London close: Stocks stage late rally but sentiment still fragile
Market Movers
- techMARK 2,062.32 +0.01%
- FTSE 100 5,786.25 +0.33%
- FTSE 250 11,797.22 -0.05%
- Greece granted two more years to meet target
- German sentiment worsens in November
- ITV soars nine per cent after third-quarter figures
A positive start on Wall Street prompted a rally for equity markets this side of the Atlantic on Tuesday afternoon, as investors temporarily shrugged off concerns about the impending 'fiscal cliff', the ongoing Greek debt crisis and a disappointing reading of German sentiment.
Nevertheless, financial trader David White from Spreadex said this afternoon: "The mood in the market can once again be described as fearful and concerned, as investors have spent most of the day raising cash in line with fragile sentiment."
After a Eurogroup meeting yesterday, Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker stated that Greece's deadline to bring debt down to 120% of gross domestic product by 2020 would be extended to 2022. However, the decision to give the go-ahead on the next €31.5bn of aid was postponed until another meeting next week, just as a €5bn bond repayment is due this Friday.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde openly showed her disapproval and said that the two organisations obviously had "different views" on the timetable that the Hellenic Republic needs to complete.
Economic data from Germany dampened the mood further this morning, after the Germany ZEW economic sentiment index worsened to -15.7 in November, from -11.5 the month before. Analysts were expected a slight improvement to -10.0. ZEW President Wolfgang Franz said: "Prevailing recessionary developments in the Eurozone impact the German economy via foreign trade and a lack of confidence. This is likely to be a burden for economic growth in Germany during the next six months".
In domestic news, the UK consumer prices index (CPI) measure of annual inflation came in at 2.7% in October, up from 2.2% in September, according to the Office for National Statistics. This rise was considerably stronger than anticipated by analysts, who had pencilled in 2.4%. The ONS also said that producer price index (PPI) was flat in October at an annualised 2.5%, in line with expectations.
There was also news that China is "actively studying" the expansion of the property tax programme on concerns that transaction volumes and home prices could increase "substantially", according to the Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Jiang Weixin. FTSE 100 movers: ITV soars after third-quarter report
Shares in terrestrial broadcaster ITV surged today after a well-received third-quarter statement. Group revenues of £1,573m were broadly in line with expectations despite weaker-than-expected ad revenues, but analysts were impressed with better-than-forecast Studios profitability and cost savings. Credit Suisse this morning raised its target for the stock from 100p to 110p and reiterated its 'outperform' rating.
Banking giant Lloyds was continuing to rise following a strong set of results last week and an upbeat note from UBS yesterday, which raised its target from 44p to 46p, saying that the bank's third-quarter results showed "solid progress and improving momentum".
Continuing delays on Anglo American's Minas-Rio iron ore project in Brazil are likely to push up the cost of the project more than the market had been expecting, causing shares to drop. Sector peer BHP Billiton edged higher after saying that it is selling its diamonds business to Canadian miner Harry Winston for $500m in cash.
British Gas owner Centrica was out of favour on claims that it had a hand in the manipulation of wholesale gas prices, something that was vigorously denied by the firm.
Telecoms giant Vodafone fell after plunging into the red after being hit by a huge £5.9bn impairment charge during the half year ended September 30th, related to its operations in Spain and Italy.
Outsourcing giant Capita was also a heavy faller despite saying it is confident it will deliver 3% organic growth for the year and an improved cash conversion rate for 2012 as compared to 2011. Panmure Gordon said this morning that the stock's premium valuation (compared with the sector) is "too rich".
Building materials giant CRH rose despite scaling back its earnings forecast this year on the back of ongoing weakness in Europe and Hurricane Sandy disrupting its operations in eastern America.
G4S gained on reports that fund manager Invesco Perpetual has increased its stake in the security giant from 11.3% to 12.22%.
FTSE 250: Talvivaara continues to gall
Nickel miner Talvivaara plummeted again today as market continue to speculate about the impact that last week's gypsum pond leakage at its project in Finland will have on production. According to media reports this afternoon, toxic amounts of nickel have been found at a nearby lake. The Finnish Environment Institute is reported to have said that concentrations now exceeding the level "regarded as harmful to organisms". Uranium concentration is also now thought to be a concern.
Bank note printer De La Rue fell sharply after saying that while banknote print volumes were up 4.0% to 2.9bn notes in the six months ended September 29th, banknote paper volumes declined 15% to 4,500 tonnes.
Telecoms operator TalkTalk soared into the top spot after it said it is on track to return to revenue growth in the full year as half year revenue fell by two per cent to £828m.
Regneration specialist St Modwen was also rising after it was reported on Monday that construction on a housing estate it is developing has begun. The company has said that the first houses are expected to come on the market in December.
bwin.party digital entertainment fell after it was forced to confirm that its Chief Executive Officer, Norbert Teufelberger, has agreed to attend an interview with the Belgium authorities. It was reported earlier on Tuesday that the CEO was detained by police during the Responsible Gaming Day conference in Brussels, although naturally the company gave no information regarding this.
FTSE 100 - Risers
ITV (ITV) 94.60p +8.99%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 46.52p +3.07%
Meggitt (MGGT) 374.10p +2.16%
Prudential (PRU) 865.50p +1.94%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,434.00p +1.71%
Bunzl (BNZL) 1,030.00p +1.48%
Compass Group (CPG) 700.00p +1.38%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,404.00p +1.37%
BT Group (BT.A) 227.90p +1.33%
Aviva (AV.) 332.50p +1.28%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Anglo American (AAL) 1,770.00p -3.15%
Centrica (CNA) 310.80p -2.75%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 162.50p -2.46%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,125.00p -2.09%
Carnival (CCL) 2,502.00p -1.65%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,231.00p -1.28%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,090.00p -1.18%
Tesco (TSCO) 321.00p -1.15%
Evraz (EVR) 233.80p -1.14%
Serco Group (SRP) 545.00p -1.09%
FTSE 250 - Risers
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 221.00p +18.44%
Diploma (DPLM) 453.70p +4.27%
St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 209.10p +4.03%
Perform Group (PER) 409.90p +3.33%
IP Group (IPO) 110.00p +3.29%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 102.00p +2.67%
TUI Travel (TT.) 254.50p +2.37%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 797.00p +2.18%
Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 181.80p +2.13%
Savills (SVS) 411.60p +2.08%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 83.40p -12.90%
De La Rue (DLAR) 1,006.00p -5.45%
Ultra Electronics Holdings (ULE) 1,530.00p -4.79%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 701.00p -4.69%
Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 113.30p -4.15%
SDL (SDL) 510.50p -4.04%
FirstGroup (FGP) 181.00p -3.98%
Chemring Group (CHG) 223.90p -3.78%
Kentz Corporation Ltd. (KENZ) 374.00p -3.33%
Interserve (IRV) 363.20p -3.17%
| Europe Market Report |  | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  |  |  |  | | Europe midday: Periphery stocks turn up
-Banks deposit 251bn euros overnight at ECB
-Greece auctions 4.1bn euros in T-bills
FTSE-100: -0.55%
Dax-30: -0.80%
Cac-40: -0.59%
FTSE Mibtel 30: 0.02%
Ibex 35: 0.15%
Stoxx 600: -0.40%
The main European Equity benchmarks are now registering large losses. That after a public disagreement between the International Monetary Fund and the Eurogroup came to light last night.
More specifically, Eurozone Finance Ministers –whose official grouping is known as the Eurogroup- wish to extend the date for Greece to meet its target of reaching a public debt to gross domestic product ratio of 120% to 2022, instead of 2020.
The IMF, however, apparently does not see a need for that.
In the final analysis the falling out seems to come down to whether or not European governments have to take write-downs on their holdings of Greek debt or not.
As well, the Eurogroup´s proposal entails that a solution must be found to the funding gap –of approximately €33bn- which will arise as a result of following the above course of action.
Nevertheless, different reports are again indicating that so long as Greece does what it needs to then European authorities will continue to find ways to keep it inside the single currency. In other words, Brussels at least seems to have garnered sufficient support for that.
Furthermore, Greece´s succesful auction of €4.1bn in T-bills this morning means hat it now has nearly enough funds to roll over €5bn in debt coming due on Friday. Potential further buyers will have until noon on the previous day to present new bids.
Acting as a backdrop, there continue to be latent worries regarding the so-called "fiscal cliff" Stateside.
From a sector stand-point the worst performance on the DJ Stoxx 600 is now to be seen in the following industrial groups: Utilities (-2.93%), Telecommunications (-1.46%) and Basic resources (-1.29%). Spanish consumer prices in-line
Spain´s consumer price index came in at 3.5% year-on-year in September (Consensus: 3.5%).
French non-farm payrolls were down by 0.3% in the third quarter (Consensus: -0.2%).
Crude off again
The euro/dollar is now falling by 0.19% to the 1.2680 dollar level.
Front month crude futures are now down by 0.841 dollars to the $108.16 mark on the ICE.| US Market Report | US open: Equities turn around
-Greek Finance Minister warns of high risk of accidents
-Obama to meet labour and business leaders today
-Home Depot is leading gainers on the Dow Jones
Dow Jones Industrial: 0.63%
Nasdaq Comp.: 0.13%
S&P 500: 0.58%
The main US equity indices have turned around and are now heading higher. This on a relatively barren day in terms of the macroeconomic calendar and with investors´ eyes firmly on technical support levels.
