MARKET REPORT

Wednesday 26th May 2021

Market Headlines

Two Federal Reserve officials suggested that talking about scaling back monthly asset purchases would become appropriate soon, reflecting a shifting tone as Vice Chair Richard Clarida said the Fed could curb inflation and engineer a soft landing.

UK trade with the EU slumped in the first quarter as China become the largest importer to the UK with imports up 66% to £16.9bn since the start of 2018, overtaking German imports which fell by a quarter to £12.5bn.

The UK Construction Leadership Council warned cement, certain electrical components, timber, steel and paint were in short supply due to unprecedented demand, supply issues and soaring shipping costs with Asia to Europe container rates spiking from $1,500 last summer to $8,300.

The S&P 500 dipped 0.2%, the Hang Seng rose 0.8% whilst the Nikkei 225 and the Shanghai Composite closed up 0.3%. European markets were higher.

Investments on our buy list

HICL Infrastructure plc (HICL) – said today that its pre-tax profit for fiscal 2021 more than trebled due to accretive investment and disposal activity, and heightened demand for core infrastructure. The infrastructure investor said that for the year ended 31 st March, its pre-tax profit was £152.1m compared with £50.0m in fiscal 2020. The company said the increase was driven by underlying portfolio performance and stronger asset pricing, though it was offset by some headwinds including pandemic- related restrictions and higher U.K. corporation tax. The board declared a dividend of 8.25p per share, the same as the year before. NAV per share was maintained at 152.3p (2020: 152.3p), a very creditable result given the difficult operating period over the pandemic. The group’s shares are solidly underpinned, and we could see some growth in the NAV this year as conditions normalise. This may allow the share price to move higher.

Source: Bloomberg AVI Global Trust (AGT) – today’s interims showed the fund posted an impressive NAV total return of 26.8% in the six months to 31 st March. Management commented that “some of the strongest contributions over the period came from companies - such as Aker, Jardine Strategic and EXOR – that had been hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, and subsequently rallied in November, following the announcement of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine trial results. The manager increased exposure to these companies, and initiated positions in others, during 2020 when their valuations appeared particularly compelling.” It is difficult to recommend buying after the trust’s exceptional performance, but it has momentum and remains bullish.

Source: Bloomberg

Chart of the Day

With Chinese equity market indices breaking out of 2-month trading ranges on the upside, this may signal the return to the bull tack for Asian Pacific markets and possibly emerging markets as a whole. Chinese stocks have seen record foreign purchases helping the CSI 300 index close 3.2% higher at its strongest since early March, driven by gains in consumer staples. The surge came as overseas investors net purchased 21.7 billion yuan ($3.4 billion) worth of A shares via links with Hong Kong on Tuesday.

Source: Bloomberg

Recap of yesterday

Aveva added 1.6% as it announced full year pre-tax profit to 31 March fell 63% to £34m on revenues 2% lower. Trading had now normalised in most markets with an improved second half.

Avon Rubber sank 10.7% as it swung to a first half pre-tax profit of $5.4m from a $1.8m loss a year earlier on revenues 41% higher and the interim dividend was hiked 30%. The order book grew 16% and it was set to change the company name to Avon Protection.

Electrocomponents dipped 0.1% as full year pre-tax profits to 31 March fell 20% to £160.6m on revenues 1.4% lower whilst the full year dividend was increased 3.2%. It expected strong growth for fiscal 2022.

Greencore slumped 15.7% as it swung to an interim (to 26 March) loss of £1.8m, against a £27.3m profit year-on-year on revenues 19% lower, due to the effect of lockdown on food-on-the-go. Sales have recovered since restrictions eased but were still 14% below pre-pandemic levels.

Online portal

We would like to remind you that you can now more easily keep up to date with the value of your account using our client portal. Please go to the Client Login section of our website to register now https://blankstonesington.co.uk/ .

Telephone: 0151 236 8200 | Fax: 0151 243 3535 Email: [email protected] | www.blankstonesington.co.uk

Important information

Articles, news and research published by Blankstone Sington are provided solely to enable you to make your own investment decisions. They are not personal investment advice and may not be suitable for all investors. If you are unsure about whether an investment is suitable for your circumstances, you should seek advice. The value of investments will rise and fall, and you may get back less than your initial investment. Past performance is not an indication of future performance.

This report is a marketing communication. Any information presented herein which may be construed as ‘investment research’ has not been prepared in accordance with the legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and is therefore ‘non-independent research’. Non-independent research is not subject to FCA rules prohibiting dealing by members of staff ahead of its dissemination.

Member of The Stock Exchange. Authorised and Regulated by The Financial Conduct Authority No. 143694. Registered in England No. 2378144