the times | Thursday December 3 2020 1GM 55
MarketsBusiness
Exchange rates
Bank sells Bank buys
Australia $ 1.722 1.981
Canada $ 1.638 1.859
Denmark Kr 7.757 8.885
Egypt n/a n/a
Euro ¤ 1.063 1.214
Hong Kong $ 9.778 11.117
Hungary 357.981 435.116
Indonesia 17276.400 21659.000
Israel Shk 4.129 4.839
Japan Yen 130.631 150.835
New Zealand $ 1.791 2.117
Norway Kr 11.086 12.826
Poland 4.487 5.476
Russia 90.715 108.938
S Africa Rd 19.121 22.579
Sweden Kr 10.807 12.155
Switzerland Fr 1.143 1.326
Turkey Lira 10.075 11.776
USA $ 1.277 1.455
Rates for banknotes and traveller's cheques as
traded by Royal Bank of Scotland plc yesterdayDollar rates
Australia 1.3516-1.3520
Canada 1.2926-1.2927
Denmark 6.1532-6.1557
Euro 0.8268-0.8269
Hong Kong 7.7519-7.7519
Japan 104.49-104.51
Malaysia 4.0750-4.0800
Norway 8.8116-8.8156
Singapore 1.3384-1.3390
Sweden 8.4798-8.4838
Switzerland 0.8960-0.8963Other Sterling
Argentina peso 108.82-108.84
Australia dollar 1.8050-1.8059
Bahrain dinar 0.4998-0.5064
Brazil real 6.9955-6.9975
Euro 1.1041-1.1045
Hong Kong dollar 10.352-10.354
India rupee 98.406-98.407
Indonesia rupiah 18795-18851
Kuwait dinar KD 0.4056-0.4078
Malaysia ringgit 5.4321-5.4388
New Zealand dollar 1.8928-1.8932
Singapore dollar 1.7875-1.7883
S Africa rand 20.491-20.504
U A E dirham 4.9032-4.9034Money rates %
Base Rates Clearing Banks 0.10 ECB Refi -0.50 US Fed Fd 0.00-0.25Halifax Mortgage Rate 3.74Treasury Bills (Dis) Buy: 1 mth -0.005; 3 mth -0.110. Sell: 1 mth -0.060; 3 mth -0. 1801 mth 2 mth 3 mth 6 mth 12 mth
Interbank Rates 0.0374 0.0461 0.0418 0.0610 0.1335
Eurodollar Deps 0.06-0.26 0.07-0.27 0.08-0.28 0.11-0.31 0.18-0.38Mkt Rates for Range Close 1 month 3 month
Copenhagen 8.1947-8.2817 8.2171-8.2227 43ds 128ds
Euro 1.1129-1.1009 1.1045-1.1041 5pr 14pr
Montreal 1.7202-1.7373 1.7263-1.7266 5pr 8pr
New York 1.3290-1.3441 1.3355-1.3358 7pr 11pr
Oslo 11.751-11.841 11.769-11.773 32pr 69pr
Stockholm 11.311-11.394 11.325-11.332 37ds 87ds
Tokyo 138.91-140.42 139.54-139.61 4ds 10ds
Zurich 1.1912-1.2083 1.1966-1.1973 9ds 26ds
Premium = pr Discount = dsSterling spot and forward rates
London Grain Futures
LIFFE Wheat (close £/t)
Jan 192.00 Mar unq May 191.00
Jul 196.00 Nov 158.00 Volume: 878
London Metal Exchange
(Official)
Cash 3mth Dec 21
Copper Gde A ($/tonne)
7616.5-7616.5 7623.0-7623.0 7604.0-7604.0
Lead ($/tonne)
2031.5-2031.5 2046.0-2046.0 2080.0-2080.0
Zinc Spec Hi Gde ($/tonne)
2725.0-2725.0 2745.5-2745.5 2772.0-2772.0
Alum Hi Gde ($/tonne)
2051.5-2051.5 2062.0-2062.0 2076.5-2076.5
Nickel ($/tonne)
15850.0-15850.0 15906.0-15906.0 16029.0-16029.0
Tin ($/tonne) 15mth
18905.0-18905.0 18880.0-18880.0 18676.0-18676.0
Gold/Precious
metals (US dollars per ounce)European money
deposits %
Currency
1mth 3mth 6mth 12mth
Dollar
0.13 0.20 0.29 0.55
Sterling
0.04 0.04 0.06 0.13
Euro
0.10 0.15 0.20 0.50Bullion: Open $1810.89
Close $1826.87-1827.34 High $1831.59
Low $1806.60
AM $1829.79 PM $1818.42
Krugerrand $1808.00-1905.00 (£1353.54-
1426.15)
Platinum $1016.00 (£760.62)
Silver $23.99 (£17.96)
Palladium $2414.99 (£1807.95)Data as shown is
for information
purposes only. No offer is made by
Morningstar or this publicationT
he head of
Switzerland’s
biggest bank has
said that Brexit will
not threaten London’s
position as Europe’s
dominant financial
centre, as long as the
European Union
countries’ regulations
were fragmented and
they were competing
with each other to
attract business
(Robert Miller writes).
