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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: Retailers, miners and oil stocks help FTSE set new record Strong gains in the retail sector and a solid performance from mining and oil stocks helped the FTSE 100 set a new record high on Wednesday, amid hopes for further stimulus in China and no surprises from a policy meeting in Europe. London's benchmark Footsie rose 21.51 points (+0.3%) to a new all-time closing high of 7,096.89, topping a previous record of 7,089.77 reached on Friday. The index also set a new intraday high of 7,111.72 early on.
The annual rate of Chinese economic growth slowed to a six-year low of 7% in the first quarter, while growth in fixed-asset investment, industrial production and retail sales all eased in March, ramping up the pressure on policymakers in Beijing to act.
The European Central Bank decided to keep monetary policy unchanged at its meeting on Wednesday, as expected by analysts following the recent decision to implement quantitative easing.
One notable highlight was the interruption from a protester who showered ECB president Mario Draghi with confetti while yelling "end ECB dictatorship".
Oanda analyst Craig Erlam said: "All things considered, as expected, today was something of a non-event from the ECB. [...] This had to be expected when you consider that it only started purchasing government debt last month and there would therefore be very little evidence of its effectiveness so far."
Retailers provide a boost, miners rise
Supermarket group Sainbury's was near the top of the leaderboard due to a technical move higher, according to City traders, in what was described as a "very squeezy" market where all top risers in Europe all have big short bases.
Other retailers were also on shopping lists such as Morrisons, Sports Direct, Dixons Carphone and Next, with the latter benefitting from an upgrade by JPMorgan from 'neutral' to 'overweight'.
Sportswear and accessories chain JD Sports were also rising strongly after the group sprinted past its 2016 forecasts a year early as it surpassed £100m of operating profits for the first time.
High end fashion label Burberry also edged higher after strong demand for its iconic heritage trench coats and scarves helped second-half revenues rise 9%.
Mining stocks edged higher on the back of hopes over Chinese stimulus, including Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Glencore and Rio Tinto. Mexican precious metals producer Fresnillo also rose after making an impressive start to 2015 with both silver and gold output up significantly over last year.
Tullow Oil was higher for the second day after a broker upgrade. This time, Goldman Sachs lifted its rating from 'neutral' to 'buy', calling the stock a "source of opportunity".
The wider oil sector was also on the rise, including Premier Oil, Shell and BP, as crude prices jumped following a report which showed US oil stockpiles grew less than expected last week. Brent was up 2.1% while West Texas Intermediate gained 3.6%.
Market Movers
techMARK 3,251.13 -0.21%
FTSE 100 7,096.78 +0.30%
FTSE 250 17,873.53 +0.08% |
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| | FTSE 100 - Risers
Sports Direct International (SPD) 670.00p +3.80%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 284.70p +3.53%
CRH (CRH) 1,857.00p +3.00%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,034.00p +2.68%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,242.00p +2.64%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,829.00p +2.52%
Next (NXT) 7,285.00p +2.46%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 203.60p +2.31%
Fresnillo (FRES) 738.00p +2.15%
GKN (GKN) 364.10p +2.10%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Bunzl (BNZL) 1,860.00p -2.62%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,173.00p -2.34%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 583.50p -2.02%
Reed Elsevier (REL) 1,150.00p -1.63%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,844.00p -1.44%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,142.00p -1.38%
Carnival (CCL) 3,259.00p -1.12%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 1,154.00p -1.11%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,291.00p -1.00%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,225.00p -0.97%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Tullow Oil (TLW) 400.80p +8.74%
Premier Oil (PMO) 178.20p +7.67%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 539.00p +5.79%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 239.50p +4.22%
Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 953.50p +3.64%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 178.20p +3.60%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 978.00p +3.49%
Greggs (GRG) 1,083.00p +3.24%
Lonmin (LMI) 137.90p +3.22%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 165.90p +3.04%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Vesuvius (VSVS) 470.40p -6.01%
Virgin Money Holdings (UK) (VM.) 399.90p -5.24%
Soco International (SIA) 188.80p -4.36%
Zoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 195.80p -4.02%
Indivior (INDV) 216.00p -3.79%
Senior (SNR) 347.50p -3.07%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 283.80p -2.94%
Alent (ALNT) 380.40p -2.84%
Betfair Group (BET) 2,214.00p -2.25% |
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| | Europe Market Report | | | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  | | | | | | Europe close: Stocks higher after ECB meeting as Draghi discusses QE The euro-area market was upbeat after the European Central Bank (ECB) decided to keep policy unchanged, German inflation improved and the Eurozone trade surplus expanded. The ECB held the main refinancing rate at 0.05%, the deposit facility rate at -0.20% and the marginal lending facility at 0.30%.
Stocks in the Eurozone rallied ahead of this afternoon's policy decision and press conference from the European Central Bank (ECB).
At the press conference after the policy announcement, President Mario Draghi stated that quantitative easing was intended to run until the end of September 2016 or until the ECB sees enough improvement in inflation. The ECB hopes to bring inflation towards a level of just below 2%.
"In other words, if inflation picks up faster than the ECB is anticipating, it will taper its asset purchases, and if slower, it will go beyond," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.
"All things considered, as expected, today was something of a non-event from the ECB," he added.
The euro was dropped 0.44% lower to $1.0608 after the conference.
The ECB also touched on Greece, saying that the nation is the biggest beneficiary of emergency liquidity assistance which has been raised to support the debt-ridden nation. Greece currently receives €110bn.
