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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: Stocks rise on Ukraine ceasefire, but gains modest UK stocks rose for the first time in five sessions on Thursday after a ceasefire was agreed in eastern Ukraine, though ongoing concerns about Greece and weak economic data from the States limited upside. Investors were also digesting comments from the Bank of England as it upgraded its UK growth forecasts but lowered its assumptions for inflation in the near term.
London's FTSE 100 finished the day up 0.15% at 6,828.11, but had pulled back after reaching an intraday high of 6,854.62 early on.
Markets pared gains slightly before the close after data showed US jobless claims rose more than expected last week, while US retail sales dropped sharply in December.
Ukraine and Greece in focus
Russian president Vladimir Putin on Thursday morning confirmed that the country has reached a ceasefire agreement on the Ukraine crisis which will come into effect on Sunday. The ceasefire follows 15 hours of talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
"This step in the right direction has helped boost European equity markets previously panicked by political discussions around supplying Ukraine with arms," said analyst Alastair McCaig from IG.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund agreed to loan Ukraine $17.5bn as part of a new economic reform programme.
Over in Brussels, Wednesday evening's emergency Eurogroup meeting about Greece proved inconclusive, though this was widely expected.
"The meeting was the first platform where formal negotiations began, but not necessarily where decisions were due to be made. This being the first formal meeting, both sides stood firm on their positions," said economist Gizem Kara from BNP Paribas.
Inflation Report and RICS house prices
The Bank of England's Inflation Report released at 10:30 showed that policymakers expect the UK to enter deflation "at some point in the first half of 2015", though the period of falling prices would only be temporary.
However, Governor Mark Carney downplayed the significance of deflation, due almost entirely to weaker oil prices, as he lifted his growth forecasts for the economy for 2016 and 2017.
"With the Monetary Policy Committee fairly relaxed about the prospect for deflation, we still think there is a reasonable chance of a hike before the end of this year," said economist Vicky Redwood from Capital Economics.
In other news, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said its UK house-price balance fell to +7 last month from +12 in December, showing that growth - while still positive - slowed to its lowest level since May 2013.
Coca-Cola HBC gains on ceasefire news, Rio impresses with returns
Stocks exposed to Russia and Ukraine, such as Coca-Cola HBC, Evraz and Ferrexpo, rose strongly after a ceasefire was agreed between the two nations.
Mining group Rio Tinto gained as it pledged to return nearly $6bn to shareholders in respect of 2014 after hiking its full-year dividend by 12% and announcing a $2bn share buyback. Other miners such as Glencore, Vedanta and Anglo American were also performing well.
Drugmaker Shire was higher after 2015 got off to a strong start on the back of the company's biggest purchase to date and the approval of the first drug to treat binge-eating disorder. The company posted fourth-quarter earnings growth of 17% to $2.63 per share, just short of analysts' expectations, while revenue rose a better-than-predicted 19% to $1.58bn.
Imperial Tobacco was also on the rise after a strong first-quarter performance from its growth brands left it confident of hitting its full-year targets.
The oil and gas sector was lower despite a bounce in crude prices as heavyweights BP and Shell went ex-dividend, while volatile producer Afren plummeted. Tullow Oil was also feeling the effects of a downgrade by Societe Generale from 'buy' to 'hold'.
Market Movers
techMARK 3,116.29 +0.22%
FTSE 100 6,828.11 +0.15%
FTSE 250 16,809.42 +1.06% |
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| | FTSE 100 - Risers
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,159.00p +6.23%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,568.00p +4.90%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,997.00p +4.63%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,165.50p +3.74%
Royal Mail (RMG) 440.50p +3.67%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,887.00p +3.62%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,001.00p +3.41%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,258.00p +2.44%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,039.50p +2.29%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 143.20p +2.29%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
BT Group (BT.A) 450.00p -2.17%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,485.50p -1.88%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,203.50p -1.83%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,112.50p -1.58%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,118.00p -1.58%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 5,690.00p -1.47%
Sage Group (SGE) 474.70p -1.35%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 973.00p -1.32%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,742.00p -1.30%
SABMiller (SAB) 3,501.00p -1.17%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Vedanta Resources (VED) 473.00p +9.67%
Allied Minds (ALM) 482.30p +5.88%
Hunting (HTG) 503.00p +5.47%
Keller Group (KLR) 956.00p +5.46%
IP Group (IPO) 263.10p +5.32%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 246.30p +4.50%
Electrocomponents (ECM) 208.90p +4.14%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 320.00p +3.93%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 313.80p +3.91%
Balfour Beatty (BBY) 235.00p +3.80%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Afren (AFR) 7.11p -20.56%
AO World (AO.) 304.60p -5.96%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 509.00p -3.05%
Game Digital (GMD) 263.00p -2.27%
Jimmy Choo (CHOO) 162.60p -2.22%
Poundland Group (PLND) 380.00p -1.94%
Diploma (DPLM) 780.00p -1.89%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 1,560.00p -1.89%
esure Group (ESUR) 229.70p -1.80% |
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| | Europe Market Report | | | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  | | | | | | Europe close: Stocks gain after BoE Inflation Report, ceasefire on Ukraine crisis European stocks rallied after the Bank of England (BoE) lifted its UK economic growth forecasts and after a ceasefire agreement was reached between the Ukraine and Russia. In its Inflation Report, the Bank said it expected the UK economy will grow at 2.9% this year and next year, compared to November's 2.6% estimate for 2016. The central bank predicted consumers will soon feel the benefit of improving wages and lower petrol prices.
