Global stock rally rolls on as negotiators set trade talks

US-China trade talks continue despite Hong Kong protests

Trump Administration adviser and China expert Michael Pillsbury explains the Hong Kong protesters continued calls for fairness.

A rally in U.S. stocks is set to continue following news that U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators have set another round of talks for next month.

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Dow Industrial and S&P 500 futures are each up 1 percent, while Nasdaq futures are pointing to a gain of 1.3 percent.

Asian markets also opened higher. China's Shanghai Composite rose 1.6 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.3 percent and Japan's Nikkei jumped 2.3 percent.

Easing of tensions in Hong Kong also boosted markets as Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam withdrew an extradition bill that had led to months of violent protests.

U.S. stocks rebounded on Wednesday, following Tuesday's selling. The S&P 500 gained 1.1 percent, the Dow Jones Industrials added  0.9 percent and the Nasdaq climbed 1.3 percent.

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The economic agenda includes reports on jobless claims and private sector hiring ahead of Friday's release of the August employment report. It is estimated that non-farm payrolls increased by 158,000 last month.

French glassware maker Verallia begins IPO process

PARIS (Reuters) – French glass bottle maker Verallia said on Thursday it had begun the process for an initial public offering in Paris, setting the stage for the largest new listing in the country this year.

Verallia, controlled since 2015 by U.S. investment company Apollo, said on Wednesday the French stock market regulator had approved its IPO registration document.

The plans for a listing remain dependent on favorable market conditions, the company has said.

A Paris listing could value Verallia at about 4.5 billion euros ($5 billion) including debt, sources close to the matter told Reuters in July.

Redrow FY Pretax Profit Rises; Revenue Up 10% – Quick Facts

Redrow plc (RDW.L) reported a 10 percent increase in Group revenue for the year to 30 June 2019 driven by 13 percent increase in legal completions. The Group completed 6,443 homes, during the period.

For the fiscal year, profit before tax improved to 406 million pounds from 380 million pounds, last year. Earnings per share increased to 92.0 pence from 85.2 pence.

Fiscal year Group revenue rose to 2.1 billion pounds from 1.9 billion pounds, previous year.

The Group announced a final dividend of 20.5 pence per share giving a full year dividend of 30.5 pence per share, up 9 percent on last year.

French glassware maker Verallia begins IPO process

PARIS (Reuters) – French glass bottle maker Verallia said on Thursday it had begun the process for an initial public offering in Paris, setting the stage for the largest new listing in the country this year.

Verallia, controlled since 2015 by U.S. investment company Apollo, said on Wednesday the French stock market regulator had approved its IPO registration document.

The plans for a listing remain dependent on favorable market conditions, the company has said.

A Paris listing could value Verallia at about 4.5 billion euros ($5 billion) including debt, sources close to the matter told Reuters in July.

Melrose Posts Narrower Loss In H1 – Quick Facts

Melrose Industries plc (MRO.L) said the Group is trading in line with expectations for 2019, with the three main divisions of GKN on track to achieve previously announced targets. The Group said its first-half results show the initial fruits of the ‘improve’ stage of Melrose’s ownership of GKN.

For the six months ended 30 June 2019, the Group posted a loss before tax of 128 million pounds compared to a loss of 372 million pounds, prior year. Loss per share was 3.1 pence compared to a loss of 10.6 pence. Adjusted profit before tax increased to 429 million million pounds from 244 million pounds, a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share was 6.7 pence compared to 6.0 pence.

First-half revenue improved to 5.70 billion pounds from 2.85 billion pounds, last year. Adjusted revenue was 6.00 billion pounds compared to 2.97 billion pounds.

The Board declared an interim dividend of 1.7 pence per share, a 10 percent increase on last year. It will be paid on 11 October 2019 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 13 September 2019.

Go-Ahead Group FY Profit Down – Quick Facts

Go-Ahead Group Plc. (GOG.L) reported that its profit attributable to shareholders for the year ended 29 June 2019 decreased 33.9% to 58.8 million pounds from 89.0 million pounds last year.

Earnings per basic share fell by 34.0% to 136.8 pence from the prior year, with exceptional losses following the GMP equalisation in bus pensions and lower rail profit. The prior year had included an exceptional gain relating to a change in the reference inflation index for the purpose of annual increases to the majority of pensions payable by the Group’s bus pension schemes.

Excluding exceptional items, profits attributable to shareholders decreased by 6.7% to 72.8 million pounds and earnings per share by 6.7% to 169.4 pence from the prior year.

Profit before taxation dropped to 97.0 million pounds from 145.7 million pounds in the previous year.

Revenue for the year was 3.81 billion, up 345.6 million pounds or 10.0%, on last year. The increase was primarily attributable to additional services operated by GTR within the rail division partially offset by the end of the London Midland franchise.

The Board proposed a total dividend for the year of 102.08 pence per share, consistent with the prior year.