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“The FTSE100 edged higher in early trading as the market opened on a cautious note as the proposed departure of UK from the EU was once again to the fore after Parliament approved PM Theresa May's Brexit Bill,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“French Connection’s shares were up in early trading as the fashion chain’s trading performance improved despite a fall in full-year revenues. Like-for-like sales in the group’s UK/Europe retail business were up 4.4% in challenging conditions and e-commerce sales continue to rise. These were up by 12.7% and now represent 27.3% of total retail revenues. In common with all fashion groups, French Connection will be judged by customer reaction to its latest collections and early indications are good with sales both in its stores and through its wholesale customers up on last year. French Connection’s shares were up by more than 4.6%.
“Online supermarket Ocado has seen steady progress in its first quarter with average orders up 16.7% to 252,000 driven by both new and existing Ocado customers. The average order size fell by 1.6% to £110.84, a slower rate of decline than in previous quarters. The market, though, remains very competitive and while Ocado has seen some signs of a change in market pricing dynamics it is too early to predict how this will unfold as this will depend on any future currency movements.
“Antofagasta's earnings rose by 78.7% to $1.6bn in 2016 as operating costs fell and revenues rose. Antofagasta has reduced mine costs through its 'cost and competitiveness' programme and a steady shift from a copper market in balance to a slight deficit should lead to further improvement in prices. The total dividend of 18.4 cents per share represents 53% of underlying earnings per share and is significantly more than the company's commitment to pay-out a minimum of 35%.”
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