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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 open: Standard Life, energy stocks support markets ahead of Greek meeting UK stocks edged higher on Friday morning on the back of well-received results from Standard Life and gains in the oil sector as investors awaited a pivotal meeting about Greek debt later on. London's FTSE 100 was up 0.06% at 6,892.72 early on.
The index has remained broadly flat over the last three sessions after hitting a 15-year high on Tuesday, as it continues to fluctuate below the all-time high of 6,930.20 reached in December 1999.
The Eurogroup is set to meet in Brussels at 14:00 to discuss Greece's proposal for a loan extension, albeit on different terms on the existing bailout. Germany has already rejected the request, saying it was "not a substantial solution".
"This is not to say that the Greek request was made in vain, since Eurogroup president [Jeroen] Dijsselbloem did convene the Eurogroup for a new meeting, to be held this afternoon. The language from the Eurogroup seems to be hardening, though," said analysts at Rabobank.
They said that the "game of chicken' could very well continue over the weekend and into next week". Greece's current bailout programme is set to expire on 28 February.
UK retail sales data and surveys on Eurozone and US manufacturing are also due out on Friday.
After Brent crude dropped sharply in early trading on Thursday to around $57 a barrel, losses were quickly erased by the end of the session and the rebound was continuing on Friday with prices up 0.5% at $60.52 a barrel.
"This is yet another reassuring sign from the commodity; even when it has seen big intra-day falls, its resilience has allowed it to stall before these declines could become a sustained plunge," said analyst Connor Campbell from Spreadex.
Standard Life and oil stocks rise
Insurance giant Standard Life impressed after beating forecasts with a 19% increase in annual operating profit before tax from continuing operations to £604m, while the total dividend was lifted 7.8% to 17.03p per share. The recent acquisition of Ignis also helped it to increase assets under administration by 38% in 2014.
Oil and gas stocks were tracking crude prices higher with Tullow Oil, BG Group and Shell among the best performers on the FTSE 100. Miners Anglo American, Glencore and Antofagasta also provided a lift.
Serco was higher after Credit Suisse upgraded its rating on the outsourcing group to 'neutral' and hiked its target from 142p to 208p.
DIY retailer Kingfisher however was lower after Barclays Capital cut its recommendation to 'underweight', while housebuilder Persimmon was lowered to 'neutral' by JPMorgan Cazenove.
Essentra, the plastic, fibre and foam products group, advanced after exceeding expectations for 2014 with like-for-like revenue up 9% and adjusted earning per share up 19%. |
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| | Market Movers
techMARK 3,136.33 +0.10%
FTSE 100 6,892.72 +0.06%
FTSE 250 17,054.47 +0.03%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Standard Life (SL.) 418.90p +2.55%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,898.00p +1.93%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 403.50p +1.33%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,008.00p +1.20%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 502.00p +1.09%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,064.00p +1.04%
St James's Place (STJ) 914.50p +0.94%
National Grid (NG.) 899.30p +0.92%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,136.00p +0.71%
GKN (GKN) 382.70p +0.66%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Kingfisher (KGF) 340.80p -2.04%
Hammerson (HMSO) 661.50p -1.64%
Fresnillo (FRES) 826.00p -1.26%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,966.00p -1.17%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 558.50p -0.98%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,769.00p -0.90%
Intu Properties (INTU) 362.60p -0.85%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,695.00p -0.82%
Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 3,062.00p -0.81%
Carnival (CCL) 2,920.00p -0.75%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Serco Group (SRP) 214.30p +6.94%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 206.20p +4.30%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 600.00p +2.92%
Afren (AFR) 10.90p +2.73%
Man Group (EMG) 188.20p +2.45%
Premier Oil (PMO) 178.80p +2.17%
Keller Group (KLR) 960.00p +2.07%
Infinis Energy (INFI) 202.10p +2.02%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 586.00p +1.91%
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 934.00p +1.91%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 86.00p -3.64%
Computacenter (CCC) 675.00p -3.63%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,016.00p -2.50%
Allied Minds (ALM) 500.00p -2.34%
NMC Health (NMC) 501.44p -2.06%
Alent (ALNT) 338.90p -2.05%
Hays (HAS) 159.60p -1.78%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 64.90p -1.67%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 277.60p -1.60% |
| | UK Event Calendar | | Friday February 20
INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Blackstone/GSO Loan Financing Limited, Downing One VCT , Fletcher King
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Producer Price Index (GER) (07:00)
GMS
Regency Mines
FINALS
Essentra, Standard Life
ANNUAL REPORT
Independent Inv Trust
SPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Victrex plc
AGMS
Brewin Dolphin Holdings
UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Internet Retail Sales (09:30)
Public Sector Finances (09:30)
Retail Sales (09:30)
FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Blackrock Frontiers Investment Trust, CVC Credit Partners European Opportunities Ltd EURO, CVC Credit Partners European Opportunities Ltd GBP, Impax Asset Management Group, Numis Corporation, Titon Holdings, Unicorn AIM VCT , Urban&Civic , Victrex plc |
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| | Europe Market Report | | | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  | | | | | | Europe open: Stocks little changed ahead of Eurozone meeting on Greece European stocks were little changed ahead of an emergency meeting between Greece and Eurozone finance ministers. The Eurogroup will meet in Brussels at 14:00 GMT to try to thrash out an agreement on Greece's bailout programme.
