London open: Stocks fall as Hurricane Sandy hits the US
Market Movers
- techMARK 2,084.25 -0.19%
- FTSE 100 5,787.60 -0.33%
- FTSE 250 11,885.64 -0.34%
- New York trading suspended
- UK equity markets cautious
- Financials fall early on
The UK stock market started in the red on Monday morning as investors showed caution as Hurricane Sandy hits the east coast of America.
Dubbed as the '100-year storm', Hurricane Sandy has prompted the cancellation of equity trading in New York, as the city is hit by 70-mile-an-hour winds and flooding. This is the first unscheduled closure of US stock markets since the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001.
"It was a judgment decision based on the safety of a lot of market participants, especially as the storm seems to be getting more severe," NYSE Euronext's Chief Operating Officer Larry Leibowitz told Bloomberg. The suspension of trading is expected to continue through to Tuesday "pending confirmation", the news agency said.
Global markets slipped last week despite some better-than-expected economic growth figures in the US and UK, as concerns about corporate profits weighed on sentiment.
"European equity markets are starting the week out on a lower note being pressured by weakness out of Asia where several companies posted disappointing earnings overnight, furthermore the ongoing wrangling about extending the time frame by which Greece has to meet budget and deficit targets is starting to have a drag on markets," said Markus Huber, the head of German HNW Trading at ETX Capital.
He said that, given that US equity trading has been cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy, markets will likely remain mostly range-bound.
"However it wouldn't come as too much of a surprise if markets might stage a test of the lows seen last week as worries about corporate earnings in the months ahead return and patience is starting to wear thin with market participants what Greece and Spain is concerned, as no solution is in sight for either one of them," Huber added. Financials weigh on Footsie early on
Financial stocks were weighing heavily on the blue-chip index in the opening hour of trade today as risk appetite is scaled back in the absence of trading in New York.
Sector peers Hargreaves Lansdown, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Aviva, Old Mutual, Legal & General, Prudential and Lloyds were among the worst performers early on. Hargreaves was the heaviest faller after Citigroup downgraded the stock to 'sell' and cut its target from 630p to 620p.
In contrast, accountancy software group Sage headed the other way after Citi upped its recommendation on the shares to 'buy' and raised its target from 294p to 345p.
Mining group Anglo American was subdued after saying that subsidiary Amplats has come to an agreement with trade unions in South Africa and hopes to see its 12,000 dismissed employees return to work by tomorrow. Nomura has slashed its forecasts for Anglo this morning, saying that South African operation disruptions, production curtailments and a CEO exit has added to near-term uncertainty for the business.
Publishing group Pearson was out of favour after confirming that publishing firm Random House is to merge with its venerable book seller Penguin. The news came as Pearson released figures that showed in the first nine months of the year Penguin revenues fell 1% compared to the same period in 2011.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Sage Group (SGE) 307.80p +1.18%
Hammerson (HMSO) 471.90p +0.45%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 810.00p +0.43%
Bunzl (BNZL) 1,024.00p +0.29%
British Land Co (BLND) 533.00p +0.28%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,142.50p +0.27%
IMI (IMI) 931.00p +0.22%
Meggitt (MGGT) 383.80p +0.21%
Diageo (DGE) 1,772.50p +0.20%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,155.00p +0.17%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 731.00p -3.69%
WPP (WPP) 789.50p -1.37%
Old Mutual (OML) 171.20p -1.15%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 40.03p -1.09%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,105.00p -1.07%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 132.50p -1.05%
Barclays (BARC) 230.05p -1.05%
BT Group (BT.A) 215.00p -0.97%
Shire Plc (SHP) 1,742.00p -0.97%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 158.70p -0.94%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 115.00p +1.77%
Redrow (RDW) 157.20p +1.75%
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 521.50p +1.56%
Soco International (SIA) 332.00p +1.37%
Yule Catto & Co (YULC) 150.00p +1.28%
SIG (SHI) 107.60p +1.13%
Chemring Group (CHG) 317.70p +1.11%
KCOM Group (KCOM) 77.70p +1.04%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 511.50p +0.89%
SEGRO (SGRO) 239.00p +0.84%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 264.60p -5.50%
Ruspetro (RPO) 97.05p -4.85%
Catlin Group Ltd. (CGL) 456.00p -3.61%
Carpetright (CPR) 670.50p -2.47%
Kenmare Resources (KMR) 38.06p -2.41%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 64.55p -2.34%
Hiscox Ltd. (HSX) 473.90p -2.13%
Amlin (AML) 366.50p -2.06%
African Barrick Gold (ABG) 455.90p -1.96%
UK Event Calendar Monday October 29
INTERIMS
Great Eastern Energy Corp Ltd. GDR
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Personal Consumption Expenditures (US) (13:30)
Personal Income (US) (13:30)
Personal Spending (US) (13:30)
GMS
XCAP Securities
ANNUAL REPORT
Stellar Diamonds
IMSS
Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI), Perform Group
EGMS
ICB Financial Group Holdings (CDI), Wood Group (John)
AGMS
Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd., City of London Inv Trust, Parallel Media Group
UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
M4 Money Supply (estimate) (09:30)
M4 Sterling Lending (estimate) (09:30)
Mortgage Approvals (09:30)
Trends in Lending (09:30)
| Europe Market Report |  | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  |  |  |  | | Europe open: Berlusconi threatens to pull the plug on Monti
-Italian and Spanish PMs to meet today
-Germany opposed to further funds for Greece
-Berlusconi could pull his support for Mario Monti
-Spain to unveil details of bad bank at 16:00
FTSE-100: -0.31%
Dax-30: -0.10%
Cac-40: -0.05%
FTSE Mibtel 30: -1.16%
Ibex 35: -0.02%
Stoxx 600: -0.33%
European equities have begun the week trading clearly lower, against the backdrop of New York markets having decided to shut their doors ahead of the arrival of hurricane Sandy and on the back of a rather negative news-flow coming out of the Eurozone.
