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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: FTSE surprises with retreat early - Feb Consumer Confidence holds steady
- House prices rise at fastest rate in nearly four years
- Yellen comments send S&P 500 to record high
techMARK 2,904.42 +0.08%
FTSE 100 6,808.29 -0.03%
FTSE 250 16,595.16 +0.44%
The FTSE ignored record gains in the US to inch lower early on, as investors geared up for a data-heavy session and digested another raft of company news.
The top tier index fell 4.14 points to 6,806.13 in the first hour of trade.
The Stateside gains, which saw the benchmark S&P 500 end the session at a record high, followed comments from Federal Reserve Chairwoman, Janet Yellen, at the Senate Banking Committee.
Yellen pointed out that a number of the economic releases in recent days indicated softer spending that may partly reflect adverse weather conditions.
"Part of that softness may reflect adverse weather conditions, but at this point it's difficult to discern exactly how much," she said. "In the weeks and months ahead, my colleagues and I will be attentive to signals that indicate whether the recovery is progressing in line with our earlier expectations."
UK house prices rise at fastest rate seen in nearly four years
According to the Nationwide Building Society, house prices jumped 0.6% in February, marking a 9.4% year-on-year gain, the quickest rate seen in almost four years.
Nationwide's Chief Economist, Robert Gardner, said: "Price growth is being supported by the fact that the supply of housing remains constrained, with housing completions still well below their pre-crisis levels."
The average price of a UK home is now £177,846, although this is still nearly 5% below the peak seen in 2007.
UK consumer confidence reading kicks of data-heavy session
It was revealed this morning that Britain's GfK Consumer Confidence reading showed sentiment in February was unchanged at -7 from the previous month, which itself was at the highest level in more than six years.
Managing Director of Social Research at GfK, Nick Moon, said: "After the substantial six point rise in the index last month, holding steady, rather than any form of correction, is good news. Just a year ago the index stood at -26, so the current level is massively better."
In the Eurozone inflation figures will be a prime focus as the European Central Bank comes under mounting pressure to tackle falling prices.
Consumer prices in February are forecast by the consensus to have risen by 0.8% in February, in line with the prior month, and well below the ECB’s 2% target. Barclays Research and Credit Suisse, on the other hand, see it coming in at 0.6%.
Alpari Market Analysts Craig Erlam said: "There’s lots of other data being released this morning aside from this, but it consists predominantly of low level that rarely has any impact on the markets, such as Italian unemployment, German, Irish and Greek retail sales and French consumer spending.
"All of these are clearly important and help to give a better picture of where the recovery is being felt more, however their impact on the market tends to be minimal as people are more concerned with the bigger picture."
Mondi leads risers after record results
Mondi Group, the international packaging and paper company, delivered a strong rise in annual pre-tax profit, driven by low costs and exposure to higher growth markets. On a 12% rise in revenue to €6,476m, pre-tax profit leapt 36% from €368m to €499m. Basic earnings per share rose from 50.1 cents to 79.8 cents.
William Hill also moved higher despite the fact its annual pre-tax profit fell six per cent to £257m as the gaming company invested heavily in it its online offering. In an effort to keep up with the growing online market, with consumers opting to gamble on tables, computers and smartphones, the company launched mobile in new markets and took over full control of William Hill Online.
Financial services group Old Mutual climbed after revealing that its underlying activities had performed strongly in 2013. Old Mutual, which owns pension provider Skandia, unveiled adjusted operating profit of £1.6bn, similar to last year in reported currency but up 15% at constant currency.
Meanwhile, lower margins in North America and the merger between publishing houses Penguin and Random House pushed full year operating profits at Pearson six per cent lower to £871m as the company warned of a further hit on earnings in 2014. The Financial Times publisher company said 2014 earnings per share at current exchange rates would be 62p to 67p as the pound strengthened against the dollar, adding that another £50m in restructuring costs would have to be set aside.
Ruper Soames, the Chief Executive Officer of Aggreko, has announced his plan to step down from the group to take up the same role at Serco Group. After 11 years at the helm, he is due to leave the company on April 24th.
