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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: Flat finish for FTSE after mixed session - FTSE closes down 2.12 points at 6,796.44
- Kantar data pushes supermarkets lower
- Ukraine situation eases slightly
techMARK 2,790.92 -0.04%
FTSE 100 6,796.44 -0.03%
FTSE 250 15,881.95 -0.36%
UK markets ended today's session broadly flat as investors digested a raft of corporate updates, poor retail data, a slight easing of the situation in Eastern Europe, along with a number of stocks going ex-dividend.
The FTSE 100 closed down 2.12 points at 6,796.44.
Supermarket industry data from Kantar Worldpanel today showed growth is at the "lowest level for at least 11 years".
Figures for the 12 weeks ending April 27th revealed the British grocery market grew just 1.9%, which Kantar said was caused by intensifying price competition among the supermarkets and a resulting drop in price inflation.
Among the 'big four', Asda has proved the most resilient in holding onto market share, retaining its 17.3% market share and narrowly beating the market with 2.0% year-on-year growth.
The data showed Tesco, Sainsbury and Morrison all suffered declines in their market share, with Tesco and Morrison recording a fall in actual sales.
In more positive news, the Society of Motor Manufacturers (SMMT) revealed that new car registration growth came in at 8.2% for April, a slight deceleration but still marking the 26th month of growth.
Howard Archer, Chief UK & European Economist at IHS Global Insight, said the statistics offered up "another very impressive month", noting that sales held up "very well" in April after surging in the key month of March.
Putin meets with Chairman of OSCE
Looking further afield, in Eastern Europe Vladimir Putin has said he sees no need to send forces into Ukraine yet.
The Russian President wants the "swiftest possible resolution" to the crisis and called on activists in Eastern Ukraine to postpone a referendum planned for this weekend.
That followed talks with the head of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, following which he reportedly asked representatives of Ukraine´s southeastern regions to reschedule a referendum which was meant to take place on May 11th.
Capital Economics believes sterling has further to rise
In an interesting and noteworthy comment from Capital Economics today, especially ahead of tomorrow´s MPC meeting, the research group said: "Although sterling is now around its strongest level against the euro since last January, based on the relative outlook for monetary policy [...] we think it has further to rise."
The pound was steady throughout much of today's session at close to the $1.70 mark.
Experian leads downside, ex-divi stocks weigh
Experian disappointed with its outlook statement as it said it faces "a number of one-off headwinds" that will constrain growth in the first half.
After going ex-dividend, Morrison led the supermarket sector lower, dragged further into the red by the report from Kantar.
The data also saw J Sainsbury erase early gains despite delivering annual results ahead of expectations this morning, with underlying pre-tax profit rising 5.3% to £798m.
Construction materials group CRH also underwhelmed after saying that the improving trends in its European markets during the second half of last year continued in 2014.
Security group G4S was higher after saying trading for the year-to-date has been in line with its expectations, with 4.8% revenue growth in the first three months of the year.
Financial services group Legal & General was among the best performers as it posted record first-quarter results, with cash flowing strongly and assets under management at an all-time high.
easyJet took off after buoyant passenger data and plans to use unmanned drones to inspect its aircraft. |
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FTSE 100 - Risers
G4S (GFS) 250.20p +4.12%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 220.00p +3.04%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,710.00p +2.58%
BAE Systems (BA.) 404.50p +1.79%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,200.00p +1.78%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,221.00p +1.65%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,567.50p +1.62%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 816.50p +1.55%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,467.00p +1.52%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,415.50p +1.46%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Experian (EXPN) 1,060.00p -6.53%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 190.80p -5.54%
CRH (CRH) 1,679.00p -3.51%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 394.20p -3.48%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,008.00p -2.98%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 323.90p -2.85%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 76.72p -2.27%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 859.50p -2.16%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,421.00p -1.86%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,638.00p -1.86%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 830.00p +4.47%
Xaar (XAR) 787.00p +4.45%
Perform Group (PER) 234.00p +4.28%
Afren (AFR) 165.10p +3.84%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 464.80p +3.50%
Booker Group (BOK) 147.80p +3.07%
Evraz (EVR) 104.20p +2.96%
Pace (PIC) 361.30p +2.38%
Keller Group (KLR) 1,012.00p +2.27%
Savills (SVS) 625.00p +2.21%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Ocado Group (OCDO) 311.30p -5.44%
ICAP (IAP) 394.40p -5.37%
Supergroup (SGP) 1,348.00p -4.46%
Partnership Assurance Group (PA.) 128.50p -4.25%
Countrywide (CWD) 570.00p -4.20%
Carphone Warehouse Group (CPW) 322.80p -3.79%
Rank Group (RNK) 156.70p -3.63%
CSR (CSR) 544.00p -3.37%
Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 610.00p -3.17%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 61.25p -3.16% |
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| | Europe Market Report | | | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  | | | | | | Europe close: Stocks rise from lows as Putin calls of separatists - Putin asks separatists to postpone vote on secession
- Euro far from any equilibrium, economist says
- Weak German, French and Chinese data
- Euro nearly unchanged at 1.3916
FTSE 100: -0.03%
Dax 30: 0.57%
Cac 50: 0.41%
FTSE Mibtel 30: -1.31%
Ibex 35: -0.04%
Stoxx 600: -0.00%
European stocks ended the session in a mixed fashion but for the most part well off their lows of the day after Russian President Vladimir Putin called on separatists in southeastern Ukraine to postpone a referendum scheduled for May 11th.
