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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: UK stocks finish flat as markets pause at 15-year high Renewed optimism surrounding Greece gave market sentiment a boost on Wednesday, though stocks had erased gains by the close as investors took profits with the FTSE 100 near its all-time high. The Footsie finished the session down just 0.05 points at 6,898.08, retreating after hitting an intra-day high of 6,921.32.
Tuesday's close of 6,898.13 was the index's highest finish since 30 December 1999 when it settled at a record high of 6,930.20. The intraday record of 6,950.60 was also reached on that same day.
"The FTSE 100 hit 15-year highs on Wednesday but the high altitudes proved too much and the index retreated back beneath 6,900," said analyst Jasper Lawler from CMC markets.
Greece confirmed on Wednesday that it will request a six-month extension "loan agreement" with its European creditors, but is not willing to continue on the same terms as its existing bailout agreement.
Prime minister Alexis Tsipras said negotiations with the Eurozone were at "a critical and delicate stage".
"There is optimism that permission will be granted by Greece's EU creditors to extend its loan programme beyond February and keep the country from defaulting and falling out of the Eurozone," Lawler said.
Closer to home, the Bank of England revealed that its Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to keep rates unchanged at its February meeting. However, members did express differences of opinion over when to hike rates given the outlook for inflation, which dropped to a record low of 0.3% in January.
In other news, the International Labour Organisation said the UK's unemployment rate dipped to 5.7% over the three months to the end of December, from 5.8%, as expected.
Hargreaves jumps on new draw-down plan
Hargreaves Lansdown topped the risers after becoming the first UK company to unveil the terms of its low-cost drawdown pension plan, which has no set-up fees or income withdrawal charges. The company said it has already received over 175,000 requests for information for the new regime, which launches on 6 April.
Supermarket giant Tesco finished lower despite an earlier rise after revealing that it would be appointing Dixons Carphone's chairman John Allan as the replacement of current chair Richard Broadbent who announced his resignation last year.
Coca-Cola HBC, the Greece-based drinks bottler, enjoyed improved volumes and lower sugar and oil costs in the final few months of the year, but full-year earnings were worse than analysts were expecting due to currency effects.
Real estate groups were among the worst performers with broker downgrades hitting shares of heavyweights Intu Properties and British Land. Intu was cut to 'equal weight' at Barclays while British Land was lowered to 'hold' at Peel Hunt.
Hammerson, Land Securities, Derwent London, Great Portland Estates and Segro were also registering losses in afternoon trade.
Utility stocks such as SSE were also out of favour after a Competition and Markets Authority report found that energy groups have "unilateral market power" over customers and householders were losing out by not switching providers.
Market Movers
techMARK 3,131.70 +0.10%
FTSE 100 6,898.08 -0.00%
FTSE 250 17,002.14 +0.68% |
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| | FTSE 100 - Risers
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,053.00p +3.44%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,111.00p +2.87%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 396.50p +2.59%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 1,099.00p +2.52%
Aggreko (AGK) 1,684.00p +2.31%
WPP (WPP) 1,482.00p +2.14%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 966.00p +2.10%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,450.00p +2.04%
CRH (CRH) 1,847.00p +1.99%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,259.00p +1.94%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Intu Properties (INTU) 364.10p -3.27%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,143.00p -3.05%
Hammerson (HMSO) 665.50p -2.63%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 225.45p -2.51%
British Land Co (BLND) 811.50p -2.23%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 553.50p -1.86%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,223.00p -1.85%
Royal Mail (RMG) 430.40p -1.65%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,603.50p -1.64%
Shire Plc (SHP) 5,100.00p -1.64%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Afren (AFR) 11.10p +34.55%
Regus (RGU) 231.60p +7.67%
De La Rue (DLAR) 581.50p +6.40%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 580.50p +5.35%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 583.00p +4.86%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 322.00p +4.17%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 463.70p +4.11%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 175.10p +3.86%
Atkins (WS) (ATK) 1,395.00p +3.72%
Galliford Try (GFRD) 1,420.00p +3.65%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Card Factory (CARD) 259.30p -2.56%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,141.00p -2.56%
IP Group (IPO) 255.20p -2.41%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,275.00p -2.22%
Redefine International (RDI) 56.75p -2.16%
Rexam (REX) 537.00p -2.01%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 66.05p -2.00%
SEGRO (SGRO) 413.90p -1.92%
National Express Group (NEX) 261.90p -1.91% |
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| | Europe Market Report | | | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  | | | | | | Europe close: Stocks mostly higher after UK jobs, BoE minutes, Greece news European stocks were mostly higher as investors weighed UK jobs data, the Bank of England's meeting minutes and developments in Greece. The UK unemployment rate declined to 5.7% in the three months to December from 5.8% the previous quarter, surprising analysts who had expected it to remain unchanged. Jobless claims fell 38,6000 in January, more than the 25,000 drop that was forecast. The number of people in jobs rose by 103,000 in the three months to December, compared to predictions of 50,000. Average weekly earnings including bonuses were up 2.1% in the quarter compared with a year earlier, ahead of estimates for a 1.7% rise.