The owner of British Airways and Iberia, International Airlines Group, fell sharply despite hailing the success of its turnaround strategy as it reported annual operating profit of €770m against losses of €23m a year ago. |
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| | FTSE 100 - Risers
Old Mutual (OML) 193.20p +3.76%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,073.00p +3.67%
William Hill (WMH) 385.50p +2.85%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,265.50p +1.43%
BG Group (BG.) 1,102.50p +1.29%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,515.00p +1.07%
Whitbread (WTB) 4,440.00p +0.98%
Prudential (PRU) 1,366.00p +0.96%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 241.40p +0.92%
Experian (EXPN) 1,108.00p +0.91%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Pearson (PSON) 1,014.00p -5.76%
Aggreko (AGK) 1,580.00p -3.07%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 439.90p -2.63%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,247.50p -2.58%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 320.30p -1.93%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,779.00p -1.79%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 96.50p -1.63%
Fresnillo (FRES) 951.00p -1.25%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,418.00p -1.19%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 911.00p -1.14%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Serco Group (SRP) 453.50p +10.39%
Man Group (EMG) 100.70p +4.79%
Rightmove (RMV) 2,746.00p +4.61%
Interserve (IRV) 595.50p +3.66%
Renishaw (RSW) 2,094.00p +3.61%
UBM (UBM) 721.00p +3.00%
Perform Group (PER) 235.00p +2.49%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 794.50p +2.12%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 387.70p +1.97%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 436.10p +1.94%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Laird (LRD) 312.90p -4.89%
Kazakhmys (KAZ) 303.70p -2.03%
Homeserve (HSV) 326.50p -1.98%
African Barrick Gold (ABG) 287.00p -1.68%
Evraz (EVR) 70.00p -1.48%
Polymetal International (POLY) 641.50p -1.31%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,463.00p -1.22%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 54.50p -1.00%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 158.50p -0.94%
Home Retail Group (HOME) 190.20p -0.89% |
| | UK Events | | Friday February 28
INTERIMS
Just Retirement Group
INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
City of London Investment Group, Conviviality Retail , Fusionex International, NB Private Equity Partners Ltd.
QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE
City of London Inv Trust, Picton Property Income Ltd
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Chicago PMI (US) (13:45)
GDP (Preliminary) (US) (13:30)
International Reserves (EU) (11:00)
Pending Homes Sales (US) (15:00)
Retail Sales (GER) (07:00)
U. of Michigan Confidence (Final) (US) (14:55)
Unemployment Rate (EU) (10:00)
GMS
Summit Corporation
FINALS
Berendsen, Candover Investments, International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI), Interserve, Intu Properties, Laird, Mondi, Old Mutual, Pearson, Pilat Media Global, Rentokil Initial, Rightmove, Synthomer, UBM, William Hill
SPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Hazel Renewable Energy VCT 1, Hazel Renewable Energy VCT 1 A Shares, Hazel Renewable Energy VCT 2, Hazel Renewable Energy VCT 2 A Shares
AGMS
China Rerun Chemical Group Ltd (DI), Sanderson Group
UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Consumer Confidence (09:30)
GFK Consumer Confidence (00:05)
Mortgage Approvals (09:30)
FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Andor Technology, Blue Capital Global Reinsurance Fund Ltd (DI), Gooch & Housego, Starwood European Real Estate Finance Ltd |
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| | Europe Market Report | | | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  | | | | | | Europe open: Stocks mixed before Eurozone CPI, jobless rate - Eurozone inflation figures out
- Eurozone unemployment rate to be released
FTSE 100: 0.02%
DAX: 0.34%
CAC 40: 0.12%
FTSE MIB: 0.03%
IBEX 35: -0.16%
Stoxx 600: 0.24%
European stocks were little changed ahead of the release of reports on inflation and unemployment in the Eurozone.
Consumer prices in February are forecast to have risen by 0.8% in February, in line with the prior month, well below the European Central Bank’s (ECB) 2% target. Barclays Research and Credit Suisse, on the other hand, see it coming in at 0.6%.
The unemployment rate is expected to have held steady at 12% in January.
Falling inflation and high unemployment have been a major cause for concern in the euro-area, piling pressure on the ECB to enact greater policy measures.
ECB President last night dismissed fears of deflation, but said the monetary authority is aware of the potential downside risks to price stability and will act if needed.
He remained mum on whether the ECB will take action at its policy meeting on Thursday.
At the ECB’s last gathering, Draghi said the central bank was awaiting more comprehensive figures, including economic forecasts, in March before considering changing policy.
Bayer, Belgacom
Bayer declined as the German drugmaker reported a fall in fourth quarter earnings that missed analysts’ estimates.
Telecom Italia gained as the company’s directors supported Chief Executive Officer Marco Patuano’s plan to give more influence to minority shareholders on the board.
