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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: Stocks slip as investors await US jobs data - Markets await non-farm payrolls
- 150k gain expected by analysts, jobless rate to hold steady
- Lack of corporate earnings
- HSBC, Vodafone fall on broker comments
techMARK 2,873.63 -0.48%
FTSE 100 6,766.04 -0.33%
FTSE 250 16,620.60 -0.31%
UK markets opened slightly lower on Friday morning ahead of key economic data from the States, with investors awaiting the official US employment report for February.
With a lack of major corporate earnings out today, markets were digesting negative broker commentary surrounding heavyweights HSBC and Vodafone this morning, while Aggreko was pulling back after a strong rise the day before.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 6,766 in early trading.
Analysts expect the Labor Department's non-farm payrolls data to show that US employers added 150,000 jobs last month, up from the measly 113,000 gain in January, though the jobless rate is forecast to hold at 6.6%.
Despite the pick-up in growth month-on-month, the 150,000 increase is still markedly less than what analysts and policymakers are hoping for in light of the Federal Reserve's tapering of monetary stimulus.
Chris Beauchamp, Market Analyst at IG, said: "The look forward to non-farm payrolls is not particularly optimistic, given the weak ADP report [on Wednesday] and knowledge that the implications of difficult weather in February is that job creation may well be weak."
On a positive note, data yesterday showed that US jobless claims dropped by 26,000 to a three-month low of 323,000. The figure came in lower than analysts' forecasts, pushing the benchmark S&P 500 to another record high last night.
HSBC, Vodafone fall after broker comments
Banking giant HSBC was lower this morning after Goldman Sachs removed the stock from its 'conviction buy' list and cut its target from 900p to 740p. Goldman said that uncertainties remain over regulatory capital requirements at the bank , which is "likely to push additional capital returns further into the future".
Telecoms firm Vodafone was also down after Bank of America Merrill Lynch reportedly removed the stock from its 'Europe 1' list. Sentiment in the sector was also dampened after Telecom Italia scrapped its dividend as it reported a full-year net loss of €674m.
Temporary power group Aggreko was retreating after a 3.5% gain on Thursday after it confirmed that it would return £200m in capital to shareholders alongside its 2013 results.
In contrast, insurance firm Aviva was continuing to rise despite an 8% surge yesterday as investors continued to celebrate a better-than-expected set of annual figures.
Postal and delivery firm Royal Mail after JPMorgan Cazenove lifted its target from 700p to 765p, keeping an 'overweight' rating. |
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| FTSE 100 - Risers
Aviva (AV.) 513.50p +1.88%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,527.00p +0.99%
Royal Mail (RMG) 594.00p +0.85%
BT Group (BT.A) 405.60p +0.42%
Carnival (CCL) 2,385.00p +0.42%
Reed Elsevier (REL) 928.50p +0.38%
Prudential (PRU) 1,379.00p +0.36%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,375.00p +0.36%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,111.00p +0.36%
Old Mutual (OML) 199.50p +0.30%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,498.00p -1.83%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 929.50p -1.48%
Group (VOD) 244.05p -1.31%
BAE Systems (BA.) 408.20p -1.28%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 490.50p -1.27%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,399.00p -1.27%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 97.40p -0.92%
Next (NXT) 6,625.00p -0.90%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,281.50p -0.88%
Aggreko (AGK) 1,614.00p -0.86%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Keller Group (KLR) 1,156.00p +2.66%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,389.00p +2.13%
Countrywide (CWD) 677.00p +1.58%
Fenner (FENR) 440.40p +1.01%
Senior (SNR) 293.90p +1.00%
Computacenter (CCC) 686.50p +0.96%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 58.55p +0.95%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 835.00p +0.85%
ICAP (IAP) 440.50p +0.85%
Kenmare Resources (KMR) 15.73p +0.83%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Perform Group (PER) 270.90p -4.00%
ITE Group (ITE) 239.20p -2.76%
AL Noor Hospitals Group (ANH) 858.00p -2.50%
African Barrick Gold (ABG) 312.00p -2.50%
Essar Energy (ESSR) 73.20p -2.40%
Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 176.00p -2.22%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 156.30p -1.88%
Intu Properties (INTU) 316.00p -1.86%
NMC Health (NMC) 519.50p -1.80% |
| | UK Event Calendar | | INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Baronsmead VCT, Baronsmead VCT 2, Baronsmead VCT 3, Baronsmead VCT 4, CPL Resources, Daejan Holdings, Henderson Smaller Companies Inv Trust, Ingenious Entertainment VCT 1 'C' Shares, Ingenious Entertainment VCT 1 'D' Shares, Ingenious Entertainment VCT 1 E Shares, Ingenious Entertainment VCT 1 F Shares, Ingenious Entertainment VCT 1 G Shs, Ingenious Entertainment VCT 2 'C' Shares, Ingenious Entertainment VCT 2 'D' Shares, Ingenious Entertainment VCT 2 E Shares, Ingenious Entertainment VCT 2 F Shares, Ingenious Entertainment VCT 2 G Shs, Latchways, Mattioli Woods, PZ Cussons
QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE
Boeing Co
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Balance of Trade (US) (13:30)
Consumer Credit (US) (20:00)
Industrial Production (GER) (11:00)
Non-Farm Payrolls (US) (13:30)
Unemployment Rate (US) (13:30)
ANNUAL REPORT
MTI Wireless Edge Ltd.
FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Blackrock Income And Growth Investment Trust, Fenner, Pressure Technologies, Terra Capital |
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| | Europe Market Report | | | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  | | | | | | Europe open: Stocks little changed before US non-farm payrolls FTSE 100: -0.32%
DAX: -0.71%
CAC 40: -0.17%
FTSE MIB: -0.31%
IBEX 35: 0.32%
Stoxx 600: -0.28%
European stocks were little changed before the release of US jobs data which is expected to show employers added more jobs last month.
Analysts predict the Labor Department's official non-farm payrolls report will reveal 150,000 more jobs were added to the US economy in February, compared to 113,000 a month earlier. The jobless rate is forecast to hold at 6.6%.
The latest figures follow Thursday’s initial jobless claims release which unveiled that 323,000 Americans applied for unemployment benefits in the week to February 28th, compared to 349,000 a week earlier. Economists had expected 336,000 claims.
On Wednesday, ADP said the private sector added 139,000 jobs in February, falling short of economists’ estimates for a gain of 160,000 jobs. January’s number was revised downward by 48,000 to 127,000 jobs.
The Federal Reserve is keeping a close watch on the labour market in creating its policies.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen has said the central bank is likely to continue scaling back monthly asset purchases until ending the programme all together later this year, despite noting that the jobs market still has a long way to go.
“Too many Americans still can't find a job or are forced to work part-time,” she said at her Congressional swearing in.
“The goals set by Congress for the Federal Reserve are clear: maximum employment and stable prices.”
The Fed's next meeting is on March 18th to 19th.
Obama urges Russia to accept diplomacy deal
US President Barack Obama has urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to accept the terms of a potential diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis during a telephone conversation between the two.
Crimea's parliament voted on Thursday to join Russia, and announced they will hold a referendum in nine days, sparking an escalation in the turmoil.
Obama has ordered sanctions on those responsible for Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine. European Union leaders have joined the US in its bid to end the geopolitical rivalry.
Telecom Italia, Fugro
Air France gained after reporting strong February traffic statistics and load factor.
Telecom Italia declined after scrapping its dividend for the first time in its history as a public company after reporting a 2013 net loss.
Fugro slumped after the oil-field surveyor posted full-year revenue that fell short of analysts’ forecasts.
Fraport dropped after the German airport company posted earnings for last year that fell short of projections.
The euro climbed 0.08% to $1.3872.
Brent crude futures rose $0.037 to $108.140 per barrel, according to the ICE. |
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| | US Market Report | | US close: S&P 500 hits another high as jobless claims fall - Jobless claims fall 26k to three-month low
- S&P 500 hits another record high
- Focus turns to non-farm payrolls
- Staples slumps on sales miss, store closures
Dow Jones: 0.38%
Nasdaq: -0.14%
S&P 500: 0.17%
US stock markets finished mostly higher on Thursday with the S&P 500 hitting yet another record after jobless claims fell more than expected.
Investors were largely shrugging off comments from Richard Fisher, the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, who raised concerns about the "eye-popping" valuation levels of some stocks.
The S&P 500, which closed flat on Wednesday after hitting an all-time high the previous session, rose 0.2% to 1,877.03, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4% to close at 16,421.89.