In particular, markets seem to be focusing on a threat by Italy´s ex-Prime Minister –Silvio Berlusconi- to pull the plug on Mr. Monti, whose government depends on bipartisan parliamentary support. Berlusconi added that he will take a decision in the coming days.
No less relevant, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble responded yesterday to a purported recommendation from the Troika that public sector bondholders should also take "hair-cuts", so as give the Aegean nation more breathing room, saying that it would be "a bit unrealistic." Such measures are considered necessary if the country is to lower its debt burden to 120% of gross domestic product by 2020.
Euro region finance ministers will hold a conference call on Greece on October 31st.
To be had in account Spain and Italy´s Prime Ministers will hold bilateral contacts throughout the day, with Mario Monti expected to press his Spanish peer to ask for a bail-out immediately.
Lastly, Finnish euro-sceptic parties have made further gains at the latest local elections. Shares of UBS rising by 5%
UBS is the most talked about stock this morning. The Swiss investment bank is rumoured to be studying up to 10,000 lay-offs, or almost 16% of its work force. More significantly even, it may wind down and spin-off its fixed income arm in a bid to reduce its risk weighted assets by up to 100bn Swiss francs, thus notably reducing the need for more capital for an underperforming business segment.
From a sector stand-point the worst performance on the DJ Stoxx 600 can now be seen in the following industrial groups: Insurance (-1.08%), Construction (-0.86%) and Basic resources (-0.83%).
Spanish retail sales crater
Spanish retail sales dropped by 12.6% month-on-momth in September, versus -2.0% in the month before.
The October consumer price index for the German region of Saxony rose by 2% year-on-year, the same pace as last month. Crude futures lower as Sandy approaches US
Front month Brent crude futures are now down by 0.597 dollars to the $109.1 mark on the ICE. This as refineries on the eastern US seaboard reduce or cut output all-together as hurricane Sandy approaches.
The euro/dollar is now down by 0.32% to the 1.2900 dollar level. |
| US Market Report | US close: Stocks shrug off GDP data to end flat
Market movers
Dow Jones: 13,107 (+0.03%)
Nasdaq: 2,988 (+0.06%)
S&P 500: 1,412 (-0.07%) US stock markets finished flat on Friday as some better-than-expected economic growth data was offset by concerns about Hurricane Sandy.
The Dow finished down 1.8% on the week, the Nasdaq fell 0.6% and the S&P 500 closed 1.5% lower.
Hurricane Sandy, described by some as the worst storm in 100 years, is expected to reach the east coast of America by the end of the month and is estimated to cause insured losses of as much as $4.9bn. It could also affect trading at some of the major trading venues, such as New York.
Meanwhile, some disappointing earnings reports from heavyweights Apple and Amazon.com from the previous night continued to weigh on sentiment.
Third-quarter US gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annualised rate of 2%, better than the previous quarter's reading of a 1.3% increase, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis. The figure topped the market consensus estimate of a 1.9% expansion.
Siddiqi said: "The US GDP data, although a pleasant surprise to the upside do still suggest the US recovery is weak and the labour market is slow so we would caution getting too excited about these just yet and would wait for further signals of growth such before turning optimistic on the US economy."
In other news, the University of Michigan's final reading on consumer confidence for the month of October came in at 82.6, a five-year high, versus a preliminary print of 83.1 and last month's 78.3. Expectations were for a reading of 83. Bank of America hit by LIBOR probe
Bank of America was under the weather on reports that the bank, along with eight others, has received a subpoena from state officials as part of the wider probe into LIBOR manipulation, joining Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, HSBC and UBS, who are already under investigation.
Online travel agency Expedia surged after beating consensus estimates in the third quarter and raising its full-year outlook. Sector peer Priceline, which reports early next month, also gained.
Comcast, the largest US cable company and the majority owner of NBC, advanced after more than doubling its quarterly profits from $908m to $2.11bn.
Tyre manufacture Goodyear dropped after missing forecasts with a 32% fall in net income.
