IT’S BACK!

14 MARKETS THURSDAY 2 MARCH 2017
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FTSE 100 touches
new high as banks
and miners shine
THE FTSE 100 share index
surged to a fresh record high
yesterday, with
commodities-related stocks
tracking stronger metals,
while banks gained on expectations
of further hikes in US interest rates.
The index closed up 1.6 per cent at
7,382.90 points, its highest level ever,
taking gains to more than 27 per cent
since a Brexit vote sell-off in June last
year.
Banks were prominent among the
gainers following signs from two influential
Federal Reserve policymakers
that US interest rates could rise
this month, fuelling hopes of an improvement
in their margins.
New York Fed president William
Dudley, a permanent voter on the US
central bank’s open market committee,
said the case for tightening
monetary policy “has become a lot
more compelling”.
The UK banking index rose 2.2 per
cent as Standard Chartered, HSBC
and Barclays gained 2.5 to 3.6 per
cent. Elsewhere, miners BHP Billiton,
Glencore, Anglo American and Rio
Tinto enjoyed rises between 3.1 and
4.9 per cent.
FTSE
7,400
7,350
7,300
7,250
7,200
7,382.90
1 Mar
7,150
23 Feb 24 Feb 27 Feb 28 Feb 1 Mar
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS
EASYJET
1,000
980
960
940
920
P
23 Feb
958
1 Mar
24 Feb 27 Feb
28 Feb 1 Mar
Easyjet must be flying high after Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded its rating for the
company from “hold” to “buy” and increased its target price from 1,150p to 1,200p.
The analysts argued that, although the budget airline gave a cautious outlook in its
most recent results, most of the risk is now priced into the shares, while demand for
travelling for leisure is also holding up well.
DOMINO’S PIZZA
390
388
386
384
382
380
P
23 Feb
24 Feb 27 Feb
387.50
1 Mar
28 Feb 1 Mar
Domino’s Pizza is due to deliver its full-year results next week and analysts at Peel
Hunt are predicting it will serve up a double-digit rise in profits, thanks to an increase
in UK like-for-like sales. However, Peel Hunt sliced its rating from “buy” to “add”,
given the strength of the share price in recent months, and maintained its target
price at 430p.
Trump bump
lifts US stocks
WALL Street continued its
golden run yesterday as the
Dow Jones index blasted
through the 21,000 mark for the first
time, after US President Donald
Trump’s measured tone in his first
speech to Congress lifted
optimism and investors viewed a
looming interest rate hike as a glass
half full.
The three main stock indexes surged
more than 1.3 per cent to close at
record highs.
It was a break in Trump’s oftenabrasive
speaking style that
encouraged many investors who have
worried he may struggle to push his
agenda through a Congress reluctant
to widen the government’s budget
deficit.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
jumped 1.46 per cent to end at
21,115.55, while the S&P 500 rallied
1.37 per cent to 2,395.96. The Nasdaq
Composite climbed 1.35 per cent to
5,904.03.
Lowe’s jumped 9.5 per cent after the
home improvement chain issued an
upbeat sales forecast.
KYNETIX
Matt Dolton has been
appointed chief executive of
Kynetix, a leading provider of
platforms which connect
financial markets to the
physical economy. Matt is one
of the co-founders of Kynetix
and has been spearheading
the company’s strategy
around the Sentinel platform.
He succeeds Paul Smyth, who
stepped into the chairman role in mid-February. Alan
Wilson has also joined the Kynetix board as chief
financial officer.
LEGAL & GENERAL
Legal & General has appointed Dermot Courtier as
chairman of the Legal & General Mastertrust and of the
Legal & General independent governance committee
(IGC). Dermot is head of group pensions at Kingfisher,
as well as secretary to Kingfisher Pension Trustee
Limited, which oversees the governance and the
running of the Kingfisher pension scheme (KPS). He
will remain in these roles in addition to his new
position as chairman for the Legal & General
Mastertrust and the Legal & General IGC. Since 2007,
Dermot in his executive capacity has overseen KPS’ derisking
programme and the enhancement of defined
contribution benefit structures and investment funds.
KPS has won numerous awards, in particular for its
pioneering financial education programme for defined
contribution members. Under Dermot’s leadership, the
KPS has grown to around £3.5bn of defined benefit
assets under management and £230m of defined
contribution assets. He is a highly respected
practitioner who will bring many years of experience
working with a range of employers in different sectors,
and is expected to play a pivotal role in overseeing
Legal & General’s Mastertrust. His work overseeing the
impact of pensions freedom and choice regulations
means he will bring a valuable perspective of what
employers require from their defined contribution
solutions. Dermot has held senior pension roles at
Hachette Livre Group, Towers Perrin HR Services and
Royal Mail Group.
ELEGANT HOTELS
Jeff Singleton has been appointed to the board of
Barbados-focused tourism group Elegant Hotels with
immediate effect. Jeff was appointed as the group’s
interim chief financial officer on 16 December and will
now take over the role on a permanent basis. Jeff
joined the group from Rocco Forte Hotels, where he
was financial controller and corporate finance director.
Previous roles have included finance director of the De
Vere Hotel Group, head of external reporting at Cable &
Wireless Group, and project manager for the
International Accounting Standards Board. A chartered
accountant, Jeffrey started his career at KPMG in
Australia before moving to Deloitte, for whom he
worked in both Melbourne and London.
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