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| | London Market Report |  | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | | London open: Markets flat at two-month low, RSA plummets - FTSE 100 flat after three straight losses
- House passes budget deal at wide margin
- Risk appetite still subdued ahead of Fed meeting
- RSA plummets after profit warning, CEO exit
techMARK 2,661.33 +0.33%
FTSE 100 6,446.47 +0.02%
FTSE 250 15,234.70 +0.15%
UK markets opened more or less flat on Friday morning after a three days of declines as investors gave a subdued reaction to the passing of a budget deal overnight in Washington.
The FTSE 100 was little changed from Thursday's finish of 6,445.25, its worst level since October 10th.
Financial stocks were performing relatively well this morning, although RSA Insurance was bucking the trend, dropping nearly 16% after a profit warning and surprise boardroom departure.
A bipartisan US budget was passed on Thursday in the House of Representatives with a vote of 332 to 94, easing the fiscal uncertainty in the States and easing spending cuts over the next two years.
The deal is expected to sail through the Senate next week, putting an end to three years of spending battles that brought the government to near-collapse, removing one more hurdle standing in the way of the Federal Reserve's decision to taper it stimulus programme.
Nevertheless, Market Analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari said that it's been a quiet week for financial markets, with fewer pieces of high-impact economic data released and the absence of comments from Fed members, who are under an embargo until the central bank's meeting on December 17-18th.
"Given how important these statements have been to the financial markets recently, with the Fed's asset purchase programme being the main driver in the markets at the moment, the markets have somewhat lacked direction," Erlam said.
"The lack of risk appetite ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting next week has actually weighed on equities a little this week, with small losses being seen as investors position themselves ahead of a possible taper."
RSA plummets after profit warning, CEO exit
RSA Insurance fell sharply from the off after lowering its 2013 earnings forecast after identifying issues in its Irish business and experiencing adverse weather in Europe. At the same time the group announced the resignation of Group Chief Executive Simon Lee with immediate effect.
Others in the financial sector were heading the other way with Prudential, Standard Chartered, Aberdeen Asset Management, Hargreaves Lansdown and Lloyds among the best performers.
Even fund manager Old Mutual was higher despite saying that its Finance Direct Philip Broadley will be leaving the company next year.
A number of stocks were trading lower this morning after being hit by broker downgrades: British gas owner Centrica was lower after a downgrade by Societe Generale to 'hold'; utilities peer Drax was cut to 'neutral' by Citigroup; travel group Thomas Cook was lowered to 'reduce' by Nomura; and miner Anglo American fell after a Deutsche Bank downgrade to 'hold'.
Perform Group was rising strongly this morning, albeit after a 58% sell-off on Thursday. The digital sports media firm warned that full-year revenues would be under previous expectations, pushing earnings "significantly" below forecasts. |
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| FTSE 100 - Risers
AstraZeneca (AZN) 3,544.50p +2.50%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 991.50p +2.01%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 687.50p +2.00%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,311.00p +1.35%
Prudential (PRU) 1,267.00p +1.12%
Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 326.80p +1.08%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 451.90p +1.01%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 207.40p +0.88%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,276.00p +0.79%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,151.00p +0.79%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 84.00p -15.75%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,420.00p -2.00%
Aggreko (AGK) 1,523.00p -1.74%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,124.00p -1.06%
Fresnillo (FRES) 709.00p -0.98%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,155.50p -0.96%
Centrica (CNA) 322.10p -0.92%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,165.50p -0.83%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,054.00p -0.72%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 4,576.00p -0.56%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Perform Group (PER) 212.00p +17.78%
Hays (HAS) 119.60p +2.75%
Menzies(John) (MNZS) 795.00p +2.58%
Fidessa Group (FDSA) 2,265.00p +2.58%
Home Retail Group (HOME) 189.70p +2.21%
Supergroup (SGP) 1,281.00p +1.99%
St James's Place (STJ) 654.50p +1.79%
Balfour Beatty (BBY) 266.60p +1.76%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 114.90p +1.59%
Betfair Group (BET) 1,093.00p +1.58%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Partnership Assurance Group (PA.) 284.00p -3.99%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 162.60p -3.04%
Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 165.00p -2.65%
Kazakhmys (KAZ) 201.40p -2.19%
Ted Baker (TED) 2,195.00p -2.05%
Kenmare Resources (KMR) 19.35p -1.63%
Alent (ALNT) 345.00p -1.43%
Domino Printing Sciences (DNO) 693.50p -1.42%
NMC Health (NMC) 430.00p -1.15% |
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| | Europe Market Report | | | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  | | | | | | Europe open: Stocks rise modestly as Fed policy meeting looms - Fed policy meeting looms
- US passes two-year budget deal
FTSE 100: -0.06%
DAX: 0.17%
CAC 40: 0.15%
FTSE MIB: 0.53%
IBEX 35: 0.34%
Stoxx 600: 0.10%
European stocks were slightly higher as investors looked to next week's Federal Reserve policy meeting.
