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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: Gains pared but markets buoyed by pharma, beverage stocks UK stocks were off their highest levels of the day by the close on Thursday as mining shares erased earlier gains, though strong performances from pharma and beverage groups provided some support, as well as M&A in the banking sector.
The FTSE 100 finished the session up 39.56 points (+0.6%) at 6,761.07, pulling back after hitting a high of 6,799.84 earlier, with concerns about Greece weighing on sentiment in afternoon trade.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has reportedly raised its emergency liquidity assistance cap for Greek banks by €600m.
Separately, ECB policymaker Jens Weidmann said that Greece has lost a lot of trust and Eurozone governments must figure out whether it is worth the risk of exposure to the country. He added that euro-area's central banks should make sure Greece's banks are careful not to worsen their liquidity position by buying the nation's government debt.
Earlier, Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis told Mega TV that the ECB is "asphyxiating" the government by its refusal to give Athens any leeway to issue short-term debt to meet its funding needs.
In economic data on Thursday, new renminbi loans rose by 1.02bn yuan in February, less than the 1.47bn extended in the prior month but well ahead of the 700bn expected by economists.
The UK trade balance registered an unexpectedly large improvement at the start of the year. The deficit on sales of goods overseas shrank to £8.4bn in January from a revised £9.9bn, better than the £9.7bn consensus forecast.
Meanwhile, Eurozone industrial production fell 0.1% in January after a 0.3% rise in December, missing the +0.2% estimate.
Pharma and beverage stocks buoy markets
Shares in Astrazeneca were lifted by comments from UBS which said that upcoming results from the Pegasus study of cardiovascular product Brilinta should drive n "and thus should finally unlock Brilinta's multibillion-dollar potential". The bank said potential upside is "underappreciated" by the market. Sector peer GlaxoSmithKline also rose on plans to sell half of its 12.4% stake in South Africa's largest drug company, Aspen Pharmacare.
SABMiller gained after Exane BNP Paribas analysts said "treatment duratioit's now or never for a bid" for the company from Dutch brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev. Diageo, meanwhile, was rising after Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on the stock with an 'overweight' rating, saying that its valuation was attractive relative to peers.
Shares in recently-floated TSB surged 23% after the company received a £1.7bn bid from Banco Sabadell, helping shares in 50% owner Lloyds higher. A preliminary bid at 340p per share has been tabled, the lender confirmed, 80p higher than its price at flotation last June.
Morrisons finished higher despite reporting a £792m loss before tax for the year ending February 2015 as it wrote down the value of its stores by £1.3bn. Like-for-like sales slumped 5.9% for the whole, but the decline eased to just 2.6% by the fourth quarter.
Mining stocks erased an earlier rise as metal prices slipped, though Glencore, Rio Tinto and Antofagasta still managed to finish higher. Antofagasta outperformed after reaching an agreement with locals to resolve two-week-long protests that have affected production at its flagship Los Pelambres copper project in Chile.
However, BHP Billiton was bucking the trend after going ex-dividend, along with Direct Line, Hargreaves Lansdown, Hammerson, Land Securities, Shire and Standard Chartered.
CRH, which is set to buy €6.5bn of assets from European cement giants Holcim and Lafarge as part of their proposed merger, rose strongly after the companies confirmed tie-up talks were continuing, easing recent concerns that the deal could fall apart.
Soco International plummeted after the oil and gas group said profits sank to just $14m in 2014 from $104.1m the year before on the back of challenging market conditions.
Shares in ASOS soared after the online fashion retailer impressed investors with a strong acceleration in sales growth in the second quarter, helped by a 30% jump in sales in the UK. |
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| | Market Movers
techMARK 3,167.08 +0.95%
FTSE 100 6,761.07 +0.59%
FTSE 250 17,061.13 +0.66% FTSE 100 - Risers
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,479.00p +4.05%
CRH (CRH) 1,807.00p +3.73%
Shire Plc (SHP) 5,455.00p +2.73%
Carnival (CCL) 3,097.00p +2.21%
Schroders (SDR) 3,195.00p +2.14%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,548.50p +1.94%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,141.00p +1.88%
WPP (WPP) 1,548.00p +1.84%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,109.00p +1.84%
Diageo (DGE) 1,882.00p +1.78%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Standard Chartered (STAN) 979.00p -4.44%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 308.20p -3.26%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 321.00p -2.73%
Royal Mail (RMG) 425.80p -2.70%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,435.50p -2.48%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 429.80p -1.35%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,198.00p -1.07%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 1,162.00p -0.94%
Hammerson (HMSO) 649.50p -0.84%
Aggreko (AGK) 1,560.00p -0.76%
FTSE 250 - Risers
TSB Banking Group (TSB) 326.10p +23.48%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 148.60p +5.09%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,355.00p +4.99%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 467.80p +4.40%
Interserve (IRV) 610.00p +4.27%
Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 296.70p +4.00%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 161.20p +4.00%
Supergroup (SGP) 888.50p +3.31%
Hunting (HTG) 481.80p +3.26%
Henderson Group (HGG) 269.30p +3.14%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Soco International (SIA) 158.60p -34.46%
Serco Group (SRP) 183.70p -11.00%
Home Retail Group (HOME) 174.00p -11.00%
Balfour Beatty (BBY) 226.70p -2.66%
Zoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 167.30p -2.45%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 409.20p -2.41%
Ted Baker (TED) 2,489.00p -2.39%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 331.90p -2.07%
Greggs (GRG) 994.00p -1.88% |
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| | Europe Market Report | | | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  | | | | | | Europe close: Stocks mostly in red amid Greek debt woes European stocks were mostly lower as concerns over Greece's debt continued to weigh on markets.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has reportedly raised its emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) cap for Greek banks by €600m.