Greece's next debt repayment to the International Monetary Fund is due on 7 May as the nation continues talks with creditors to unlock further aid.
Standard & Poor's downgraded Greece's credit rating to CCC+ from B- with 'outlook negative'.
Before the ECB announcement, a report showed German consumer prices climbed 0.3% in March compared to a year earlier, as expected, Destatis confirmed. Compared with February, consumer prices rose by 0.5% in March.
Separate figures showed the Eurozone economy's trade surplus almost tripled in February from the month before, helped by the weaker euro as the currency has fallen a quarter in its value against the US dollar over a 12 month period.
Eurozone exports rose 4% and imports were flat, taking the month's surplus to €20.3bn from a revised €7.6bn in January.
In China, gross domestic product grew 7% year-on-year, as expected, compared to 7.3% over the preceding three months, fuelling speculation that the central bank will boost stimulus.
A separate report showed industrial production in China rose 6.4% in March, missing the 6.9% gain expected. Retail sales in the world's second largest economy grew 10.2% in March, trailing the estimate for a 10.9% increase.
Companies: Remy Cointreau, Danone
Remy Cointreau SA jumped after better-than-estimated annual sales.
Danone gained after reporting first-quarter sales that beat analysts' forecasts.
Energy stocks, including Royal Dutch Shell, Amec and Total SA, rallied as oil prices rose for a fifth day. Brent crude was up 2.4% to $59.88 per barrel at midday, ICE data revealed.
Hennes & Mauritz was a high riser after the fashion retailer reported a 10% increase in March sales.
Alcatel Lucent plunged, snapping yesterday's surge, after agreeing a €15.6bn merger with Nokia Oyj. Nokia, on the other hand, rallied. |
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| | US Market Report | | US open: Stocks advance on solid earnings US stocks advanced on Wednesday, boosted by a host of earnings which offset disappointing manufacturing data.
At 15:00 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 95 points, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq gained 11 and 30 points respectively.
Industrial production fell a seasonally adjusted 0.6% in March, registering the biggest drop since August 2012, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday.
The drop was slightly bigger than expectations, as analysts had called for a 0.5% decline following a 0.1% in February.
“A steep fall in industrial production suggests the US economy is going through its worst growth patch since early 2009, dampening expectations of any imminent rate hike by the FOMC,” said Chris Williamson, Markit chief economist.
A separate report showed that manufacturing output in the New York area suffered an unexpected drop as orders plunged.
The Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen has maintained that while rates will probably rise this year, any decision depends on economic data.
“This slowdown effectively kills any chance of policy makers hiking interest rates in June, and adds to fears about the corporate outlook,” added Williamson.
Earnings wise, Bank of America declined 0.6% despite saying it returned to profit in the first quarter after putting the costly settlements from the financial crisis behind it.
The bank recorded a profit of $3.4bn, or $27 cents a share, in the first three months of the year.
Bank of America's earnings were released a day after JP Morgan Chase & Co and Wells Fargo both reported relatively upbeat earnings.
Tech giant Intel rose 2.8% after it forecasted better-than-expected prospects for the second quarter, while Delta Airlines climbed 4.2% after posting first quarter earnings that beat expectations.
Meanwhile, shares of Google Inc shares slid 0.86% after Europe’s antitrust regulator filed formal charges against the online-search company.
Elsewhere, WTI crude oil rose 1.5% to $54.30 a barrel after the International Energy Agency said global oil demand will grow more than previously expected in 2015.
The dollar edged slightly higher against the euro and was stable against both yen and pound, while gold futures gained 0.25% to $1,195.60. |
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| | Broker Tips | | Broker tips: Next, Burberry, Bunzl, Tullow, Vesuvius UK high street retailer Next raced up the FTSE 100 index on Wednesday after JPMorgan lifted its rating on the company to 'overweight' from 'neutral'. While JPMorgan favours Marks & Spencer stock on three-to-six month view for its ongoing turnaround potential, the US investment bank sees scope for Next to recover some of its recent underperformance (stock down 13% year-to-date) between now and its upcoming trading update on 29 April.
Burberry produced a solid trading update for the second half on Wednesday, though the market reaction was mixed, with strong early gains being mostly erased by mid-morning.
Richard Hunter from Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers said the company "remains in fashion". However, a 25% rise in the stock over the last year has "prompt[ed] the market to think that the shares may be up with events for the moment", Hunter said. As such, he said that the consensus view of the group is a 'hold', "albeit a strong one".
Investec has lowered its rating on Bunzl from 'buy' to 'hold', saying that its sees "limited upside" to its target for distribution and outsourcing stock.
"Overall, we view this as a solid update from Bunzl, however, we expect consensus numbers for FY15 to remain broadly unchanged, with a positive contribution from acquisitions serving to offset a weaker organic top-line performance," Investec said.
Shares in oil and gas exploration company Tullow Oil rose after the stock had its rating promoted to 'buy' from 'neutral' by US investment banking titan Goldman Sachs who called it a "source of opportunity."
"We believe the stock offers exposure to a strategic asset base, given its materiality, oil-phase and positioning towards the bottom of the cost curve in Western and Eastern Africa," said the bank.
Shares in metal flow engineering group Vesuvius dropped sharply on Wednesday after analysts at JPMorgan lowered their stance on the stock from 'overweight' to 'neutral'. | | |
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