Axel Weber,
chairman of UBS, told
an online Financial
Times global banking
summit: “The division
of Europe is a massive
benefit to the City of
London because ifAmarin, an American
pharmaceuticals company, made its
latest play to protect sales of
Vascepa, the fish oil capsule that is its
star asset and of which Hikma makes
a generic version. Amarin is claiming
that Hikma has been encouraging
doctors to prescribe its cheaper
option to treat conditions for which it
isn’t approved and the company is
demanding compensation. Hikma
said that the claim “lacks merit” and
vowed to “vigorously defend itself”.
Citi analysts didn’t seem too fazed,
either: “We are comfortable the risk
reward remains positive,” they
concluded.
Avon Rubber, the maker of gas
masks and body armour, was the
heaviest faller among London’s big
companies, despite its handsome rise
in annual sales and profits. The stock
retreated 405p, or 8.8 per cent, to
£42.20, which analysts put down to a
bout of profit-taking after the
company’s shares hit a record high
earlier in the week.ALEXANDER SPATARI/GETTY IMAGESMartin takes £5m spoonful
with his timely share sale
Tom Howard Market report
F
or once, actions counted
more than words for
Tim Martin yesterday.
The founder and chairman of
JD Wetherspoon, never short
of a quote or two and never shy of
sharing his opinions, decided that
now is the time to cash in on the
recent surge in the share of the no-
frills pub chain.
Like all the big hospitality groups,
Wetherspoon has been hammered by
this year’s lockdowns and its share
price has reflected as much.
However, the stock has perked up in
recent weeks as investors, egged on
by vaccine progress, have started to
bet on a bumper 2021. Since the
middle of October, Wetherspoon’s
shares have risen by almost 50 per
cent, a run that had taken them totheir highest level since March. Until
yesterday, that is. Wetherspoon shares
fell by 23p, or 2 per cent, to £11.52
after it was confirmed that Mr Martin
had sold a stake worth just over
£5 million.
The market is easily spooked when
bosses decide to sell because of fears
that those in the know don’t expect
the share price to go much higher.
However, Mr Martin’s track record
might put Wetherspoon’s investors at
ease. In July, he offloaded another
£5 million tranche of shares, his first
big stock sale for years. Since then,
the price is up 16 per cent.
Wetherspoon’s peers were given a
boost from regulatory approval of
Pfizer’s vaccine. Revolution Bars rose
1½p, or 6.5 per cent, to 24¾p;
Mitchells & Butlers frothed 10½p, or
4.6 per cent, up to 240½p; and
Marston’s added 3p, or 4.4 per cent, to
68½p. Similarly, Cineworld, the
nation’s largest cinema chain, rose
1¾p, or 2.8 per cent, to 63¾p.
