London open: easyJet traffic up almost 8% in May

Date: Friday 04 Jun 2010

City sources predict FTSE 100 will open down 6 points from yesterday's close of 5,211.

Stocks to watch

Budget airline easyJet flew 7.9% more passengers in May than it did the same time last year despite the impact of the volcanic ash clouds from Iceland. Almost 4.3m of us travelled with the carrier last month, up from just under 4m in May 2009, while the load factor, which measures how well the planes are filled, rose to 85.8% from 83.5%. Around 1,600 flights were cancelled affecting approximately 215,000 passengers, easyJet said Friday.

The composition of the London Stock Exchange board is to change after two non-executive directors opted not to stand for re-election. Oscar Fanjul and Nigel Stapleton will step down on 14 July. Gay Huey Evans and Paul Heiden have joined the board as independent non-execs. while Raffaele Jerusalmi, director of Capital Markets at the LSE and chief executive of Borsa Italiana, has moved on to the board as an executive director. More changes are planned over the next 12 months.

AstraZeneca has submitted a marketing authorisation application (MAA) to the European Union for its cardiovascular drug Axanum. The product combines low dose acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), commonly known as aspirin, and the active ingredient of Nexium (esomeprazole) for the prevention of cardio- and cerebrovascular (CV) events in patients requiring continuous low-dose ASA treatment who are at risk of developing ASA-associated gastric and/or duodenal ulcers.

In the Press

The Prime Minister’s closest advisers will be briefed this morning by senior executives at BP over the oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico. It is understood that John Gerson, BP’s director of security and public affairs and a former deputy head of MI6, will appraise officials from the No 10 Policy Unit. That briefing is aimed at advising the Prime Minister on the market sensitive information that BP’s chief executive Tony Hayward will present to City analysts this afternoon, the Times reports.

BP's financial prospects have been downgraded by two ratings agencies, despite "an important milestone" in its attempt to stem the Gulf of Mexico leak. The move by both Fitch and Moody's is a sign that City analysts and rating agents are belatedly reacting to the pressures facing the oil giant, which on Thursday confirmed that it would give a presentation reassuring investors about its financial situation, the Telegraph adds.

Prudential’s top team has the full support of the board and the majority of big shareholders and there will be no resignations over the collapse of its $35.5bn (Ł24.3bn) bid for AIA, Harvey McGrath, the UK insurer’s chairman, has told the Financial Times. In a defiant first interview since the board of AIG rejected a renegotiation of the deal early on Tuesday, Mr McGrath described those shareholders calling for change at the top as “outliers” and said that neither he nor Tidjane Thiam, chief executive, had been at all worried about their positions.

Newspaper tips

New emission control laws promise to drive growth for Johnson Matthey, which is the world's largest supplier of catalytic converters. The heavy-duty diesel market, though dogged by some uncertainty about the timing of the recovery, offers particular grounds for optimism and all European light-duty diesel cars will have to be fitted with catalysed filters from next year (about 70% have them today). Buy says the Independent.

Overseas telecoms group CWC trades at 11.5 times profit forecasts for the current year, comparable to its international peers. However, the 9% dividend yield and the potential for a sudden recovery in tourism in the Caribbean should afford the company a premium rating, particularly as it is often linked with a private equity takeover speculation. Buy says the Times.

Helical Bar is a property group that prides itself on the diversity of its portfolio, which includes everything from retirement homes in Hampshire to retail parks in Poland. Mike Slade, the chief executive, sees looming ominously over the rest of the property market. He believes that it is already stalling again after a remarkable 14 per cent resurgence in capital values since July last year. A hold for those in it for the long-term says the Times.

US close

US shares closed up slightly on solid if not spectacular economic data. US retail sales rose 2.5%, below expectations of 2.6% growth. Retail sales are expected to continue to grow but not rapidly.

The Labor Department’s weekly dole report beat expectations. Initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 10,000 to 453,000 in the week ended 29 May. Economists had predicted jobless claims figures to show 450,000 people sought jobseekers allowance.

Payroll services firm ADP reported private employers added 55,000 jobs in May, up from the 32,000 jobs added in April.

The Dow Jones was 5 points higher at 10,255, with Nasdaq 21 points higher at 2,303. The S&P 500 added 4 points to 1,102.