The US central bank may consider scaling back its $85bn in monthly bond purchases at its December 17th to 18th meeting.
Following a slate of upbeat economic data, the bets have risen on a tapering announcement next week.
A December 6th survey of economists by Bloomberg revealed that 34% of respondents expect it will be on the cards, compared to 17% in a November 8th poll.
Concerns of a reduction to quantitative easing rose yesterday after a report showed retail sales increased above expectations.
Also fuelling speculation was the two-year budget deal reached earlier this week between negotiators, which passed through the House last night.
Turning to today's agenda, it will be a quiet day to end a quiet week of economic releases.
Iberdrola, Vivendi
Iberdrola fell after Goldman Sachs reduced the Spanish electric utility company's stock to 'sell' from 'neutral', citing political risks.
Vivendi gained after saying its unit GVT has ended talks for joint venture with satellite-equipment maker EchoStar Corp. to offer pay TV services across Brazil.
Peugeot slumped as General Motors announced it is selling its entire 7% holding through a private placement to institutional investors.
The euro rose 0.09% to $1.3765.
Brent crude futures climbed $0.129 to $108.810 per barrel, according to ICE data. |
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| | US Market Report | | US close: S&P 500, Dow Jones fall to one-month low after mixed data - Jobless claims surge to two-month high
- Retail sales beat estimates for November
- House approves budget deal
Dow Jones: -0.66%
Nasdaq: -0.14%
S&P 500: -0.38%
US stock fell on Thursday as investors continued to tread with caution in the face of mixed economic data ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week.
The S&P 500 dropped 0.38% to finish at 1,775.50, its lowest closing level since November 12th, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.66% to 15,739.43, its worst close since November 7th.
Losses on the Nasdaq were limited by decent gains from Facebook, though the index still closed down 0.14% at 3,998.4, its first finish below the 4,000 level since November 25th.
News came at the end of the session that the House in Washington had passed the budget deal by a wide margin to avoid a government shutdown next month and ease spending cuts over the next two years. 332 voted in favour of the deal, while 94 voted again. The agreement is expected to pass the Senate next week.
As speculation continues to ramp up regarding the future of the Fed's quantitative easing programme, data released Thursday showed that jobless claims surged to their highest level in two months, while retail sales growth picked up in November.
"If markets were looking for additional clues as to what the Fed might do next week then today's US data didn't really tilt the scales either way coming in as it did somewhat mixed," said Michael Hewson, Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets.
Jobless claims rose to 368,000 in the week ended December 7th from a revised 300,000 the week before. Analysts had expected a much smaller increase to 320,000.
However, analysts warned about reading too much into the numbers given that the Labor Department said volatile seasonal factors - related to the timing of Thanksgiving - affected the data. Analyst Cooper Howes from Barclays said: "We would suggest smoothing through the volatility and looking at the four-week moving average, which rose 6,000 to 329,000."
The volume of US retail sales expanded at a 0.7% month-on-month pace in November, figures from the Census Bureau revealed on Thursday. This was higher than a revised 0.6% gain in October and ahead of the consensus estimate for 0.5%.
So-called 'core' retail sales (which strip out sales of vehicles, gasoline, and building materials) were up 0.6%, well above Barclays Research's 0.3% forecast, and growth was revised up in both October (to 0.8% from 0.5%) and September (to 0.4% from 0.3%), the broker pointed out to clients.
Paul Dales, Senior US Economist at Capital Economics, said that the data suggests that the "holiday shopping season began on a strong note".
JPMorgan in focus on Madoff settlement
Investment banking group JPMorgan Chase & Co edged higher despite reports that it is near a $2bn settlement with the Justice Department related to its relationship with Bernie Madoff.
Facebook rallied on the news that it is to join the Standard & Poor's 500 index next week just a year after its debut on the stock market.
Telecommunications network equipment maker Ciena Corp declined after posting fourth quarter adjusted earnings per share that missed forecasts.
Oracle was lower after RBC Capital cut its rating on the stock from 'buy' to 'hold'.
Airlines gained as IATA raised its forecasts for airlines' profitability in 2013 and 2014. Southwest Airlines was raised to 'buy' from 'neutral' at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch. Delta Airlines was also among the best performers.