Germany on Thursday rejected Greece's proposal for a six-month extension to its Eurozone loan agreement on the basis that it was "not a substantial solution" since it failed to meet its obligation to meet the conditions of its international bailout.
"Things were looking good for a solution yesterday morning, but the rejection by Wolfgang Schauble and Germany threw doubt on the issue just went an agreement had appeared on the horizon," said Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex.
"Interestingly, reports are suggesting that it was Schauble who said declined this proposal, with Angela Merkel remaining more open to a deal."
The euro fell 0.33% to $1.1330 ahead of Friday's meeting.
In economic data, Markit's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the Eurozone increased to 51.1 in February from 51 in January, less than the 51.5 expected by analysts. A level above 50 signals expansion.
Eurozone services PMI rose to 53.5 in February from 52.7 a month earlier, beating forecasts for a reading of 53.
Markit also later publishes its PMI for US manufacturing, which is forecast to fall to 53.6 in February from 53.9 in January.
In the UK, a report on retail sales may show a decline in January, according to forecasts ahead of the Office for National Statistics' report. Analysts predict retail sales, excluding auto, dropped 0.3% month-on-month in January after a 0.2% increase in December.
On the company front, Danone slumped as the yoghurt maker said it expected lower sales in 2015 than last year amid deflationary pressure in Europe.
A gauge of energy companies gained including Tullow Oil and BG Group as oil prices climbed after falling on Thursday. |
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| | US Market Report | | US close: Energy stocks drag markets lower as Greek uncertainty persists US stock markets closed mostly lower on Thursday as investors reacted to another tumble in crude prices and concerns about Greece. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the session down 0.2%, the Nasdaq gained 0.4%, while the S&P 500 declined 0.1%.
Economic data also came in mixed, with jobless claims falling more than forecast and the Philly Fed survey showing that manufacturing momentum slowed this month.
Ahead of Friday's Eurogroup meeting in Brussels, Greece submitted a request for a six-month loan extension, but on different terms from the existing bailout.
However, Germany rejected the request, saying that Greece did not present a "substantive proposal for a solution".
Wednesday's minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting continued to be in focus as they showed that the Fed was wary of lifting interest rates too soon.
However, James Bullard of the St Louis Fed said on Thursday called for the FOMC to drop the use of the word "patient" at its next meeting in regards to the timing of the first rate hike. The proposed move would effectively signal that policy tightening could happen at its meeting in June, as Bullard warned about the consequences of waiting too long to lift rates.
In economic data, initial jobless claims fell 21,000 last week to 283,000, below the forecast of 290,000.
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's manufacturing index declined from 6.3 to 5.2 in February, its lowest level in 12 months and below the 8.0 consensus estimate.
Energy stocks take a hit
Oil groups such as Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, Halliburton, Chevron and Anadarko Petroleum all finished lower as oil prices slumped.
T-Mobile US rose after reporting a better-than-expected surge in revenue and swinging to a profit in the fourth quarter. |
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| | Newspaper Round Up | | Friday newspaper round-up: Investment banking probe, British Gas, Bank mis-selling Investment banks in the UK are facing a competition probe by the Financial Conduct Authority, according to the Financial Times. The regulator "could force banks to stop selling products and be more transparent about how they charge clients", the paper said. Centrica's British Gas has said it might reduce gas bills against this year with oil and gas prices expected to stay low until 2017, reports The Telegraph. "If prices do stay low then [...] there is the possibility of further reductions we could pass through to our customers," said Centrica's chief executive Iain Conn.
"Small-business victims of mis-sold interest rate products could have been hit a second time as banks overcharged for products they gave in compensation," writes The Times. The paper claims that lenders including Barclays, HSBC and RBS charged victims more than 10 times the real cost of products when handed interest-rate caps.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei index reached another 15-year high on Friday on the back of improved corporate earnings, reports the Wall Street Journal. The index was up 0.3% at 18,327.76 in afternoon trade, its best intraday leave since May 2000.
Walmart's Asda is planning to spend £600m on 17 new supermarkets and the redevelopment of 62 more stores, reports The Guardian.
Pharmaceutical veteran Olivier Brandicourt has been named as the new chief executive of French drug maker Sanofi, writes the Wall Street Journal, "as it faces stiff competition and prepares to launch crucial new products". | | |
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