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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 close: FTSE ends week on positive note as insurers rise - US non-farm payrolls up 192,000 in March
- UK car registrations rise to best level in a decade
- Insurers recover after recent falls
techMARK 2,770.41 -0.01%
FTSE 100 6,695.55 +0.70%
FTSE 250 16,433.67 +0.52%
UK stocks ended the week on a buoyant note, although below the 6,700 level surpassed earlier in the afternoon.
The FTSE closed up 46.41 points at 6,695.55, up 79.97 or 1.21% on the week.
Alastair McCaig, Market Analyst at IG, said: "The FTSE 100 has said hello once again to 6,700, after dropping below this level almost a month ago. This morning's gains have firmed up across the board and we're seeing banks and miners lead the charge."
US non-farm payrolls up 192,000 in March
US non-farm payrolls rose by 192,000 during March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), against the consensus estimate for an increase of 200,000.
The previous two months' tallies were revised higher by a combined 37,000.
"Now that the weather-related weakness is behind us, we anticipate that the monthly gains in payroll employment will remain close to the 200,000 mark, driving the unemployment rate gradually lower and allowing the Fed to continue winding down its monthly asset purchases," said Paul Ashworth, Chief US Economist at Capital Economics.
The only disappointment in today's report was the fact that average hourly earnings remained unchanged, Ashworth added.
UK car registrations rise to best level in a decade
Meanwhile, new car registrations in the UK surged by 17.7% in March to reach 464,824 units, their best level since March 2004, according to The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
That was a surprisingly strong reading and reflected intensifying consumer confidence, as well as the availability of new products, said Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive.
In other UK economic news, UK house prices dropped by 1.1% in March according to the latest survey data from Halifax, to reach £178,249, that was the third fall over the past 15 months.
Nonetheless, in terms of quarterly rates of change they were 2.3% higher than in the previous three months, at the top end of the 1.8% to 2.3% range for the average pace of gains seen since June 2013.
Insurers recover after recent falls
Insurance groups RSA, Resolution and Aviva all made decent gains, bucking the trend of recent times, hit by both the Budget statement and the Financial Conduct Authority's plans to review old insurance policies.
Mining stocks including Anglo American, Rio Tinto and Fresnillo were also making decent gains, recovering from yesterday's declines as they tracked metal prices higher.
Airline easyJet flew higher after saying the number of passengers in March rose by 4.8% to 5,107,676 compared to a year earlier.
Meanwhile, department store Marks & Spencer was in the red after Goldman Sachs warned of margin pressures, saying that the business is not immune to the increasing competition in the UK grocery market. In a report last night, the bank added M&S to its 'Conviction Sell List' and slashed its target from 420p to 340p.
The wider sector was also down, including Kingfisher and Dixons.
Tesco fell after it confirmed speculation that Laurie McIlwee, its Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director, has decided to step down from the board and resign from the company. |
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FTSE 100 - Risers
CRH (CRH) 1,775.00p +4.04%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 94.15p +3.46%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,565.00p +3.20%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 217.70p +3.13%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,083.00p +2.75%
G4S (GFS) 250.30p +2.50%
Pearson (PSON) 1,033.00p +2.48%
Whitbread (WTB) 4,301.00p +2.40%
Fresnillo (FRES) 891.00p +2.35%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,549.00p +2.21%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
ARM Holdings (ARM) 996.00p -2.92%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 461.90p -2.06%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 409.90p -1.58%
Tesco (TSCO) 287.40p -1.47%
Kingfisher (KGF) 438.60p -1.26%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,252.00p -1.11%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,346.00p -1.10%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,968.00p -1.07%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 204.80p -1.06%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,874.00p -1.00%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,436.00p +6.61%
Perform Group (PER) 260.90p +5.63%
Evraz (EVR) 79.90p +5.13%
Man Group (EMG) 106.70p +4.71%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 794.50p +4.40%
Laird (LRD) 316.70p +3.90%
ICAP (IAP) 404.80p +3.79%
Premier Oil (PMO) 308.70p +3.69%
Polymetal International (POLY) 626.00p +3.47%
Heritage Oil (HOIL) 250.00p +3.31%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 214.70p -3.11%
Supergroup (SGP) 1,600.00p -3.09%
Booker Group (BOK) 156.80p -2.85%
CSR (CSR) 690.00p -2.82%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 539.50p -2.53%
Savills (SVS) 655.50p -2.38%
Dixons Retail (DXNS) 49.20p -2.28%
Carphone Warehouse Group (CPW) 321.40p -2.28%
Computacenter (CCC) 635.00p -2.16%
Rightmove (RMV) 2,555.00p -2.11% |
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| | Europe Market Report | | | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  | | | | | | Europe close: Stocks rise after US non-farm payrolls - US non-farm payrolls rise
- US unemployment rate unchanged
- German factory orders increase
- Eurozone retail sector contracts
FTSE 100: 0.70%
DAX: 0.70%
CAC 40: 0.79%
FTSE MIB: 0.83%
IBEX 35: 0.88%
Stoxx 600: 0.57%
European stocks gained after a report showed the US economy created more jobs last month.
The Labor Department's non-farm payrolls showed US employers added 192,000 in March, compared to an upwardly revised 197,000 in February, missing the consensus of 200,000.
The unemployment rate held at 6.7% last month, surprising analysts who had predicted a fall to 6.6%.
"The solid 192,000 increase in non-farm payrolls in March, along with the bounce back in average weekly hours worked to a four-month high of 34.5, from 34.3, confirms that the recent spate of weakness was nearly all due to the severe winter weather," according to Capital Economics.
"Overall, now that the weather-related weakness is behind us, we anticipate that the monthly gains in payroll employment will remain close to the 200,000 mark, driving the unemployment rate gradually lower and allowing the Fed to continue winding down its monthly asset purchases."
