London open: Footsie dips below 5900
Market Movers
- techMARK 2,138.78 -0.30%
- FTSE 100 5,893.65 -0.37%
- FTSE 250 12,074.04 -0.35%
UK stocks have opened on the back foot with traders agitating over possible delays to the Eurozone´s plans for a banking union, as Germany calls for a more measured approach.
House prices, seen as a major element of consumer confidence in the UK, remain subdued, according to data from property web site Rightmove. The average price of a home coming to market this September in the UK is £234,858, a mere 0.7% higher than a year earlier and 0.1% lower than in September 2007, according to Rightmove. Vodafone preparing for legal battle over Indian tax bill
On the corporate front, mobile phone network titan Vodafone is lower after Chief Financial Officer Andy Halford told the Bloomberg news agency that the company may make a provision to cover legal risks associated with its fight to avoid a $2.2bn tax bill in India.
Royal Dutch Shell has suffered a setback on its Alaska drilling programme, with the containment dome aboard the Arctic Challenger barge sustaining damage during a final test of the containment system. The time required to repair the dome, along with steps taken to protect local whaling operations and to ensure the safety of operations from ice flow movement, have led the oil giant to revise its plans for the 2012-2013 exploration programme.
Reckitt Benckiser, the Anglo-Dutch household goods firm behind the Cillit Bang brand, has nabbed Adrian Hennah from medical technology business Smith & Nephew to be its new Chief Financial Officer. Hennah will get his feet under his new desk in 2013.
Amplats to reopen Rusteburg ops
Anglo American Platinum - or Amplats - said it plans to reopen operations in Rustenburg after work was suspended last week to protect staff. The firm, which accounts for around 40% of global platinum supply, took the decision to stop operations in the area to protect the safety and security of its employees from "outside intimidation". Industrial relations in the South African mining sector remain on a knife edge a month after 44 people died during violent protests at Lonmin's Marikana project close to the Rustenburg area.
FTSE-250 oil and gas company Ophir Energy said that three results in its drilling programme in block R, Equatorial Guinea were better than expected, but share price reaction suggests investors beg to differ. All three wells drilled exceeded pre-drilling recoverable resource estimates, the Africa-focused company revealed. As a result of test drilling on Fortuna West-1 (R6), the sixth gas discovery in block R, the total management estimate of Block R recoverable contingent resources (2C) has been lifted by more than 300% from the pre-2012 drilling programme estimate of 697bn cubic feet, which is 116m barrels of oil equivlent (mmboe), to 3.0trn cubic feet, or 500 mmboe.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Unilever (ULVR) 2,275.00p +1.34%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,596.00p +0.67%
British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 724.50p +0.62%
G4S (GFS) 262.60p +0.61%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,465.00p +0.61%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,282.00p +0.55%
Severn Trent (SVT) 1,694.00p +0.53%
Capita (CPI) 740.00p +0.48%
Compass Group (CPG) 709.00p +0.42%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 304.50p +0.40%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 354.50p -2.40%
Evraz (EVR) 287.80p -2.01%
CRH (CRH) 1,254.00p -1.88%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,103.00p -1.78%
Kazakhmys (KAZ) 761.50p -1.49%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,074.00p -1.47%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,053.50p -1.46%
Aviva (AV.) 358.20p -1.35%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,240.00p -1.26%
ITV (ITV) 86.25p -1.15%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Perform Group (PER) 393.00p +5.08%
Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 139.50p +4.49%
Chemring Group (CHG) 358.80p +3.70%
Ruspetro (RPO) 116.00p +3.48%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 290.76p +3.22%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 76.00p +2.63%
National Express Group (NEX) 236.00p +2.39%
Diploma (DPLM) 468.50p +2.16%
Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 49.84p +2.13%
Elementis (ELM) 245.00p +1.96%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 615.00p -4.06%
TR Property Inv Trust Sigma Shares (TRYS) 70.94p -2.42%
Salamander Energy (SMDR) 195.20p -2.40%
Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 147.90p -2.38%
Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI) (GEMD) 192.60p -2.23%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 262.90p -2.19%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 87.75p -2.17%
Kier Group (KIE) 1,369.00p -2.14%
Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 165.40p -2.13%
UK Event Calendar Monday September 17
INTERIMS
Iofina, Networkers International
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Balance of Payments (EU) (09:00)
Balance of Trade (EU) (10:00)
Current Account (EU) (09:00)
FINALS
Allergy Therapeutics
AGMS
Aberdeen Private Equity Fund Ltd. Sterling Part Shares, Albion Prime VCT, Albion Venture Capital Trust, City of London Group, Downing Absolute Income VCT 2, Turbotec Products
FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd., Mulberry Group
| US Market Report | US close: Stocks finish week at multi-year highs
Market Movers
Dow Jones: 13,593 (+0.39%)
Nasdaq: 3,184 (+0.89%)
S&P 500: 1,466 (+0.41%) US stock markets continued their post-Fed rally on Friday, pushing Wall Street indices to multi-year highs, as investors celebrated the central bank's plan to boost the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to 13,593 while the S&P 500 was at 1,466, levels not seen since December 2007. In fact, the S&P is just 6.8% off its all-time high reached in October 2007.
The Federal Reserve announced last night that it will launch its third round of quantitative easing, or QE3, by purchasing mortgage-backed securities at a pace of $40bn a month "to support a stronger economic recovery" and make sure that inflation stayed close to its target. It will also continue its Operation Twist programme (to extend the maturity of its holdings) through to the end of the year.
"This is an ambitious response by the Fed and certainly a step in the right direction as it differs from the first and second QE programmes; however it remains to be seen if the plan is successful and potentially causes some headaches down the road," said market strategist Ishaq Siddiqi from ETX Capital. US data comes in mixed
Industrial production fell by a monthly rate of 1.2% in August, the largest decrease since March 2009. The consensus estimate was looking for an unchanged reading from July.
The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose from 74.3 to 79.2 last month, ahead of the 74 forecast. This was the strongest reading since May.
Business inventories gained 0.8% in July, above the 0.4% increase forecast.
Banks, house-builders gain on Fed move
Banking stocks were glowing in the aftermath of the Fed decision and the improved outlook for the US economy: Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co were all making decent gains.
Meanwhile, house-building peers PulteGroup, Hovnanian Enterprises and Toll Brothers were performing well on the back of the Fed's plan to buy mortgage-backed securities.
Office supply retailer Staples was higher on the back of a report that private-equity firms, including Bain Capital, are considering buying the business.
Tech giant Apple continued its decent performance this week following its iPhone 5 release. Shares hit a fresh all-time high again today, along with internet retailer Amazon.com.
Meanwhile, media stocks such as Facebook, Groupon, Zynga, LinkedIn and Yelp also rose strongly.
