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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: Resource and utility stocks drag markets lower, data comes in weak UK stocks bounced off their lowest levels of the day by the close but still ended in the red as falling mining, energy and utility shares provided a drag.
After touching a low of 6,713.50, London's FTSE 100 finished down 20.49 points (-0.3%) at 6,740.58, ending the week down 2.5%.
Brent crude was trading 2% lower at $55.92 a barrel in afternoon trade after the International Energy Agency warned that crude may have further to fall.
In its monthly report, the Paris-based institution said that the partial rebound that occurred at the start of the year seems to have paused and that US supply has showed "little sign of slowing down [and] continues to defy expectations".
Weak economic data was also weighing on sentiment on Friday: UK construction output unexpectedly dropped 2.6% in January; US producer prices registered a surprise 0.5% drop in February, while US consumer confidence slid in March.
Meanwhile, Standard & Poor's said Greece remains on 'credit watch negative', citing uncertainties surrounding the nation in concluding its funding agreement with creditors.
Resource stocks, utilities drop
Producers BG Group, Tullow Oil, Soco International and Premier Oil were all trading with heavy losses, along with oil and gas services groups Hunting, Wood Group and Petrofac, as crude prices declined.
However, Afren was the standout faller, dropping 29% after the struggling oil and gas group proposed a debt-for-equity swap with creditors to address its funding needs and recapitalise its capital structure. If shareholders don't approve the plan, the company will have no choice but to initiate a sale.
Mining stocks were also weak, including BHP Billiton, Glencore and Anglo American.
Energy stocks such as SSE and Centrica declined ahead of the Labour Party conference, during which Ed Miliband is expected to outline plans to cut energy prices if his party wins the General Election.
Supermarkets Tesco and Sainsbury were trading lower as Nielsen revealed they had continued to lose market share.
Meanwhile, shares in Premier Inn and Costa owner Whitbread received a boost from UBS, which upgraded its rating on the stock from 'sell' to 'neutral' and Deutsche Bank, which lifted its rating on the stock to 'buy'. |
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| | Market Movers
techMARK 3,192.55 +0.80%
FTSE 100 6,740.58 -0.30%
FTSE 250 17,109.47 +0.28%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Meggitt (MGGT) 575.00p +2.77%
British Land Co (BLND) 824.50p +2.42%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 5,840.00p +2.28%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 1,186.00p +2.07%
GKN (GKN) 368.70p +1.85%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,220.00p +1.84%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,557.00p +1.74%
Whitbread (WTB) 5,335.00p +1.43%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,168.00p +1.39%
Shire Plc (SHP) 5,525.00p +1.28%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Tullow Oil (TLW) 298.30p -3.21%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,389.50p -3.20%
BG Group (BG.) 812.60p -3.10%
Glencore (GLEN) 277.35p -2.94%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 955.20p -2.43%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,005.50p -2.31%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,055.00p -2.22%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,788.00p -2.13%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,921.50p -2.01%
SSE (SSE) 1,462.00p -1.94%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 158.70p +6.80%
Diploma (DPLM) 815.00p +6.47%
St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 468.40p +5.97%
PayPoint (PAY) 867.50p +5.79%
esure Group (ESUR) 224.20p +5.31%
Hellermanntyton Group (HTY) 351.90p +4.33%
Just Eat (JE.) 347.00p +4.33%
Jimmy Choo (CHOO) 170.00p +4.29%
Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) 1,042.00p +4.20%
Ted Baker (TED) 2,581.00p +3.70%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Afren (AFR) 4.65p -28.46%
Soco International (SIA) 143.20p -9.71%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 486.70p -7.73%
Hunting (HTG) 453.90p -5.79%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 152.10p -5.65%
Premier Oil (PMO) 130.00p -5.32%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,231.00p -5.27%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 119.20p -4.87%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 198.00p -4.39%
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| | Europe Market Report | | | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  | | | | | | Europe close: Stocks little changed as S&P keeps Greece on credit watch negative European stocks were little changed as Greece and Germany continued to squabble.
Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Friday that Greece is wrong to blame Germany for its problems. His remarks came as Athens and Berlin clashed over reparations for the Nazi occupation of Greece during World War II
"The point is that in Greece, too much of the fault for the problems of Greece is laid outside Greece [...] Germany is the favourite victim of that at the moment," said Dijsselbloem, who is also the Dutch finance minister.
However, a spokesman for German chancellor Angela Merkel dismissed the reports of a feud with Greece, saying it was her goal for the country to remain part of the Eurozone.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Thursday assured Eurozone partners that the nation would stick to an extended bailout agreement with its international creditors despite clashes with Germany.
Standard & Poor's said Greece remains on 'credit watch negative', citing uncertainties surrounding the nation in concluding its funding agreement with creditors.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank's quantitative easing programme wrapped up its first week. Eurozone central banks have purchased German, French, Italian, Spanish and Belgian bonds this week, sending borrowing costs across Europe to record lows.
