Daily Business Live
HSBC shuns spin-off call | JD Sports sells Footasylum
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10.30am: Quilter shares rise on NatWest bid talk
Shares in wealth manager Quilter rose 14% on the back of talk that NatWest may launch a bid likely to be in excess of £1.4 billion.
The FTSE 100 was trading 35 points higher at 7,458.38.
7am: JD Sports disposal
Sportswear retailer JD Sports Fashion is selling Footasylum to German asset management firm Aurelius Group for an enterprise value of £37.5 million, far less than the £90m price it paid in 2019. Full story here
6am: HSBC lifts guidance
HSBC has rejected pressure from its largest shareholder, Ping An Insurance Group Co of China, to explore strategic options such as spinning off its Asian business to unlock greater shareholder value. Full story here
Global markets
Brent futures were trading lower in Asia at $102.89/barrel (0430 GMT), though global demand overall remains healthy, while supply-side concerns have dominated talks heading into this week’s OPEC+ meeting.
Members of the producer alliance meet on Wednesday to discuss policy beyond September and despite lobbying to pump more oil, any increase is expected to be modest at best.
China’s factory activity unexpectedly retreated in July, despite recent increasing signs of moderate recovery in the world’s second biggest economy, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Sunday.
The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) slid from 50.2 in June to 49 this month, under the 50-mark that indicates a contraction in activity.