The BoE also indicated that the first interest rate hike is likely in 2016 and that inflation would likely to be dragged to zero in the second and third quarters amid depressed energy prices.
Governor Mark Carney said inflation is likely to return to the Bank's 2% target within two years.
Carney also said the situation in Greece could impact the UK if the crisis escalated.
His remarks came as the European Central Bank (ECB) reportedly urged Greece to extend an international bailout deal to avoid a banking collapse. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has tried garnered support from EU leaders on his anti-austerity plans and proposal for an alternative way to deal with its debt.
A day after Eurozone finance ministers failed to make progress on Greece's bailout terms at an emergency meeting on Wednesday, the ECB held a teleconference to discuss how long it could continue to keep Greek banks afloat, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed that a ceasefire agreement on the Ukraine crisis has been reached. The ceasefire, which will come into effect on Sunday, follows 15 hours of talks on Ukraine.
In economic data for the euro-area, a report showed German consumer prices were revised lower to a 0.4% year-on-year drop in January from a previous estimate of a 0.3% decline.
Eurozone industrial production fell 0.2% in December, missing projections for a 0.3% increase and following November's 0.8% drop.
US data
US retail sales dropped 0.8% in December after a 0.9% fall a month earlier, beating forecasts for a 0.4% dip.
Initial jobless claims rose to 304,000 in the week to 7 February from 279,000 the prior week. Analysts had pencilled in 287,000 claims.
Outokupu Oyj, Credit Suisse
Outokumpu Oyj jumped after reporting a quarterly loss that was less than analysts had anticipated.
Credit Suisse Group advanced as the Swiss lender returned to profit in the fourth quarter.
Renault SA gained after the carmaker posted a 30% increase in 2014 earnings, ahead of market forecasts.
Societe Generale SA dropped as the French bank reported quarterly profit that fell short of analysts' estimates.
Rio Tinto Group edged higher as miner reported better-than-forecast annual profit.
Pernod Ricard SA declined as the maker of Absolut vodka revealed operating profit deteriorated in the half-year ended December.
Brent crude rose 4.3% to $57.16 per barrel, according to the ICE. |
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| | US Market Report | | US open: Dow and S&P advance in the wake of Ukraine ceasefire US stocks advanced on Thursday as news of a ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine offset disappointing retail sales and weak jobless claims. Just before 10:00 in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 63.04 points up, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose 9 and 30 points respectively.
After overnight talks in Minsk, Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement for a ceasefire starting on Sunday 15 February. Initial claims for unemployment benefits in the US were higher than expected at 304,000 last week, according to the Department of Labor (DoL).
This figure for the week ending 7 February is up 9% on the revised 279,000 the week before and above the 290,000 that had been expected by economists at Barclays Research.
However, the four-week moving average was 289,750, a decrease of 3,250 from the previous week's revised average.
US retail sales volumes dropped by 0.8% month-on-month in January to reach $439.771bn, according to the US Department of Commerce.
The consensus estimate had been for a fall of 0.4%, but a 9.3% decline in sales at gasoline stations resulted in a bigger-than-expected overall drop.
"Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen will be slightly dismayed to see retail sales stuck in negative territory," said UFX.com managing director Dennis de Jong.
"Many had hoped that lower gas prices and rising consumer confidence would spur spending in the retail sector, but the large gains just haven't materialised as yet.
"Yellen will know that the other major economies around the world are hoping the US can stir global growth and will be watching the data very closely, with fingers crossed."
Tesla's stock was 8% lower after its latest sales figures out overnight fell short of analysts' forecasts, as the company blamed the poor weather for missing its delivery targets.
JP Morgan has downgraded the shares to 'underweight' from 'neutral'.
American Express plunged after it announced it will end its US co-branding and merchant acceptance agreement with Costco Wholesale Corp. on 31 March, while Zully nosedived after both earnings and outlook missed expectations.
Going the other way, Cisco jumped after its fourth-quarter earnings almost doubled to $2.4bn, while Whole Foods Markets rose after its earnings beat analysts' forecasts.
Gold futures while the dollar lost over 0.8% against the yen and the pound and almost 0.5% against the euro. |
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| | Broker Tips | | Broker tips: Zoopla, Lancashire, Housebuilders Canaccord Genuity has downgraded its stance on online estate agents portal Zoopla Property Group from 'buy' to 'hold' after a decent run in the stock over recent sessions.
Despite the downgrade, the broker said Zoopla met expectations with its first-quarter trading update on Thursday, in which delivered an "upbeat tone" and gave clear comments about the launch of rival website OnTheMarket.
Insurer Lancashire Holdings smashed City forecasts with its fourth-quarter results on Thursday, which should improve confidence in expectations for 2015, according to Numis Securities.
The broker, which kept a 'buy' rating on the stock, said that the shares had become "over-sold" and hold "further recovery potential".
News that house prices in January grew at their slowest rate since May 2013 is likely to weigh on housebuilders, especially those exposed to the weakening London market, according to Westhouse Securities. | | |
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