The bond-buying comes under the ECB's €1.1trn QE programme which began on Monday to help boost the economy and bring inflation back towards the target of just below 2%.
In Russia, the central bank has cut its key lending rate for a second time this year. The Central Bank of Russia slashed rates to 14% from 15% on concerns about the slow economy.
Stateside, a report showed consumer confidence unexpectedly declined in March. The University of Michigan's sentiment index fell to 91.2 this month from the previous month's 95.4, well below estimates for a reading of 95.7.
"Any Fed officials still worried that the sharp decline in energy prices would trigger a more widespread debt-deflation spiral should be comforted by the rebound in one-year ahead inflation expectations to a six-month high of 3.0% in March, from 2.8% in February and a low of 2.5% in January," said Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics.
Energy stocks edge lower
A gauge of energy stocks posted the worst performance on the Stoxx 600 as oil continued to slump amid signs that a global supply glut will grow. Brent crude fell 2.4% to $55.69 per barrel at close of trade, according to the ICE.
Italian oil company Eni SpA dropped after announcing a dividend cut amid the slump in crude.
Salvatore Ferragamo SpA rallied after reporting annual earnings that beat analysts' estimates.
Commerzbank AG advanced as the German lender said it agreed to pay $1.45bn to settle multiple US investigations. |
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| | US Market Report | | US open: Dow drops over 100 points as consumer confidence slides in February US stocks fell on Friday after data showed an unexpected drop in producer prices and consumer confident.
Just after 10:00 in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 125 points, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq shed nine and eight points respectively.
On Thursday, Wall Streets registered the biggest gain in over a month as worries about a June interest rate hike abated after data showed Americans spent less than expected in February.
Consumer sentiment in the US waned unexpectedly in March, as the preliminary reading on the University of Michigan's consumer confidence index for March came in at 91.2, down from 95.4 in February.
Analysts had been expecting a reading of 95.5.
Consumer's expectations saw the largest decline, with the corresponding sub-index dropping to 83.7 from 88 a month before.
"Fed officials still worried that the sharp decline in energy prices would trigger a more widespread debt-deflation spiral should be comforted by the rebound in one-year ahead inflation expectations to a six-month high of 3.0%," said Paul Ashworth, Capital Economics' chief US Economist.
Meanwhile, US producer prices fell 0.5% in February, marking the fourth straight month of decline as a sharp decline in retail trade margins dragged the index down.
In company news, Hibbett Sports gained over 2% after reporting better-than-expected results in its fourth quarter.
Clothing group Aeropostale tanked 13.2% after announcing it forecast a larger-than-expected loss in the first quarter, while sector peers Buckle Inc and Ann Inc respectively fell 0.43% and rose 7%.
Foreign exchange broker FXCM soared 23.2% after posting fourth quarter earnings that exceeded Wall Street's expectations late on Thursday.
Nutrition group Herbalife gained almost 7% after a Wall Street Journal report that federal investigators were interviewing people connected to hedge-fund billionaire Bill Ackman in a possible stock-manipulation probe.
Oil prices declined, with Brent crude losing 0.93% to $56.55 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate fell 2.1% to $46.08 a barrel. |
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| | Broker Tips | | Broker tips: Whitbread, Diageo, Lloyds, Asos Shares in Premier Inn and Costa owner Whitbread received a boost on Friday from UBS which upgraded its rating on the stock from 'sell' to 'neutral'.
The bank hiked its target on the shares from 4,700p to 5,400p, but said: "The valuation is certainly not cheap."
Spirits group Diageo was shot down by analysts at Credit Suisse on Friday as they lowered their recommendation on the Smirnoff and Baileys maker from 'neutral' to 'underperform'.
The bank, which cut its target from 1,850p to 1,700p, said that the company's three drivers of earnings growth since 2008 - North American, scotch and African beer - each face structural challenges."In our view, the share price does not reflect a backdrop of falling returns and weaker earnings growth relative to peers," Credit Suisse said.
JPMorgan Cazenove has said that the potential sale of TSB Banking Group would be good for 50% owner Lloyds, saying it could ease competition concerns in the sector.
"Overall, we think an acquisition of TSB by Sabadell would be positive for Lloyds," JPMorgan said. "1) it removes TSB's IT reliance on Lloyds; 2) would remove any capital hit from the TSB sale; and 3) TSB may be seen as an enhanced competitor in the UK retail market, potentially reducing regulatory and political pressure around lack of competition for the UK Retail banking sector."
Asos's share price pulled back slightly on Friday after a massive jump the previous day as Japanese broker Nomura cut its stance on the shares from 'buy' to 'neutral' despite a forecast-beating second quarter from the online fashion retailer. | | |
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