| | | | | | | | | |
| | London Market Report |  | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | | London close: FTSE edges higher to new record close London's FTSE 100 managed to inch higher to a new record high on Thursday as improving economic data across Europe and positive developments in Ukraine boosted markets after a slow start. The UK benchmark index finished the day up 14.35 points at a new closing high of 6,949.73, up 0.2% on the day and just 0.1 points ahead of the previous all-time closing high reached on Tuesday. Spanish economic growth was confirmed at 0.7% for the fourth quarter while UK economy expanded by 0.5%, with both figures in line with preliminary estimates. Another report showed German unemployment fell 20,000 in February, more than the 10,000 decline that was expected. Reports from Ukraine also lifted sentiment after the defence ministry said that it was starting the withdrawal of heavy weapons from battle-zones in the east following the ceasefire which came into effect earlier this month. Pro-Russian rebels have also reportedly claimed that they were withdrawing weapons. Wall Street markets, however, were less positive with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 indices edging lower after a mixed batch of US economic data. US consumer-price inflation turned negative for the first time since 2009; US jobless claims unexpectedly jumped last week; while US durable goods rose more than expected in January. StanChart and housebuilders provide a lift Standard Chartered rose after appointing former JPMorgan boss Bill Winters as its new chief executive as it confirmed current head Peter Sands will step down in June. The bank also announced that chairman John Peace will step down in 2016. Housebuilders were also performing well by the end of the day, including Persimmon, Barratt Developments and Taylor Wimpey. Leading the downside was Anglo-Dutch information group Reed Elsevier as investors gave a cool reaction to plans to combine its two parent companies and rename itself RELX Group. The company also said underlying adjusted operating profit rose 5% to £1.74bn in 2014. RBS dropped after missing forecasts with its 2014 results, reporting a loss of £3.5bn for the year, though this was still better than the £9bn loss recorded in 2013. The bank also confirmed the appointment of Sir Howard Davies as its new chairman. RSA Insurance recommenced its dividend as it returned to an annual profit in 2014, though it didn't earn as much as some analysts were hoping for. The insurer also said its chief financial officer is stepping down. Cigarette maker British American Tobacco was higher after reporting a less-than-expected 8.4% fall in 2014 revenue to £13.97bn, compared with the consensus forecast of £13.89bn. Capita was weaker as the outsourcing and business services giant underwhelmed with a 13% rise in underling pre-tax profit to £535.7m last year. |
| | Exclusive Oil Investment with potential 43.56% annual returns | | Download your free investment guide, click here. |
| | Market Movers
techMARK 3,166.04 +0.50%
FTSE 100 6,949.73 +0.21%
FTSE 250 17,249.80 +0.36% FTSE 100 - Risers
Standard Chartered (STAN) 976.00p +5.37%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,758.00p +4.39%
Kingfisher (KGF) 360.30p +3.21%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,170.00p +2.48%
Meggitt (MGGT) 553.00p +2.22%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 516.00p +2.18%
SABMiller (SAB) 3,713.00p +2.16%
Tesco (TSCO) 246.00p +2.12%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 144.40p +2.12%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,734.00p +2.00% FTSE 100 - Fallers
Reed Elsevier (REL) 1,130.00p -4.80%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 429.10p -4.71%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,732.00p -4.47%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 386.60p -4.14%
Centrica (CNA) 245.60p -2.15%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,027.00p -1.84%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 326.00p -1.81%
BG Group (BG.) 970.00p -1.52%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,615.50p -1.49%
SSE (SSE) 1,562.00p -1.45% FTSE 250 - Risers
RPS Group (RPS) 270.70p +12.32%
Interserve (IRV) 614.00p +10.23%
Countrywide (CWD) 541.50p +5.97%
Ladbrokes (LAD) 121.00p +5.95%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 730.00p +5.42%
Playtech (PTEC) 777.00p +5.28%
Synthomer (SYNT) 283.20p +4.62%
Keller Group (KLR) 1,013.00p +4.22%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 601.50p +3.62%
Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 455.00p +3.50% FTSE 250 - Fallers
Beazley (BEZ) 292.00p -8.03%
AO World (AO.) 182.00p -5.21%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,051.00p -4.37%
Premier Oil (PMO) 167.30p -3.80%
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 315.00p -3.37%
Enterprise Inns (ETI) 104.70p -3.06%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 200.40p -2.95%
Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 82.90p -2.87%
Afren (AFR) 9.62p -2.83%
Dignity (DTY) 1,901.00p -2.76% |
| | High yielding, city centre investment opportunity | | Get 10% fixed returns for up to 5 years and earn interest from day 1. Demand for property in Manchester City Centre has boomed, and this property investment opportunity is one not to be missed Click here to find out more |
| | Europe Market Report | | | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  | | | | | | Europe close: Stocks rally on positive German data European stocks rallied after German data on unemployment and consumer confidence beat forecasts. German unemployment fell 20,000 in February, more than the 10,000 decline that was expected, leaving the jobless rate steady at 6.5% in February.
Another report showed German confidence increased more than forecast in March. GfK's forward-looking sentiment index climbed to 9.7 this month from 9.3 in February, beating analysts' estimates of 9.5.
Meanwhile, a clear majority of MPs from German Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right bloc has backed a four-month extension of Greece's bailout.
Ahead of a full vote on Friday, a test ballot showed 311 MPs from the CDU/CSU voted in favour with 22 voting against.
The euro fell 1.32% to $1.1211.
In the UK, gross domestic product was confirmed at 0.5% growth in the fourth quarter of 2014, in line with the preliminary reading and economists' expectations.