The FTSE 100 built on Tuesday’sstrong gains as it advanced another
78.66 points, or 1.2 per cent, to
6,463.39, while the FTSE 250 edged
32.96 points, or 0.2 per cent, up to
19,877.77. The mid-caps were held back
by Brexit chatter that France and
other countries are prepared to let
trade talks end without a deal. That
news also weighed on sterling, which
dipped 0.5 per cent to $1.336 and by
0.7 per cent to €1.104.
Elsewhere, the big oil companies
improved as they tracked the rise in
crude prices before today’s Opec
meeting. Brent prices rallied by
almost 3 per cent to $48.70 a barrel
amid talk that the world’s biggest
state producers would agree to extend
production cuts. Royal Dutch Shell
rose 41½p, or 3.3 per cent, to £13.10
and BP, its fellow supermajor, added
12p, or 4.7 per cent, to 267¼p.
Hikma, the generic drugs business,
rebounded 51p, or 2.1 per cent, to
£25.32 after a bruising sell-off a day
earlier. About £200 million was wiped
off its market value on Tuesday asNow is time to believe in Santa
stock marketsF
ather Christmas
might be fiction,
but the evidence
suggests that the so-
called Santa rally is
firmly centred on fact.
Since the FTSE 100
began in 1984,
London’s senior index
has fallen in
December on only
seven occasions,
according to research
by AJ Bell. On
average, the Footsie
rises about by 2.2 per
cent each December.
“April is the only
other month to offer
an average advance of
more than 1 per cent,”
Russ Mould, of AJ
Bell, said.
Last year, the index
gained 2.7 per cent inDecember as it went
on an 11-session
winning run after
Boris Johnson’s
election victory; it is
already up more than
3 per cent this month.
It is the same on
Wall Street, where
stock markets rise inDecember more often
than in any other
month.
Some think that the
rises are driven by
fund managers piling
into stocks to boost
their annual returns.
Others think it is a
self-fulfilling
prophecy: if enough
people invest in
anticipation, then the
market will rise.
However, a good
December is no
indication of what is
to come. “The
FTSE 100 has served
up eleven annual
losses since 1984 and
ten of those came
after a gain in the
December,” Mr
Mould said.The FTSE 100 has
fallen in December just
seven times since 1984Wall Street report
A possible fiscal stimulus deal was
balanced with a poor private jobs
report. Still, the S&P 500 closed at
another record with a rise of 0.2 per
cent to 3,669.01. The Dow Jones
industrial average was up 59.87
points, or 0.2 per cent, to 29,883.79.Company Change
London Stock Exchange Group Reports that the regulators will clear Refinitiv deal 9.6%
G4S Gardaworld raises takeover bid 7.4%
Provident Financial Up 14 per cent in past two sessions 6.6%
First Group Vaccine approval bodes well for transport groups 5.9%
TI Fluid Systems Highest finish since February 5.8%
CMC Markets Market volatility at its lowest since before the February crash -4.5%
Hiscox Analysts’ downgrade -4.8%
Tui Analysts warn on rights issue -4.9%
IWG Issues £300 million of bonds that can be converted into shares -6.7%
Avon Rubber Profit-taking -8.8%
The day’s biggest movers
Name Pre-tax figure
Profit (+) loss (-)
DividendAvon Rubber (engineering FY) £0.5m (£8.7m) 27.08p f 18.06p p Mar 12
Ixico (health FY) £0.9m (£0.4m) nil
Loungers (leisure HY) £0.1m (-£2.5m) nil
Residential Secure Reit (property FY) £2.5m (£13.2m) 5p f 0.60p p Jan 8
Stock Spirits (consumer FY) €30m (€38.4m) 20.55 cents f 6.78 cents p Feb 19
6 Results in brief are given for all companies valued at more than £30 million. f = final p = payable
Results in brief
Europe were united the
impact... of Brexit
would be much more.
UBS has more than
5,000 staff in London
and has moved only up
to 250 to the European
Union.
“When we get asked
why don’t you move
more jobs to Europe,
show me a European
landscape that offers
the same
opportunities,” he said.Brexit ‘is
no threat
to London’