S&P 500 - Risers
Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) $18.79 +4.56%
Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) $11.48 +2.68%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $373.33 +2.57%
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) $36.57 +2.35%
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $28.21 +1.99%
BB & T Corp. (BBT) $35.36 +1.96%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $79.81 +1.77%
Tyco International Ltd (TYC) $37.79 +1.64%
Cameron International Corp. (CAM) $55.92 +1.64%
Ingersoll Rand Ltd. (IR) $56.92 +1.62%
S&P 500 - Fallers
AES Corp. (AES) $13.85 -3.28%
Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) $20.64 -3.19%
JDS Uniphase Corp. (JDSU) $11.80 -3.12%
Teradyne Inc. (TER) $16.36 -2.85%
Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) $49.11 -2.85%
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (ADM) $40.59 -2.69%
F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV) $81.99 -2.67%
Sandisk Corp. (SNDK) $65.58 -2.66%
Quest Diagnostics (DGX) $53.81 -2.52%
J. M. Smucker Co. (SJM) $101.38 -2.51%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $95.36 +1.17%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $168.33 +0.44%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $56.31 +0.43%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $85.57 +0.34%
Boeing Co. (BA) $132.96 +0.30%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $24.47 +0.20%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $39.21 -2.29%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $91.16 -2.09%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $82.30 -2.05%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $20.51 -1.77%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $30.25 -1.31%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $48.32 -1.29%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $69.63 -1.26%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $94.10 -1.22%
Visa Inc. (V) $203.44 -1.08%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $173.37 -1.04%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) $147.47 +5.60%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $51.83 +4.96%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $373.33 +2.57%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $65.36 +1.51%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $274.00 +1.47%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $111.98 +1.44%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $78.86 +1.30%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $41.86 +1.06%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $131.99 +0.89%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $43.41 +0.81%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV) $81.99 -2.67%
Sandisk Corp. (SNDK) $65.58 -2.66%
Staples Inc. (SPLS) $15.51 -2.33%
Randgold Resources Ltd. Ads (GOLD) $63.81 -2.28%
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $47.12 -2.24%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $16.66 -2.06%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $15.11 -1.95%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $82.94 -1.88%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $20.51 -1.77%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $61.59 -1.75% |
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| | Newspaper Round Up | | Friday newspaper round-up: US budget, JPMorgan, RBS... A US budget deal hailed as lifting the cloud of political dysfunction hanging over the world's largest economy cleared the House of Representatives with overwhelming support on Thursday evening, as leaders of both parties quashed dissent within their ranks. The legislation was passed by a margin of 332 to 94 and will head to the Senate for a final vote next week. If it is approved by the upper chamber of Congress, it will be signed into law by Barack Obama, who supports the measure. - Financial Times
Like the piñata of Wall Street, Jamie Dimon has taken hit after hit from federal regulators since the financial crisis, paying out billions in fines. Now the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase is said to be close to reaching another huge settlement of up to $2bn, this time to resolve allegations that his bank ignored warning signs of Bernard Madoff's devastating Ponzi scheme. -
Royal Bank of Scotland will today lodge its defence with the High Court in London against various shareholder legal actions alleging the bank misled investors in its 2008 £12bn rights issue. The defence document is understood to run to about 150 pages, and follows Mr Justice Hildyard giving the bank a two-week extension to its earlier defence deadline of November 29th. - The Scotsman
Britain's largest mobile network EE has waded into the cost of living debate, saying if the government continues to raise spectrum fees and clamp down on mobile charges it will have to scale back plans to bring 4G mobile broadband to rural areas. EE has been leading the push into mobile broadband but chief executive Olaf Swantee has told the Guardian his company may put further investment on hold. - The Guardian
Britain's last remaining Blockbuster stores will shut this weekend with a loss of 808 jobs after administrators failed to find a buyer for the insolvent entertainment chain. The closure of the company's final 91 stores will bring down the curtain on Blockbuster's 24-year presence on the high street. In a clearance sale, stocks of DVDs and CDs will be on offer at discounts of as much as 90% off sale prices. - The Times
A WM Morrison employee has been arrested as part of an investigation into insider trading. Police in North and West Yorkshire detained a 49-year-old man in Harrogate as part of a Financial Conduct Authority probe. The man, who wasn't named by police, is not believed to be a member of the retailer's management board. The FCA and Morrisons declined to comment on the arrest, which is not related to any previous investigation by the regulator. - The Telegraph
Troubled pawnbroker Albemarle & Bond yesterday said it was in takeover talks with a number of parties including Jon Moulton's corporate turnaround firm Better Capital. The pawnbroker last week put itself up for sale as it continues to struggle with a drop in gold prices. - The Scotsman
George Osborne vowed on Thursday to find "billions of pounds of welfare savings" as coalition tensions over how to eradicate the deficit bubbled to the surface. The chancellor spelt out a vision for the next parliament of a shrunken welfare state with reductions in public spending, allowing him to run budget surpluses, cut the national debt and reduce taxes. - Financial Times | | |
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