S&P 500 - Risers
Fossil Inc. (FOSL) $93.60 +11.43%
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $24.61 +8.87%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $5.76 +7.26%
Lexmark International Inc. (LXK) $23.99 +6.48%
Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) $36.75 +5.72%
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF) $45.55 +5.49%
Vulcan Materials Co. (VMC) $49.17 +4.71%
Big Lots Inc. (BIG) $31.83 +4.50%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $60.52 +4.34%
Leucadia National Corp. (LUK) $23.89 +4.32%
S&P 500 - Fallers
AutoZone Inc. (AZO) $351.99 -4.86%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $41.06 -3.57%
Carmax Inc. (KMX) $32.34 -3.00%
Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (DPS) $44.08 -2.91%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $4.65 -2.82%
Hershey Foods Corp. (HSY) $70.09 -2.69%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $96.64 -2.58%
Altria Group Inc. (MO) $32.94 -2.57%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $50.46 -2.44%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $81.36 -2.36%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $93.17 +2.75%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $82.45 +2.38%
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $9.84 +2.18%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $52.24 +2.17%
3M Co. (MMM) $93.98 +2.09%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $59.46 +1.99%
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $9.55 +1.60%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $92.30 +1.17%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $31.21 +0.89%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $19.49 +0.67%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
AT&T Inc. (T) $37.26 -2.33%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $43.62 -2.33%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $44.53 -2.30%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $23.80 -1.86%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $74.50 -0.85%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $68.47 -0.75%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $38.12 -0.60%
Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) $39.93 -0.50%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $52.35 -0.48%
Boeing Co. (BA) $71.28 -0.42%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Fossil Inc. (FOSL) $93.60 +11.43%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $115.62 +5.27%
Randgold Resources Ltd. Ads (GOLD) $120.34 +5.24%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $60.52 +4.34%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $58.08 +3.33%
F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV) $103.67 +3.27%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $44.26 +3.25%
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) $61.71 +3.16%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $62.02 +2.95%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $43.05 +2.94%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $50.46 -2.44%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $47.51 -2.36%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $81.36 -2.36%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $72.03 -1.65%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $80.37 -1.42%
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (GMCR) $31.09 -1.14%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $28.47 -1.01%
Virgin Media Inc. (VMED) $29.80 -0.68%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $77.07 -0.55% |
| | FX and Commodities round-up | FX round-up: Dollar tumbles in the wake of QE3
The dollar weakened against major currencies on Friday as investors mulled the Federal Reserve's decision to buy another round of mortgage backed bonds until the US jobs market picks up.
On Thursday the central bank announced that it would buy $40bn in mortgage-backed securities each month until there's an improvement in US job market.
The Fed also said it would maintain ultra low interest rates for a "considerable time," after the US economy improves.
The dollar index, which measures the US unit against a basket of six currencies, declined to 78.864 compared to 79.254 on Thursday.
The euro rallied to $1.3122 versus $1.2992 the previous session after hitting an intra-day high of $1.3168.
Against the yen, the dollar rose to ¥78.35 from ¥77.49 on Thursday on speculation that Japan would soon take steps to weaken its currency after the yen rose to a seven-month high against the US currency on Thursday.
Speculation was prompted by comments by Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi that market intervention to cool the yen could be about to happen. The euro bought ¥102.815 against the yen versus ¥100.68 previously.
Sterling rose to a four-month high against the dollar on Friday after the Fed announced a fresh round of monetary stimulus. The pound bought $1.6230 from $1.6154 the previous day.
Sterling was down sharply against a broadly strong euro on Friday.
The Australian dollar climbed to $1.0615 before retreating to around $1.0558 from $1.0545 on Thursday. Commodities: Oil rises to four-month high
Oil climbed to a four month high on Friday and briefly topped $100 a barrel on concern that unrest in the Middle East and North Africa will choke supplies and after the US Federal Reserve announced more stimulus measures.
Crude for October delivery settled up 69 cents at $99 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its highest settlement since the start of May after trading at a high of $100.42 a barrel.
On Thursday the Federal Reserve outlined a plan to buy $40bn in mortgage-backed securities each month until the employment market improves. The move was seen as a bold move by the central bank whose earlier bond-buying programmes stopped at a particular date.
Meanwhile tensions in Yemen, Libya and Egypt flared up this week in reaction to an online video seen as insulting to Islam. Violent anti-US demonstrations continue to spread across the Middle East.
On the ICE futures exchange Brent crude gained 78 cents to settle at $116.66 a barrel.
Among precious metals gold futures settled higher on Friday, adding to the previous day's gains, in the wake of the Federal Reserve's latest plans to boost the economy.
Gold for December delivery advanced 60 cents to $1,772.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday.
Silver for December delivery lost its allure, settling down 12 cents to $34.66 an ounce.
Platinum and palladium prices both rose on the back of concern about ongoing mining strikes in South Africa. Platinum rose 2% and palladium advanced 1.5%. |
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