Meantime, and on the corporate front, Microsoft is falling 4.5% after announcing the departure of its Windows.
AK Steel is sliding by 10% as the company forecast a wider-than-expected fourth-quarter loss with a decline in prices for the last three months of the year.
Home improvement retailer Home Depot has beat profit beat estimates.
The NFIB small business confidence index rose to 93.1 points in October from 92.8 in the previous month (Consensus: 93).
US Federal Reserve Vice-President Janet Yellen is to speak tonight, at 20:30.
Weekly Redbook retail sales dropped by 0.2%, following a fall of 0.6% in the previous week.
Treasury yields keep dropping
10 year US Treasuries are now rising by 5/32 dollars, with yields at 1.59%.
Front month West Texas crude futures are now falling by 0.35 dollars to the 85.22 dollar mark on the NYMEX.
S&P 500 - Risers
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $63.91 +4.50%
Masco Corp. (MAS) $15.58 +3.11%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $68.65 +3.06%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $46.53 +3.03%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $34.90 +2.77%
Textron Inc. (TXT) $24.41 +2.61%
F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV) $88.37 +2.59%
EQT Corp. (EQT) $60.59 +2.54%
Sealed Air Corp. (SEE) $17.18 +2.44%
Western Union Co. (WU) $12.64 +2.43%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $27.11 -3.93%
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $24.67 -2.99%
Alpha Natural Res (ANR) $7.65 -2.80%
Janus Capital Group Inc. (JNS) $8.02 -2.67%
Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) $27.63 -2.33%
Exelon Corp. (EXC) $30.23 -1.75%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $58.30 -1.67%
Pitney Bowes Inc. (PBI) $11.75 -1.43%
Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) $17.59 -1.12%
Apollo Group Inc. (APOL) $19.03 -1.12%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $63.91 +4.50%
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $9.53 +1.49%
AT&T Inc. (T) $34.37 +1.48%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $43.17 +1.42%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $77.73 +1.01%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $36.44 +1.00%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $190.74 +0.79%
3M Co. (MMM) $89.83 +0.73%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $24.28 +0.71%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $44.33 +0.70%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $27.11 -3.93%
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $13.32 -0.70%
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $8.40 -0.36%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $72.24 -0.33%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $16.81 -0.30%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $25.89 -0.29%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $40.49 -0.22%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $20.74 -0.14%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $85.06 -0.14%
American Express Co. (AXP) $55.48 -0.08%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $46.53 +3.03%
F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV) $88.37 +2.59%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $90.25 +2.34%
Fossil Inc. (FOSL) $81.17 +1.89%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $56.22 +1.87%
DIRECTV (DTV) $49.06 +1.85%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $79.53 +1.71%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $5.65 +1.53%
CH Robinson Worldwide Inc (CHRW) $62.30 +1.50%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $62.52 +1.46%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $27.11 -3.93%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $101.55 -2.91%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $25.90 -1.86%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $58.30 -1.67%
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (GMCR) $24.46 -1.49%
Nuance Communications Inc. (NUAN) $20.80 -1.33%
Apollo Group Inc. (APOL) $19.03 -1.12%
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $26.54 -1.03%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $10.66 -1.02%
Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (MRVL) $7.70 -0.96% |
| Broker Tips | Broker tips: ITV, Capita, Cobham
In spite of a 'positive' third-quarter trading update from terrestrial broadcaster ITV, Investec has retained its 'sell' rating and 75p target for the stock.
Excluding viewing share figures, the broker says that the third-quarter statement is positive with costs and ITV Studio profit coming in better than expected. Nevertheless, the broker maintained its negative view on the shares today, highlighting key risks, which are: "poor long-term TV ad market dynamics; ad market uncertainty; and acquisition execution risk".
An 'in-line' trading statement from outsourcing giant Capita wasn't enough to change Panmure Gordon's 'sell' rating on the stock, which continues to believe that the stock's premium valuation over its peers is unjustified.
"Capita currently trades at a 4-9% [price-to-earnings ratio] premium to its outsourcing peers on 2012E and 2013E estimates which we continue to believe is too rich," the broker said.
Credit Suisse has pared its forecasts for defence technology group Cobham and reiterated its 'underperform' rating for the stock, following the gloomy 2013 guidance on Monday.
The broker has cut its 2013 and 2014 earnings per share (EPS) forecasts by 6% and 4%, respectively, and subsequently reduced its price target for the stock from 195p to 170p.
The broker said it remains cautious for three key reasons: near-term visibility is worsening; there are uncertainties about organic growth returning in 2014; and valuation. |
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