Separately, ECB policymaker Jens Weidmann said that Greece has lost a lot of trust and Eurozone governments must figure out whether it is worth the risk of exposure to the country.
The head of Germany's Bundesbank added the euro-area's central banks should make sure Greece's banks are careful not to worsen their liquidity position by buying the nation's government debt.
Earlier, Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis told Mega TV that the ECB is "asphyxiating" the government by its refusal to give Athens any leeway to issue short-term debt to meet its funding needs.
In economic data, a final reading of Germany's EU-harmonised inflation showed consumer prices dropped 0.1% in February compared to a year ago, and increased 1% month-on-month. The figures were in line with analysts' expectations.
Industrial production in the Eurozone rose 1.2% year-on-year in January, better than the 0.1% that was expected by analysts and the prior month's 0.6% gain.
US retail sales dropped 0.6% in February, compared to forecasts for a 0.3% increase and January's 0.8% fall.
In China, the central bank said aggregate financing was 1.35 trillion yuan in February, compared to economists' estimate of 1 trillion yuan.
Hugo Boss, Serco decline
Hugo Boss AG slid as the German company issued 2015 profit guidance that fell short of market consensus.
Serco Group slumped after announcing it will raise £55m in an underwritten rights offering at 101p.
Asos was a high riser as the UK fashion retailer reported second-quarter sales that exceeded forecasts.
K+S AG advanced after saying earnings this year will surpass last year's results due to higher prices for salt and potash.
Brent crude fell 0.9% to $57.02 per barrel, according to the ICE. |
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| | US Market Report | | US open: Dow gains over 170 points as dollar's rally slows down US stocks opened higher on Thursday, with markets staging a recovery after two negative sessions as the dollar's rally lost some of its momentum.
Just after 10:00 in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 170 points to 17,805.71, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose 15 and 18 points respectively.
Overnight, the Nikkei 225 index climbed 1.4% to a 15-year high, as Asian stocks were boosted by upbeat Chinese data, while the dollar eased against the yen.
The greenback lost 0.23% against the yen and 0.04% and 0.63% against the pound and the euro respectively, as the European currency staged a timid recovery after plunging to a new 12-year low during Asia trade.
Initial US unemployment claims dropped by an outsized 36,000 over the seven days ended on 7 March, to reach 289,000 according to the Department of Labor.
The consensus estimate had been for a reading of 305,000, while the figure for the previous week was revised up by 5,000 to 320,000.
Meanwhile, US retail sales declined for the third month in a row in February, as Americans continued to shy back from spending the money saved by the slump in gasoline prices.
Retail sales volumes fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.6% last month, after a 0.8% decline in January and a 0.9% drop in December, defying expectations for an increase of 0.3%.
"Speculation has risen that policy makers will start hiking interest rates as early as June," said Markit chief economist Chris Williamson.
"However, these worrying retail sales numbers, alongside weak inflation and wage growth trends, mean it's likely that the Fed will delay any tightening of policy until a clearer picture of the economy emerges later in the year."
In company news, Citigroup gained 4% after it was among the 28 banks that were given Fed's approval to return to capital investors.
Acadia Pharmaceuticals plunged more than 22% after announcing late on Wednesday that it would delay submitting a new-drug application for Nuplazid.
Alibaba Holdings edged forward 0.66% after a Wall Street Journal report said the Chinese giant will invest $200m in a deal for Snapchat.
Burger chain Shake Shack and doughnut retailer Krispy Kreme Doughnuts fell 8.5% and 4.8% respectively, the former after missing fourth quarter earnings forecast and the latter after posting disappointing sales growth. |
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| | Broker Tips | | Broker tips: RBS, Morrisons, ASOS Investec has raised its stance on RBS from 'sell' to 'hold' following an 11% drop in the shares since the bank's annual results on 26 February.
Following the results, the broker now forecasts RBS to record an eight successive attributable loss in 2015, predicting a loss of £0.9bn. It had previously estimated a "break-even" result for this year, but has cut profit forecasts and raised restructuring cost predictions due to the accelerated shrinkage of the corporate and institutional banking division. As such, Investec's target for the stock has been cut from 380p to 375p.
Shore Capital has retained a 'buy' rating on Morrisons despite a "tumultuous" year for the supermarket group, hailing the company's free cash flow (FCF) potential in the future.
The broker said that FCF is central to its positive stance on Morrison's shares: "Without material leasehold obligations compared to its UK superstore peers, and noting a comfortable pension position too (c£40m deficit), we see the group as being in a relatively favourable position with which to commence shareholder friendly initiatives." These include restarting a progressive dividend policy, the possibility of a share buyback and the capability to consider complementary acquisitions or organic investment again.
Analysts generally applauded the building momentum seen at ASOS in the second quarter, though a sharp fall in margins at the online fashion retailer did divide opinion.
N+1 Singer, which rates ASOS as a 'sell', said the top-line acceleration "has come at significant expense in terms of margin investment, with a slightly adverse mix effect too". | | |
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