08:45 , Graeme Evans
Vodafone shares are half a penny higher at 77.3p in the wake of the CMA’s merger findings, having improved by about 12% in the past three months.
The FTSE 100 index stands 14.85 points higher at 8255.82, led by miner Fresnillo as its shares lifted 12.5p to 550p on the latest gold price record.
AstraZeneca shares came under pressure, falling 182p to 11,868p, after Deutsche Bank downgraded to Sell following this week’s lung cancer drug trial setback.
Other fallers came from the retail sector as Sainsbury’s dropped 5.6p to 290.2p and Marks & Spencer weakened 3.9p to 347.9p.
The FTSE 250 index improved 94.09 points to 20,789.86.
08:16 , Graeme Evans
Vodafone and Three’s planned UK merger could lead to price hikes for millions of customers, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) warned today.
Publishing its provisional findings, the CMA said the tie-up had the potential to create a substantial lessening of competition in the UK – in both retail and wholesale mobile markets.
It will now explore potential solutions to its concerns before making a final decision on the tie-up by 7 December.
The CMA said the merger could lead to price increases for tens of millions of mobile customers, or see customers get a reduced service such as smaller data packages in their contracts.
The watchdog has particular concerns that higher bills or reduced services would negatively affect those customers least able to afford mobile services.
It also provisionally found that the merger would negatively impact ‘wholesale’ telecoms customers, such as LycaMobile, Sky Mobile and Lebara which rely on the existing network operators to provide their own mobile services.
While the integration could improve the quality of mobile networks and bring forward the deployment of next generation 5G networks and services, the CMA questioned the incentive for firms to follow through on this proposed investment programme after the merger.
In response to the CMA’s findings, Vodafone and Three said the merger was a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform UK digital infrastructure with £11 billion of investment.
Vodafone chief executive Margherita Della Valle said: “We are offering a self-funded plan to propel economic growth and address the UK’s digital divide.”
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07:38 , Graeme Evans
Renewed speculation that the Federal Reserve might opt for an aggressive half point rates cut at its meeting next week has put pressure on the US dollar.
Deutsche Bank said futures markets are now pricing in a 47.5% chance of a half point move, a big shift in Wall Street’s stance from 15% earlier in the week.
It adds that the current position represents the most uncertain market pricing for a Federal Reserve rates decision in this cycle so far.
The developments have pushed the dollar index lower and helped gold to set a new record at $2565 an ounce. The pound stood at $1.3134 this morning.
07:25 , Graeme Evans
Balfour Beatty has landed a National Grid contract worth £363 million to reinforce the electricity network in East Anglia.
The FTSE 250 firm will be responsible for replacing the existing high voltage electricity network between Bramford in Suffolk and Twinstead Tee in Essex.
The contract for the new 400 kilovolt overhead line spanning 18 kilometres has been awarded through National Grid’s RIIO-2 framework.
Balfour chief executive Leo Quinn said: “This award demonstrates the momentum we are capturing in the energy security and transition market.”
07:11 , Graeme Evans
The upturn for global stock markets continued on Wall Street last night as the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% and the S&P 500 by 0.8%.
The improved sentiment was shown by renewed demand for semiconductor firm Nvidia, which rose 2% and has rebounded by 13% since Tuesday.
Traders are betting that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates for the first time in the cycle at its meeting next week, a position boosted yesterday by producer prices coming in below expectations.
The FTSE 100 index yesterday closed 0.6% higher at 8241 and is seen consolidating those gains at today’s opening bell.
Commodity markets are also on the front foot, with Brent Crude at $72.43 a barrel after rallying from its two-year low during the past three sessions.
