Markets Overview:

UK 100 called to open +12 points points at 5970.  This is on the back of a day of positive sentiment yesterday, this was partly driven by renewed hopes of an easing of lockdown, however, Britons are being urged to stick with it and told it has helped slow deaths from coronavirus, as the government plans safe ways to reboot the battered U.K. economy and gradually ease restrictions. The government won’t alter social-distancing measures until it is clear that doing so won’t trigger a second wave of infections.  Earnings season is in full swing, in the US Alphabet, Google's parent company revenues topped estimates, though ad sales slowed sharply in March. Ford said it may lose more than $5 billion in the second quarter, it may be the case that investors see past these quarterly results and look to the future, if BP & HSBC results from yesterday are anything to go by. Oil climbed after losing more than a quarter of its value over the past two days with volatility likely to continue on concern prices may drop below zero again as investors and a major fund exit the June contract. Futures added 14% in New York after dropping Tuesday as S&P Global Inc.

Company News:

AstraZeneca beats Q1 2020 profit estimates as core earnings rose +21% to $1.05 per share, which was better than average analyst forecasts of 94 cents per share. They have retained 2020 forecasts and reiterated its outlook as demand for the company's newer medicines remained steady.

Barclays Q1 profit underhits forecasts as coronavirus hurts borrowers. Reported a pre-tax profit of £923m (-38%) and below the average analyst forecasts of £1.27bn. They have also set aside £2.1bn to cover loan losses to battle with the financial fallout of COVID-19. They will also decide on future dividends at year-end 2020.

Dixons Carphone says online demand has partially offset its store closures, as two-thirds of store sales have been lost due to closure during the coronavirus crisis, as online sales jumped +166% during the period. They will not pay a dividend due to the uncertainty connected with the pandemic.

Next sales slump after stores were closed and the temporary shutdown of its online operations during coronavirus lockdown. Total product sales for Q1 2020 -41%, store sales -52% while online sales -32%. The fall off in sales to date was faster and steeper than anticipated in its March stress test and it was now modelling lower sales for both H1 and H2 2020.

Persimmon begins phased restart of work at construction sites and it does not plan to access the government's COVID-19 funding schemes. Forward sales (including homes completed to date) came in at £2.4bn (2019: £2.7bn).

Standard Chartered HK shares surge (+8.4%) as lender eyes quick recovery after fall in Q1 profits. Q1 2020 profits -12% on increased credit impairment and provisions for future loan losses as the coronavirus crisis hammered its borrowers. They are seeing encouraging signs in China that the recovery could be yet more rapid and expects an economic recovery later in 2020.

Unilever, L'Oreal and Estee Lauder are among firms vying to buy British makeup brand Charlotte Tilbury Beauty.

WPP have reported net sales are -3.3% for Q1 2020 with the impact of COVID-19 pandemic dragging down net sales in March alone by -7.9%, prompting it to cut more costs. They expect the impact from the virus to increase in the short term, but could n

Reporting Today:

Barclays

GlaxoSmithKline (12pm)

Astrazeneca

N Brown Group

Next

Persimmon

WPP

Reporting Tomorrow:

Royal Dutch Shell B

Sainsbury

Schroders

St James Place

Evraz

Lloyds

In Focus Today:

EU - Business Climate

GER - Harmonised Index Of Consumer Prices

US - Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

US - Fed Interest Rate Decision

JP - Industrial Production

Tomorrow's Ex Dividends:

UK 100 :

London Stock Exchange Group

:

Ferrexpo

Centemin

Derwent London

Upgrades/Downgrades:

Centamin dowgraded to add by Peel Hunt (Bloomberg: 10 Buy/ 2 Holds/ 1 Sells)

Croda dowgraded to sell by Morningstar (Bloomberg: 3 Buy/ 14 Holds/ 4 Sells)

Morgan Sindall downgraded to add by Peel Hunt (Bloomberg: 4 Buy/ 1 Holds/ 0 Sells)

Tullow Oil downgraded to hold by Numis Securities (Bloomberg: 4 Buy/ 10 Holds/ 6 Sells)

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