It comes after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Monday said the US labour market remained weak and extraordinary policy was "still needed and will be for some time to come".
Eurozone retail, German factory orders
Markit's retail purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the Eurozone showed that the retail sector contracted for the second straight month in March with a reading of 49.2, higher than the prior month's 48.5 but below the 50-point threshold that separates expansion from contraction.
German factory orders rose by 6.1% year-on-year in February, easing back from January's 7.08% increase and falling short of analysts' estimates for a 6.8% advance.
Markit's PMI for German construction fell to 52.4 in March from 53.6 a month earlier.
The disappointing data follows the European Central Bank's decision to keep policy unchanged despite calls for greater measures to support the recovery of the euro-area.
Meanwhile, Spanish five-year bond yields fell below equivalent Treasury rates for the first time since 2007.
Holcim and Lafarge rally on merger reports
Holcim and Lafarge were higher after sources told Bloomberg the cement makers have held talks to explore a merger.
Remy Cointreau jumped following a report that Brown-Forman Corp. has considered a purchase of the cognac maker.
Renault surged after Les Echos reported that the French carmaker's labour costs have fallen more than 4% since reaching an agreement on increased working time with staff last year.
easyJet climbed after the European airline said the number of passengers in March rose 4.8% to 5,107,676.
TNT Express NV retreated as the Dutch package-delivery company said its Chief Financial Officer Bernard Bot has resigned.
The euro fell 0.20% to $1.3693.
Brent crude futures rose $0.581 to $106.770 per barrel, according to the ICE. |
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| | US Market Report | | US open: Stocks rise on jobs data, IMS Health and GrubHub jump - Non-farm payrolls miss forecasts slightly
- Jobless rate steady at 6.7 per cent
- Upwards revisions made to previous months
- IMS Health, GrubHub rise in New York debut
Dow Jones: 0.14%
Nasdaq: -0.11%
S&P 500: 0.28%
US stocks were registering small gains on Friday morning after a resilient jobs report which showed that the weather-induced volatility in data over recent months has subsided.
IMS Health and GrubHub were among the best performers early on after impressive debuts on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading 0.1% higher shortly after the opening bell, the S&P 500 was up 0.3%, but the Nasdaq was down 0.1%.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that non-farm payrolls increased by 192,000 in March, lower than the 200,000 forecast. This was also down from the 197,000 gain in February, though this was revised higher from the initial 175,000 estimate. The unemployment rate remained steady at 6.7%, surprising analysts who had expected a fall to 6.6%.
Despite the slight miss on the headline figure, the labour-force participation rate and average weekly hours both increased in March.
Meanwhile, revisions to payroll numbers from January and February were revised higher by a net 37,000 "showed that the effect on the labour market during the harsh winter weather was less severe than previously thought", according to Lee Mumford, Financial Sales Trader at Spreadex.
"Now that the weather-related weakness is behind us, we anticipate that the monthly gains in payroll employment will remain close to the 200,000 mark, driving the unemployment rate gradually lower and allowing the Fed to continue winding down its monthly asset purchases," said Paul Ashworth, Chief US Economist at Capital Economics.
IMS and GrubHub surge on market debuts
IMS Health Holdings gained on its first day of trading in New York. The company priced its initial public offering (IPO) at $20 a share, in line with the $18-21 expected range, valuing it at $6.64bn. It rose to $22 in early trading. The prescription-data provider raised $1.3bn after offering 65m shares, making it the second-largest IPO of the year in the States.
Online food ordering firm GrubHub, meanwhile, priced its IPO at $26 per share, ahead of the estimated range of $23-25, valuing it at $2.04bn. It raised $192m after selling 7.4m shares and surged as much as 41% early on.
Delta Air Lines was lower after revealing that it is considering acquiring as many as 50 jets to replace its Boeing 747-400 and 767-300ER planes.
Generic drug firm Mylan saw shares surge ahead of the opening bell after The Wall Street Journal reported that it is looking to buy Swedish pharmaceutical group Meda.
West Texas Intermediate futures were trading 0.9% higher at $101.19 a barrel on the NYMEX.
The yield on the benchmark US 10-year Treasury was down four basis points at 2.76%. |
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| | Broker Tips | | Broker tips: RBS, M&S, easyJet, Imperial Tobacco Shore Capital has retained its neutral stance on the shares of Royal Bank of Scotland but said that the appointment of Ewen Stevenson as its new Head of Finance is 'positive news'.
Analyst Gary Greenwood said: "We view this as positive news as it removes uncertainty around the position and should therefore enhance investor confidence in the company's ability to deliver on its strategic plan."
Goldman Sachs has retained its 'sell' recommendation for British department store group Marks & Spencer (M&S), saying that the business is not exempt from increasing competition in the UK grocery market.
In a research report dated April 3rd, the bank added the stock to its 'Conviction Sell List' and slashed its target for the shares from 420p to 340p.
Credit Suisse has retained its 'outperform' recommendation on budget airline easyJet, saying that the company's March traffic statistics on Friday shows good momentum and a creditable performance.
"We continue to see easyJet as a multi-year value proposition, and re-iterate our view […] that easyJet should be able to capitalise on attractive medium-term volume and pricing opportunities," the bank said.
Panmure Gordon has assessed the potential impact from plain packaging on Imperial Tobacco after the industry overhaul moved one step closer to reality this week.
The broker said that the UK is one of Imperial's most profitable markets and accounts for 20% of group operating profits. However, given the subdued effect on the industry in Australia after it adopted the change in December 2012, Panmure said that there will be little short-term impact for Imperial. It has left its earnings forecasts for the next three years unchanged. | | |
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