The data showed the UK grew 2.7% on an annual basis, up from a prior reading of 2.6%, indicating no change from the earlier estimates. However, the figures denote a downward trend as the UK economy grew at 0.8% on a quarterly basis in the second quarter of 2014 and 0.7% in third quarter.
In the US, inflation data revealed the discouraging effect of weakening oil prices on the overall level of consumer prices.
Core consumer prices, which strip out food and energy, rose 0.2% month-on-month and 1.6% year-on-year, in-line with economists' estimates.
The headline consumer price index (CPI) however fell by 0.7% month-on-month after a revised fall of 0.3% in December.
Economists stressed that while the US had slipped into deflation, the Federal Reserve remained unlikely to change its policy.
US initial weekly unemployment claims unexpectedly jumped by 31,000 to reach 313,000 over the seven days ending on 21 February, according to the US Department of Labor.
Orders for durable goods in the US rose by 2.8% on the month in January, coming in well ahead of the 1.7% rise which had been expected.
InBev, Bayer
Anheuser-Busch InBev NV gained after announcing plans to buy back $1 billion of shares.
Bayer jumped after it forecast an increase in 2015 sales.
Solvay SA edged higher after reporting quarterly net income that beat analysts' estimates.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group slumped after saying restructuring would lead to "substantial" job losses and reporting a net annual loss in 2014 following the write down of its US division.
GDF Suez climbed after posting full-year net income in line with estimates and saying it will reduce capital expenditure.
Cie. de Saint-Gobain SA dropped as the European supplier of building materials reported annual net income that fell short of consensus forecasts. |
| | Swissquote offers CFD Trading, an efficient mean of trading indices, commodities and currencies. | | You can trade on the market whether you think it will go UP or Down! Think the DAX will go Down? Short the DAX… Try CFD Trading with a Free Practice Account losses can exceed your deposit.
|
| | US Market Report | | US open: Dow and S&P edge lower as US slips into deflation US stocks were mostly lower on Thursday after disappointing data showed US had slipped into deflation.
Just before 10:00 in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.17%, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.08% and the Nasdaq edged forward 0.07%.
US inflation data should show the discouraging effect of weakening oil prices on the overall level of consumer prices.
Core consumer prices, which strip out food and energy, rose 0.2% month-on-month and 1.6% year-on-year, in-line with economists' estimates.
The headline consumer price index (CPI) however fell by 0.7% month-on-month after a revised fall of 0.3% in December.
Economists stressed that while the US had slipped into deflation, the Federal Reserve remained unlikely to change its policy.
"Fed officials have stressed that they expect this dip into deflation to be brief and they are more focused on where the inflation rate will be in two years' time, not where it is now," said Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics.
However, analysts at Rabobank warned that while the deflation might be temporary, it could still pose a dilemma for the Fed.
"While deflation is likely to be temporary, because it is largely caused by the drop in oil prices in the second half of last year and core inflation is still 1.6%, it does raise a dilemma for the Fed," they said in a note.
Meanwhile initial weekly unemployment claims unexpectedly jumped by 31,000 to reach 313,000 over the seven days ending on 21 February, according to the US Department of Labor.
Orders for durable goods rose by 2.8% on the month in January, coming in well ahead of the 1.7% rise which had been expected.
In company news, retailer Sears fell 2.06% after it reported its 11th straight quarterly loss as sales continued to tumble.
UIL Holdings soared 19.25% after Spanish utility Iberdrola announced plans to buy the power and gas distributor for $3bn in a cash and share deal.
Salesforce.com jumped 12.74% after announcing late on Wednesday it had registered strong growth in deferred sales, which indicate its future sales from a subscription-based business model.
Gold futures rose 1.07% to $1,214.40, while the dollar jumped almost 1% against the euro, rising 0.46% against the pound and 0.21% against the yen. |
| | Trade effectively using charts - Candlesticks Trading Guide | | In our candlesticks trading guide, you'll learn what candlesticks are, the different types of candlesticks and what they mean. Download your FREE guide, click here. |
| | Broker Tips | | Broker tips: RBS, Standard Chartered, Domino's Pizza Investec has retained a 'sell' rating on RBS after 2014 results from the UK banking group missed market forecasts, saying that the stock's valuation was too expensive.
"RBS has now achieved a seventh successive year of heavy reported losses (2008-2014 inclusive) and we expect only a 'breakeven' performance in 2015," he said.
A boardroom shake-up at Standard Chartered should be well-received, according to Credit Suisse, which believes that the banking group needs a "substantial overhauling" of its strategy.
The Swiss broker maintained an 'underperform' rating, reiterating its view that Standard Chartered needs $6.9bn-11bn of capital to cover commodities provisioning and boost its common equity tier-one capital ratio to 11-12% by the end of 2015. "This would then require substantial overhauling of the strategy as the implied return profile would be an uninspiring 8-9%," it said.
There is upside risk to the market's forecasts for Domino's Pizza, according to Numis Securities, which upgraded the stock from 'add' to 'buy' on Thursday after a strong annual report. | | |
New ADVFN Service - FREE Reports Get your free report on Isa's, Investment Trusts, Funds,
Sipps Travel and Cars - FREE and Easy service CLICK HERE
To advertise in the Euro Markets Bulletin please contact patrick@advfn.co.uk |
| | | | | | | To unsubscribe from this news bulletin or edit your mailing list settings click here. Registered Office/Accounts Dept: Suite 27, Essex Technology Centre, The Gable, Fyfield Road, Ongar, CM5 0GA. Customer Support +44 (0) 207 0700 961. Company registered in England and Wales: Number 2374988 VAT No. GB 549 2130 49 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment