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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: Mixed data, weak earnings pull FTSE below 6,900 A mixed batch of economic data and weak corporate earnings gave investors the excuse to take profits on Tuesday, as markets continued to retreat from their recent record highs.
London's FTSE 100, which had started the day in positive territory, swung sharply into the red by mid-morning and extended losses into the close.
The Footsie finished the day down 51.51 points (-0.74%) at 6,889.13, after being unable to top an intraday all-time record high of 6,974.26 reached on Monday. This was the index's first close below the 6,900 mark since 19 February.
"Equity markets have balked at the idea of setting new highs and instead chosen to limply give up early morning gains," said analyst Alastair McCaig from IG.
Ongoing fighting in eastern Ukraine between government troops and pro-Russian rebels was also weighing on sentiment on Tuesday, with tensions still high following the ceasefire agreement two weeks ago.
Ukraine's foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin reiterated the need to "fully close down" the border between Ukraine and Russia, and said that the normalisation of the relationship between the two nations requires Moscow returning sovereignty over Crimea to Kiev.
Economic data mixed
German retail sales jumped 2.9% in January after a revised 0.6% gain in December. This was well ahead of the 0.4% increase expected by analysts.
However, the euro weakened after Eurozone producer prices fell at an annual rate of 3.4% in January, with deflation worsening from the 2.6% fall registered in January. This was the largest decline since November 2009.
Meanwhile, the Markit/CIPS UK construction purchasing managers' index rose to a four-month high of 60.1 in February from 59.1 in January, ahead of the 59.0 consensus forecast.
Earnings disappoint, Barclays drops
Shares in Barclays fell after the bank set aside a total of £1.25bn for provisions to cover litigation costs related to ongoing probes into mis-selling PPI and rigging foreign exchange rates. The news came as Barclays reported a pre-tax loss of £532m for the fourth quarter.
Commodities trader and mining group Glencore also dropped after posting a 2% decline in operating profits in 2014 and slashing its investment budget for this year.
Builders merchant Travis Perkins was among the fallers after disappointing with a cautious outlook for the UK housing market.
Equipment rental outfit Ashtead also underwhelmed despite saying it expected full-year results to be ahead of its previous expectations after a strong third quarter.
In contrast, house builder Taylor Wimpey was trading higher after doubling its dividend payment, unveiling 54% operating profit growth in 2014 and enjoying better-than-expected trading in the New Year.
Shares in RSA Insurance were under the weather after Bernstein analysts lowered their rating on the stock from 'outperform' to 'market perform', while Intertek was downgraded by HSBC from 'overweight' to 'neutral'.
Smith & Nephew declined after announcing the purchase of EuroCiencia Colombia, its sole distributor for orthopaedic reconstruction, trauma and sports medicine products in Colombia. |
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| | Market Movers
techMARK 3,138.58 -0.54%
FTSE 100 6,889.13 -0.74% FTSE 250 17,146.02 -0.60%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Tullow Oil (TLW) 364.80p +2.10%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 147.90p +2.07%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 202.00p +1.61%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,171.00p +0.95%
SABMiller (SAB) 3,676.00p +0.62%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 273.70p +0.62%
British Land Co (BLND) 850.00p +0.59%
BP (BP.) 448.60p +0.44%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,164.00p +0.43%
Centrica (CNA) 247.50p +0.41%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,131.00p -5.67%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,944.00p -4.00%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 420.20p -3.25%
Barclays (BARC) 254.30p -3.22%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 556.00p -3.14%
Glencore (GLEN) 291.20p -3.11%
ITV (ITV) 221.80p -2.63%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 669.50p -2.62%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 920.50p -2.59%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,140.00p -2.56%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Pace (PIC) 363.00p +8.13%
Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 1,250.00p +7.76%
Rotork (ROR) 2,600.00p +6.30%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 499.70p +5.20%
Hunting (HTG) 488.40p +3.26%
Laird (LRD) 352.50p +3.22%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 601.00p +3.18%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 675.00p +2.66%
Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 901.50p +2.33%
Electrocomponents (ECM) 237.50p +2.19%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 243.40p -8.98%
Afren (AFR) 9.10p -8.18%
Regus (RGU) 221.80p -8.16%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 876.50p -6.36%
Lonmin (LMI) 146.60p -5.11%
Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 335.00p -4.83%
Just Eat (JE.) 352.60p -4.29%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 357.00p -4.26%
IMI (IMI) 1,313.00p -3.74%
Playtech (PTEC) 732.00p -3.68% |
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| | Europe Market Report | | | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  | | | | | | Europe close: Lenders drag stocks lower European stocks were in the red as a gauge of banking stock edged lower.
Banks were among the biggest fallers on the Stoxx 600, as Barclays said it was setting aside an additional £750m for the settlement of a currency-manipulation probe and posted its full-year results. ING Groep NV and BNP Paribas SA also declined.
The slump in lenders offset a better-than-estimated report on German retail sales. Sales rose 5.3% in January, compared to a 4.8% increase a month earlier and forecast for a 3% gain. German retail growth was supported by cheaper oil, healthy income increases and low interest rates.
"The pace of expansion is unlikely to remain at these heady levels, but the fundamentals for consumption are very solid," said Christian Schulz, analyst at Berenberg.
"The sudden German strength also highlights the good timing of the ECB, as announcing QE now would have faced more resistance inside and outside the ECB than back in January."
The European Central Bank's €1trn quantitative easing package begins Thursday when it also announces its latest policy decision.
In the UK, the Markit/CIPS UK construction purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 60.1 in February from 59.1 in January, as it continues to rebound from the 17-month low reached in December. Readings above 50 indicate an expansion in activity and the PMI has now been above this threshold for the 22nd successive month.
Greek debt
Greece is set to receive financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development through 2020 to promote an economic overhaul. The programme is aimed at supporting private enterprises.
"There are two broad areas where the EBRD might well make a number of operations: firstly helping Greek companies regain access to finance," EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti said in Brussels on Tuesday. "The other area we'd like to do more to promote is regional economic integration, bring private sector knowledge and finance to such areas as energy and infrastructure."
The news followed claims by Spain's finance minister Luis de Guindos that EU and Greek officials were negotiating another bailout of between €30bn and €50bn. EU officials said there were no such talks and Greek officials declined to comment.
Greece has been granted a four-month extension to its bailout programme after Eurozone creditors approved a list of reforms to turn Greece's economy around. Greece will present the details of the reforms at a meeting of Eurozone finance ministers on 9 March.
The euro increased 0.19% to $1.1205.
Deutsche Telekom AG declines
Deutsche Telekom AG edged lower after its chief executive urged a reduction in the number of landline and wireless network providers in Europe to cut costs.
Glencore slid after posting a 7% drop in net income amid falling resource prices.
Vivendi gained 1.5 percent after Bollore Group increased its holding of the French media company.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV slipped after posting a rise in February sales that missed analysts' estimates.
Paddy Power advanced after saying it plans to return €8 a share to investors and reported annual sales and operating profit that exceeded consensus forecasts. |
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| | US Market Report | | US open: Retailers rise, but indices retreat from record highs US stock markets opened lower on Tuesday despite a strong performance by retailers as investors took profits after the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 reached new closing record highs the previous session.
While the wider market edged lower, retail stocks were on investors' shopping lists on the back of upbeat earnings after data from Redbook Research which showed that national chain-store sales were up 0.8% in February partly due to a recovery after recent snowstorms across the Northeast.
By 09:41 in New York, the Dow was down 0.3% and S&P 500 dropped 0.4%, retreating from all-time highs of 18,288.63 and 2,117.39 on Monday respectively.
Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq was pulling back 0.4% after settling above 5,000 for the first time since the height of the dot-come bubble in 2000.
"Sentiment was lifted by somewhat of a 'Merger Monday' yesterday with two of the more prominent deals coming from HP which will buy Aruba Networks and PayPal which is set to buy Paydiant Inc," said analyst Jasper Lawler from CMC Markets.
Retailers gain, Ford slumps
Electronic appliances retailer Best Buy impressed analysts with a better-than-expected quarterly profit, a 21% increase to its dividend and a special dividend. The company also launched a share buyback programme for the first time since 2012.
Retail peer Dick's Sporting Goods also advanced after beating forecasts with its guidance for 2015 earnings, while Autozone was also higher after 15.6% growth in quarterly earnings surpassed expectations.
Meanwhile, fashion retailer Gap gained after being upgraded from 'market perform' to 'outperform' by FBR. |
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| | Broker Tips | | Broker tips: Barclays, Travis Perkins, Intertek, Kingfisher, Consumer staples A handful of brokerages continue to rate Barclays stock as 'buy' despite Tuesday's results from the bank that contain a huge increase in provisions to cover the costs of legal fees relating to scandals.
Despite concerns in the market that rising litigation costs could dent the group's profitability further, brokerages covering the bank were overwhelmingly positive with Jefferies, Numis Securities, Investec Securities and Shore Capital all maintaining a positive rating on Barclays stock.
Travis Perkins delivered a "typically conservative statement" on Tuesday as it warned about a moderation of growth in the UK housing market, according to Westhouse Securities which kept a 'neutral' rating on the stock.
"The focus will remain on self-help and out-performing its markets rather than growth in the market itself, which is largely dependent on transactions in the second-hand market," the broker said.
Testing services firm Intertek, had its rating cut to 'neutral' by HSBC on Tuesday, a day after the company released full-year 2014 earnings. HSBC downgraded its rating on the stock from 'overweight' on valuation grounds, saying the stock is "up with events".
A potential restructuring of B&Q's property could "surprise on the upside" for owner Kingfisher, according to Credit Suisse which lifted its target for the DIY group from 360p to 400p.
A possible restructuring could include 30 store closures over the next five years; this will give up 5.4% of sales but margins will improve and cash profit should increase 42%, the bank estimated.
Shares in Associated British Foods (ABF) and Unilever were making decent gains on Tuesday after broker Investec named the two stocks as its top 'buys' in the European consumer staples sector. | | |
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