S&P 500 - Risers
DeVry Inc. (DV) $26.01 +24.93%
Expedia Inc. (EXPE) $59.06 +15.24%
Varian Medical Systems Inc. (VAR) $66.93 +15.20%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $69.58 +13.12%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $77.37 +13.00%
Eastman Chemical Co. (EMN) $60.19 +12.19%
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) $47.46 +9.99%
PerkinElmer Inc. (PKI) $31.29 +9.79%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $238.24 +6.87%
Federated Investors Inc. (FII) $22.03 +6.48%
S&P 500 - Fallers
VeriSign Inc. (VRSN) $39.39 -15.47%
Dean Foods Co. (DF) $16.74 -10.91%
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT) $11.02 -10.41%
CA Inc. (CA) $22.73 -8.71%
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF) $36.49 -4.48%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $5.47 -3.87%
Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (HIG) $21.71 -3.43%
Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR) $13.68 -3.32%
Titanium Metals Corp. (TIE) $11.82 -3.19%
GameStop Corp. (GME) $23.00 -3.04%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $21.95 +1.20%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $28.21 +1.18%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $78.20 +1.18%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $44.73 +1.08%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $193.27 +0.87%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $84.25 +0.86%
American Express Co. (AXP) $55.75 +0.56%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $17.29 +0.52%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $26.60 +0.49%
AT&T Inc. (T) $34.63 +0.38%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $9.12 -1.30%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $41.16 -1.22%
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $8.65 -0.92%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $69.44 -0.90%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $71.56 -0.78%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $60.04 -0.73%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $86.71 -0.71%
General Electric Co. (GE) $21.11 -0.71%
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $14.09 -0.70%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $25.43 -0.70%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Expedia Inc. (EXPE) $59.06 +15.24%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $69.58 +13.12%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $77.37 +13.00%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $238.24 +6.87%
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) $66.66 +5.94%
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM) $27.77 +4.83%
Priceline.Com Inc. (PCLN) $579.46 +3.87%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $37.56 +3.30%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $28.92 +2.81%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $59.04 +2.80%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
VeriSign Inc. (VRSN) $39.39 -15.47%
CA Inc. (CA) $22.73 -8.71%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $5.47 -3.87%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $45.86 -2.61%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $11.91 -2.46%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $10.79 -2.44%
Flextronics International Ltd. (FLEX) $5.66 -2.41%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $44.27 -2.27%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $66.73 -2.11% | | FX and Commodities round-up | FX round-up: Dollar trims gains after US data
The dollar reduced gains against major currencies on Friday following better than expected third quarter US growth data.
Figures form the US Bureau of Economic Analysis showed US gross domestic product (GDP) during the third quarter rose 2% at an annualised rate, beating the previous quarter's reading of a 1.3% increase. The data beat market estimates of 1.9% growth.
The ICE dollar index, which measures the US unit against a basket of six other currencies, eased to 80.047 from 80.180 seen earlier in the session. The index traded at around 80.131 on Thursday. For the week, the dollar index rose 0.5%.
Meanwhile the euro traded at around $1.2936 compared to $1.2931 the previous session after Spain's unemployment rate hit a record high in the third quarter.
Against the yen, the dollar pulled off a four-month high to trade at ¥79.64 from ¥80.28 on Thursday after a choppy week on speculation that the Bank of Japan will announce further easing measures ahead of its policy statement.
Sterling hit a three-week high against the euro on Friday after surprisingly strong UK growth figures trimmed the chances of monetary easing from the Bank of England. The euro bought 80.01p early on Friday before later recovering.
Against the dollar, sterling fell 0.2% to $1.6085. Commodities: Crude recovers as Sandy nears US coast
Crude oil futures registered a modest gain on Friday amid jitters about Hurricane Sandy and after better-than-expected US growth data.
Crude oil for December delivery climbed 23 cents to settle at $86.28 a barrel, after spending most of the session trading in negative territory. Crude posted a weekly loss of 4 per cent.
US gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annualised rate of 2% during the third-quarter, beating the previous quarter's reading of a 1.3% increase, figures form the US Bureau of Economic Analysis showed. The data also came in ahead of market estimates of 1.9% growth.
Crude futures however settled the week down 4% on persistent concern about weak demand and surplus US stockpiles. Some disappointing earnings from big guns Apple and Amazon.com on Thursday weighed on buyer appetite at the end of the week.
Meanwhile US President Barack Obama warned Americans to take Hurricane Sandy seriously. Described as the worst storm in 100 years, it is expected to reach the east coast of America by Monday evening. States of emergency have been declared in New York, Washington DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
On the ICE futures exchange December Brent advanced $1.06 a barrel to $109.55 a barrel after upbeat US growth data and on concern that Hurricane Sandy will disrupt US East Coast refinery operations. For the week Brent recorded a weekly loss.
Among precious metals gold logged its third weekly decline on Friday, despite the previous session's gains, as traders mulled economic data from the US and Spain. While US growth came in stronger than expected, Spain's unemployment rate hit a record high in the third quarter.
Gold for December delivery lost $1.10 to settle at $1,711.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange but ended the week 0.7% lower.
December silver fell 4 cents to settle at $32.04 an ounce while December palladium dropped $9.10 to $595.40 an ounce. Platinum for January delivery settled down $22.80 at $1,546 an ounce. |
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