Belgacom slumped as the Belgian telephone company posted fourth quarter earnings that fell short of market expectations.
The euro rose 0.01% to $1.3711.
Brent crude future fell $0.248 to $108.690 per barrel, according to the ICE. |
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| | US Market Report | | US close: S&P 500 turns 'dovish' for the year - S&P 500 turns higher for the year
- Yellen indicates tapering not on automatic pilot
Dow Jones Industrials: 0.46%
Nasdaq Composite: 0.63%
S&P 500: 0.48%
The main US stock market gauges ended the day on a slightly positive note following fairly dovish remarks from Fed Chair Janet Yellen before the Senate Banking Committee to the effect that ‘tapering’ is not on a pre-set course, rather it will be adapted if necessary.
That allowed investors to push the benchmark S&P 500 into the blue for the year.
Nevertheless, the latest macroeconomic indicators were fairly mixed.
Thus, jobless claims increased by 14,000 to 348,000 in the week ended February 22nd, from 334,000 in the prior period, a Labor Department report showed today. Economists had expected 335,000 claims.
The Federal Reserve is closely monitoring the labour market to gauge the health of the world’s biggest economy ahead of its next policy. Fed Chair Yellen has indicated that the Fed is likely to continue reducing monthly asset purchases at each meeting until ending it all together later this year.
“A third consecutive month of weak payroll growth in February would raise speculation that the Fed will pause the tapering of its asset purchases,” Capital Economics said. “But because any weakness this month was probably due to the unusually bad weather, we believe the Fed will stick to its current tapering plans.”
In other US news, a report showed durable goods orders fell less than expected in January. Orders dropped 1% compared to a fall of 5.3% in December. Analysts predicted a decrease of 1.7%.
J.C. Penney, GM
J.C. Penney advanced after saying same-store sales will increase by a mid-single digit percentage and gross margin will “significantly” improve this year.
General Motors declined as US regulators said they are investigating why the automaker took years to recall 1.6m small cars over an ignition-switch defect.
Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. dropped as the drug researcher and developer said it will sell additional common stock.
Best Buy gained after the US retailer reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday and announced more aggressive cost cuts this year.
Front month West Texas crude futures are off by 0.42% to the $101.97/barrel mark on the NYMEX.
Ten-year US Treasury yields are edging higher by one basis point to 2.65%. |
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| | Friday Newspaper Round-up | | Crimea, Ofgem, Renminbi Russian soldiers have occupied two key airports in Ukraine's restive pro-Russia region of Crimea, Ukraine's acting interior minister said Friday. Soldiers wearing camouflage and bearing automatic weapons have taken up positions at Belbek Airport in Sevastopol, home of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, and at the airport in Simferopol, the region's capital, Arsen Avakov said. – The Wall Street Journal
Ofgem has told energy companies to return money to former customers after finding that they hold more than £400m in credit from closed accounts. The regulator found large companies hold at least £202m from about 3.5m former domestic customers and £204m from 300,000 accounts, saying it “expects suppliers to do more” to return the funds. – The Times
The Chinese renminbi capped its biggest weekly fall in years with a 0.5% drop on Friday as traders reported heavy intervention by the central bank to weaken the currency. After rising steadily for a year and a half, prompting investors to view appreciation as a one-way bet, the renminbi has abruptly reversed course and fallen over nine consecutive trading days. Its cumulative decline of 1.5% during that period to 6.16 against the US dollar is its sharpest since China de-pegged the currency in 2005. – Financial Times
Britain's buoyant housing market showed no signs of cooling in February with the average price of a home 9.4% higher than a year earlier according to Nationwide. It was the strongest rate of annual growth since May 2010, driven higher by a 0.6% increase in prices on a monthly basis, a slightly slower pace than January's 0.8% rise. –The Guardian
Britain will have a new lower average interest rate of about 3% for several years, a member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee said last night. David Miles, an external member of the MPC, stressed that the bank rate, which stands at 0.5%, would be much lower than its long-run average of 5% once it returned to more normal levels. – The Times
Finance giant Standard Life has become the first major company to warn it may move some of its operations out of Scotland if the country votes for independence. The pensions and savings firm has been a stalwart of Edinburgh’s financial services scene for almost 200 years. But uncertainty over the currency and EU membership after a Yes vote could force it to relocate some of its business south of the Border, its bosses said. - Scotsman | | |
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