, est. GBP666m. FY continuing operations will reflect a higher underlying Ebit margin of ~4.5%, before inclusion of operating losses in relation to discontinuing operations in China.

Galliford Try responds to press comments following closure of certain Edinburgh schools. Says has contractual responsibility for four of the 17 schools in question through its acquisition of Miller Construction. Says work to remedy defects in these 4 schools is near completion, costs are not material to the co.

LVMH 1Q total sales EU8.62b, est. EU8.73b. 1Q total organic sales up 3%, est. up 4.1%. Says U.S. market is strong and Europe remains well oriented except for France which is affected by a fall in tourism; Asian markets are varied, Japan continues to progress. Says will maintain a strict control over costs.

Givaudan 1Q Sales in Line With Estimates, Confirms 2020 Targets. Givaudan 1Q sales of CHF1.15b meet estimates, rises 5.8% on like-for-like basis, according to e- mailed statement. Co. to maintain current dividend practice.

AbbVie Inc. and Roche Holding AG’s treatment for a type of leukaemia won U.S approval almost three months ahead of schedule. Source Quilter Cheviot.

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