The Bank of England's meeting minutes revealed that the Monetary Policy Committee voted to keep interest rates at 0.5% and asset purchases at £375bn amid underlying inflationary pressures.
However, the minutes of last week's meeting showed that members Martin Weale and Ian McCafferty believed there may be a case for an increase in the Bank Rate later in the year given the outlook for inflation beyond the short - term.
"Regardless of whether the Bank of England first acts late on in 2015 or waits until early 2016, we see interest rates rising gradually to 1.50% at the end of 2016 and to 2.50% at the end of 2017," said Howard Archer, chief European and UK economist at IHS Global Insight.
In the US, the Federal Reserve at 19:00 GMT publishes minutes of its meeting on 27-28 January when the US central bank signalled an interest rate hike in June.
Meanwhile, Greece has confirmed reports that it will ask the Eurozone for a six-month extension of its loan agreement, which is due to expire on 28 February.
The loan would not be an extension of the current €240bn bailout agreement as the new Greek government remains against such strict austerity measures.
US Treasury secretary Jack Lew spoke with Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, warning that Greece would face "immediate hardship" without an agreement.
The euro fell 0.61% to $1.1341.
PSA Peugeot Citroen gains on annual profit
PSA Peugeot Citroen revved higher as the car-maker reported its first annual profit in three years after cutting costs.
Eni gained after the Italian oil firm reported fourth-quarter operating profit that surpassed estimates.
Carlsberg A/S flanked after reporting worse-than-expected fourth quarter earnings.
Credit Agricole SA rallied as France's third-largest bank posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit. |
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| | US Market Report | | US open: Markets fluctuate amid disappointing inflation and housing data US stocks fluctuated on Wednesday amid a disappointing inflation report and weaker-than-expected housing data. Just before 10:00 in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.19%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose 0.16% and 0.11% respectively.
US producer prices fell 0.8% month-on-month in January, driven by a 24% drop in gasoline prices from the previous month.
The fall took the annual producer price index inflation down to 0.0% from 1.1%, with the index having been as high as 1.6% in January.
"The stronger dollar appears to be having some impact too, with core final demand goods prices falling by 0.2% month-on-month," said Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics.
"As with the drop in energy prices, however, the impact of the stronger dollar on price inflation will be temporary.
"Given that the Fed is targeting the inflation rate in one or two years' time rather than the current rate, this is not a reason to delay the first interest rate hike, which we expect in June."
Meanwhile, US housing starts fell by 2% month-on-month in January to reach an annualised rate of 1.065m, according to the US Department of Commerce.
The consensus forecast had been for a decline of 1.7%.
However, that was more than compensated for by an upwards revision to the previous month's data, which now shows a rise of 7.1% on the month instead of the preliminary estimate of 4.4%.
The Fed at 19:00 GMT publishes minutes of its meeting on 27-28 January when the US central bank signalled an interest rate hike in June.
"So long as the Fed minutes continue to imply that the Fed will look past the low levels of headline inflation as transitory, expectations should be maintained for a mid-year rate hike," said CMC Markets analyst Jasper Lawler.
"The minutes may risk sounding more dovish if slack in the labour market or the strong US dollar are highlighted as big concerns in the face of strong jobs numbers."
In corporate news, Hilton Worldwide Holdings fell 1.33% after announcing before the bell that its fourth quarter adjusted earnings slightly missed estimates, while Marriot fell 0.92% ahead of its quarterly results.
Actavis fell 0.70% despite raising its profit guidance for 2015, while Rackspace Hosting rose 2.67% after announcing late on Tuesday that its profit had risen sharply.
Oil prices tumbled, with Brent crude losing 2.4% to just over $61 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate lost 2.6% and was trading just above $52 a barrel. |
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| | Broker Tips | | Broker tips: Tesco, Fresnillo, Coca-Cola HBC The appointment of Dixons Carphone chairman John Allan as the head of Tesco's board has been applauded by analysts at Shore Capital, who said it represented "another job completed in the repair of Tesco". The broker, which kept a 'hold' rating on the supermarket stock, said that Allan "has a distinguished past" and his "turnaround experience may be highly valuable". Investors are likely to welcome Allan's appointment and the "ongoing evolution" of the board under new chief executive Dave Lewis, the broker said.
UBS has lowered its target for Fresnillo, saying that the Mexican precious metals miner's final dividend payout for 2014 is "uncertain". The bank cut its 12-month target for the shares from 950p to 850p and retained a 'neutral' recommendation for investors.
Fresnillo's regular dividend has been based on the company paying out 50% of net income excluding revaluation impacts from its Silverstream operations. However, with UBS' downwardly-revised earnings per share forecast now standing at just 9.7 cents, it pointed out that Fresnillo's interim dividend of 5.0 cents already represents a 50% payout ratio for the full year.
Credit Suisse has lowered its estimates for Coca-Cola HBC after annual results from the bottling firm missed City forecasts on Wednesday, highlighting continued challenges for the group this year. | | |
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