The Nasdaq Composite, however, erased earlier gains to finish 0.1% lower at 4,352.13 after being dragged lower by a number of heavyweight biotechnology and pharmaceutical stocks.
The focus was turning towards the all-important US unemployment report on Friday with consensus forecasts pointing to a 150,000 increase in non-farm payrolls for February, up from the measly 113,000 gain in January.
Despite the pick-up in growth month-on-month, the 150,000 increase is still markedly less than what analysts and policymakers are hoping for in light of the Federal Reserve's tapering of monetary stimulus.
Chris Beauchamp, Market Analyst at IG, said: "The look forward to non-farm payrolls is not particularly optimistic, given the weak ADP report yesterday and knowledge that the implications of difficult weather in February is that job creation may well be weak."
Jobless claims fall, factory orders disappoint
Initial weekly US unemployment claims dropped by 26,000 to a three-month low of 323,000, well below the consensus forecast for a fall to 335,000.
Factory orders declined by 0.7% in January, worse than the 0.5% drop predicted by analysts. December's decline was revised lower to 2%, from a 1.5% fall previously.
Non-farm labour productivity rose less than initially estimated in the fourth quarter of 2013, expanding at an annualised pace of just 1.8%. This was down from the preliminary reading of a 3.2% gain and less than expectations for a revision to 2.2%.
Staples, Piwelworks, Costco
The share price of Staples dropped sharply after the office supplier retailer announced a $500m cost-saving programme and the closure of 225 stores in North America, equal to 10% of its selling space. The news came after sales fell by 10.6% to $5.87bn in the fourth quarter, compared with the consensus forecast for $5.97bn.
Piwelworks, the semiconductor firm, saw shares surge by as much as a half after saying that sales to iPhone maker Apple accounted for over 10% of its annual revenue. The company did not disclose the tech giant as a customer last year.
Shares of Costco Wholesale slipped after unveiling a fall in fiscal second-quarter earnings per share that came in below forecasts.
Sangamo Biosciences shares spiked higher after reporting that its experimental treatment was able to lower the quantity of HIV in the blood of some patients with AIDS.
Energy stocks were among the best performers on Thursday with Valero Energy, Marathon Petroleum and Peabody Energy rising strongly. |
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| | Newspaper Round Up | | Friday newspaper round-up: Forex, Crimea, Barclays Robert de Groot, the head of foreign exchange trading at BNP Paribas, was suspended on Thursday. De Groot joined the Bank of England´s chief dealers´ group - a panel on which senior forex traders and Bank officials sit - in 2007. Said committee was thrust into the spotlight this week after Bank responded to allegations that it had not provided sufficient oversight of currency markets, in what amounts to a potential blow to London´s position as the premier global hub for forex trading, The Times reports.
US and European leaders have branded the Moscow-backed parliament of Crimea´s decision to secede from Ukraine a violation of the country´s constitution and international law. The Crimean government´s decision to carry out a snap referendum while the country is still under de facto Russian occcupation marks a serious escalation in tensions which brings closer the possibility of sanctions being imposed on the Russian Federation, according to The Wall Street Journal Europe.
In a bid to pre-empt new European regulations Barclays is to part company with its over a century old auditor, PwC. New rules due to be put into place by the European Union will limit auditors´ links to clients to 20 years. However, switching auditors at the same time that a tender for a new one is executed carries risks. Hence, the lender has decided to postpone the switch until next year at the earliest, The Times reports.
Risks in the euro area arising from low inflation will only increase as time passes. If the European Central Bank (ECB) is serious about facing up to the threat from its overindebted sovereigns then it must act, according to analysts at Fathom Consulting cited by The Times. "Time is running out," they added.
Lloyds Banking Group will incur in a surprise £1bn charge as it moves to retire £8.4bn in enhanced capital notes. Those instruments are structured so that investors are 'bailed in' – losses are imposed on them that is – when the lender´s capital ratio drops below 5%, but are now trading well above their issue price. Hence the uproar when Lloyds moved to cancel them at face value. Now Lloyds has backtracked partially and is proposing to pay extra, The Guardian says.
BP continues to grapple with the fall-out from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010. However, the company believes that it has made strong progress over the intervening years, particularly in everything to do with safety but also in terms of reserve replacement. Given the firm´s performance under Chief Executive Bill Dudley, BP has decided to trebel his pay package to £5.2m or approximately £7.86m when pension contributions are taken into account, The Scotsman writes. | | |
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