The US Secretary of State had earlier warned that any such attempt [to hold a referendum along the lines of Crimea´s] would be "bogus" and further sanctions would be applied on Russia if it went ahead.
As well, overnight the Chairman of the US Senate's Foreign Relations Committee said that sanctions against Russian outfits such as Rosneft and Gazprom ought to be be considered.
Also weighing on sentiment were data out of China showing a slowing in the country's services sector.
All of the above came ahead of Thursday´s European Central Bank (ECB) policy meeting and subsequent press conference from ECB President Mario Draghi.
Ahead of that conference leading Spanish economist Emilio Ontiveros called on the ECB to act.
On the subject of the single currency, the central bank shouldn't be "obsessed" with the exchange rate, Ontiveros warned, but added: "it's madness trying to reduce foreign debt with an exchange rate that is so far from any type of equilibrium".
Firms count the costs of the situation in Ukraine
Danish brewer Carlsberg registered a first-quarter net loss and cut its full-year guidance on the back of the weak Russian rouble and ongoing uncertainty in Russia and Ukraine.
Société Générale also notified shareholders on Wednesday of the negative impact which the situation in Russia would have on its first-quarter net profits.
From a sector standpoint the best performing industrial groups on the DJ Stoxx 600 were: Food (0.54%), Basic resources (0.52%) and Oil (0.51%).
Weak industrial data, particularly in France
German factory orders dropped by 2.8% month-on-month in March, led by a sharp drop in the volatile transport equipment segment.
French industrial output fell by 0.7% over the month in March, coming in well below the 0.3% rise expected by Barclays. The broker described the figures as a "disappointment, especially with respect to manufactured products".
Euro steady at 1.3930
Front month Brent crude futures were 0.48% higher at $107.57/barrel on the ICE.
The single currency was 0.07% lower at 1.3916 versus the US dollar. |
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| | US Market Report | | US open: Stocks edge higher as Putin calls for resolution to crisis - Putin calls on activists to postpone referendum
- Fed in focus ahead of Yellen speech
- Electronic Arts jumps, Groupon drops after results
Dow Jones: 0.38%
Nasdaq: -0.24%
S&P 500: 0.28%
US stocks opened mostly higher on Wednesday morning as digested the latest developments in Eastern Europe with Vladimir Putin saying he sees no need to send forces into Ukraine yet.
The Russian President said he wanted the "swiftest possible resolution" to the crisis and called on activists in Eastern Ukraine to postpone a planned referendum this weekend.
He said he was prepared to hold talks with the head of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 rose 0.4% and 0.3% in early trading, respectively, while the Nasdaq fell 0.2%.
Investors were also awaiting a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen later this afternoon as she testifies before the Joint Economic Committee of the US Congress.
"Investors will be scrutinising her words to see if they gain any perspective as to when interest rates will begin to rise, however Yellen is most likely to keep dovish throughout the testimony," said Sam Fox from Financial Sales at Spreadex.
In other news, Chinese online market-place Alibaba has filed for what may well become the largest US initial public offering ever.
Electronic Arts
Video game group Electronic Arts jumped after fiscal fourth-quarter profits and sales came in ahead of expectations. The company also announced a $750m share buyback plan.
Daily deals and voucher company Groupon slid after first-quarter losses widened by more than expected due to increased expenses.
Social media messaging network Twitter was extending losses after an 18% slump on Tuesday after the six-month lock-up period which applied to 82% of its equity expired.
Pharmaceuticals firm Corcept Therapeutics lost around half of its market value after stopping a late-stage trial of its psychotic depression drug after analysis showed its was unlikely to yield a positive result.
West Texas Intermediate futures were up 0.98% at $100.48 a barrel on the NYMEX.
The yield on a 10-year US Treasury was one basis point higher at 2.61%. |
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| | Broker Tips | | Broker tips: HSBC, AstraZeneca, Rolls-Royce... HSBC shares will continue to underperform the wider banking sector following the company's 'mixed' first-quarter results, according to wealth manager Brewin Dolphin.
Overall, we would argue that this is a mixed set of results: costs, impairments and capital were all either better or in line with expectations. However, the revenue miss has disappointed. This is really down to Asia (down 22.5% year-on-year) and Latin America (down 15%)," Brewin said.
AstraZeneca shareholders should expect a further bid from Pfizer to materialise in the coming weeks, according to Panmure Gordon which kept a 'buy' rating on the stock.
"We have set out relatively conservative assumptions which should make a bid of £55 per share easily achievable for Pfizer. We expect the recent flurry of noise coming from government to provide relatively little of substance and expect a further bid to materialise in coming weeks."
Investec has reiterated its 'buy' recommendation for engine maker Rolls-Royce, saying that the sale of its energy gas turbine and compressor business to Siemens is a "good deal".
"Deal is positive, in our opinion. Rolls is selling a business that has struggled to achieve scale and cash will help fund acquisition of Daimler's 50% stake of Tognum," the broker said.
Broker Shore Capital may downgrade profit forecasts for pub group JD Wetherspoon, but said any share weakness could be a buying opportunity.
Shore, which has a 'hold' recommendation on the shares, said it could reduce 2014 annual pre-tax profit expectations of £79.6m by up to £2m, but pointed to pub openings as a potential source of future earnings.
UBS has upgraded its rating for Balfour Beatty from 'sell' to 'neutral' following the sharp sell-off of the infrastructure services stock after a profit warning on Tuesday.
"Following the 20% share price correction following the profit warning/strategic review, we cut our price target by 13% to 225p and upgrade to 'neutral' on limited valuation downside." However, the bank said that "material uncertainties" still remain. | | |
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