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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: UK stocks surge 1.1% to two-week high on M&A, Greece London's FTSE 100 bounced to finish above the psychological 7,000 level for the first time in over two weeks on Thursday, helped by easing concerns about Greece and continued M&A speculation. The Footsie closed 77.95 points higher (+1.12%) at 7,015.36 with Burberry and Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) rising on bid hopes.
The blue-chip index has not settled above this level since 24 March and now sits just below its all-time closing high of 7,037.67.
Stocks charged higher after Greece successfully completed a €450m loan repayment to the International Monetary Fund.
"With Greece proving to be good for its word and paying back the IMF, equities around Europe were free to charge higher," said analyst Alastair McCaig from IG.
Stocks even managed to hold on to gains despite a weak start on Wall Street after upbeat labour-market data. Minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting revealed Wednesday that policymakers were divided on when to hike interest rates, though they reiterated that any change in policy would be data dependent.
US initial weekly jobless claims rose by 14,000 last week, though this was less than expected, as the monthly moving average fell to its lowest level since 2000.
Data elsewhere came in mixed: the UK trade deficit widened to a seven-month high of £10.34bn in February, German factory orders unexpectedly fell 0.9% in February, while German industrial production and trade data was better than forecast.
UK markets had started on the front foot early on after stocks in Asia mostly gained overnight, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng rising to its highest since January 2008 as investors from mainland China piled in, and Japan's Nikkei 225 hitting a fresh 15-year high.
Burberry and IHG rise on M&A hopes, miners fall
British fashion house Burberry was a high riser amid speculation it could attract the attention of a US rival or cash-rich private equity groups. The stock was given an extra boost by JPMorgan Cazenove which hiked its target, and Goldman Sachs which placed the stock on its "conviction buy" list.
The stock was also benefitting from positive readacross from sector peer Mulberry which said it expected full-year profits to be slightly ahead of forecasts following a series of warnings.
Hotels group IHG was also in demand after Jefferies upgraded the stock to 'hold' and lifted its target from 2,000p to 2,400p. The broker sees the company as a potential takeover candidate, saying that M&A is set to return in the hotel industry as growth slows.
Mining stocks were mostly lower, including BHP Billiton and Anglo American after Credit Suisse and Investec downgraded their ratings on both companies. Both banks expressed concerns about falls in iron ore and coal prices due to structural issues, namely a weaker Chinese economy, together with low cost supply.
Asset manager Aberdeen advanced as investors reacted positively to the launch of four low-cost multi-asset funds in the aftermath of the recent pensions market shake-up.
The poaching of Reuters' chief executive by Euromoney Institutional Investor sent shares in the business publisher higher on Thursday.
Poundland Group was a big faller after the UK competition regulator threatened to reject the discount retailer's proposed acquisition of rival 99p Stores Limited.
A number of AIM oil explorers saw shares rocket on Thursday after the Horse Hill project in the South of England made a "significant" discovery, said to be the largest onshore find in the country for 30 years. Partners of the project include UK Oil & Gas Investments, Doriemus, Alba Mineral Resources, Stellar Resources, Solo Oil and Evocutis.
Market Movers
techMARK 3,234.75 +0.99%
FTSE 100 7,015.36 +1.12%
FTSE 250 17,715.54 +0.88% |
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| | FTSE 100 - Risers
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 485.00p +4.23%
CRH (CRH) 1,809.00p +3.25%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,733.00p +3.15%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 604.00p +2.90%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,792.00p +2.81%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,397.00p +2.72%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,209.00p +2.63%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 643.00p +2.47%
Pearson (PSON) 1,466.00p +2.45%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,737.00p +2.36%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Aggreko (AGK) 1,543.00p -3.26%
Standard Life (SL.) 473.80p -1.78%
Shire Plc (SHP) 5,420.00p -1.19%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,453.00p -1.09%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,585.00p -0.58%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,059.00p -0.47%
Next (NXT) 7,050.00p -0.42%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 347.80p -0.26%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,024.00p -0.24%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,852.50p -0.04%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,185.00p +4.50%
Just Retirement Group (JRG) 175.90p +4.39%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 424.70p +4.20%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 539.00p +4.15%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 490.00p +3.97%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 311.80p +3.90%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 164.70p +3.85%
Greggs (GRG) 1,070.00p +3.58%
William Hill (WMH) 390.00p +3.28%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 369.90p +3.27%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Poundland Group (PLND) 344.60p -4.54%
Serco Group (SRP) 142.40p -3.72%
NMC Health (NMC) 674.50p -3.02%
RPS Group (RPS) 238.00p -2.82%
Countrywide (CWD) 520.50p -2.71%
AO World (AO.) 185.00p -2.63%
Just Eat (JE.) 425.50p -2.54%
Hellermanntyton Group (HTY) 338.90p -2.47%
Jimmy Choo (CHOO) 169.80p -2.13% |
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| | Europe Market Report | | | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  | | | | | | Europe close: Stocks finish in positive territory as Greece meets IMF debt repayment Stocks in the Eurozone ended Thursday's session on a positive note as Greece met its deadline to repay debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and as data showed improvement in the country's economy. Athens said it met its obligation to pay the IMF €460m amid talks between the two and the EU.
Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis expressed his frustration with the lack of progress on reforms needed to please its creditors in order to unlock further aid.
"We are keen to begin implementing this yesterday, but everything is on hold until the negotiations are finished," he reportedly said in a conversation with American novelist and Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz.
He added: "Reform is a word that resonates in Greece like the word democracy does in Iraq. Reform is a dirty word in Greece."
In good news for the struggling nation, the annual rate of deflation slowed to 2.1% in March from 2.2% in February. Greece has been in deflation for the past 25 months.
The Greek unemployment rate eased slightly to 25.7% in January from 25.9% in December. While the jobless rate has been declining from a record high of 28% in September, it remains double the Eurozone average of 11.3% in February.
In other economic data, Germany's trade surplus jumped to €19.2bn in February from €15.9bn a month earlier, beating forecasts of €19bn, according to the Federal Statistic Office Destatis.
The surplus was supported by a 1.5% increase in exports while imports grew 1.8%, beating expectations for a 1% and 1.2% gain respectively.
A separate report showed German industrial production fell 0.3% in February, trailing estimates for a 0.6% rise.
The euro dropped 0.94% to $1.0680.
In the UK, the Bank of England decided to keep interest rates at the record low of 0.5% and its asset purchase programme at £375bn, as expected.
Stateside, initial jobless claims rose to 281,000 in the week to 4 April, compared to 267,000 the previous week and analysts estimates of 283,000.
The Federal Reserve is keeping a close watch on the labour market to determine the timing of the first interest rate hike since 2006. Minutes of the Fed's last meeting overnight showed policymakers were divided over when to raise rates.
Oil edges higher
Oil benchmarks were trading higher following overnight losses as record March production data from Saudi Arabia and a rise in US inventories knocked the prices down by nearly 3% overnight.
At 17:05 BST on Thursday, the WTI front month futures contract was trading up 1.2% at $51.08 per barrel while Brent was trading up 2.3% at $57.87.
Among companies, Lafarge SA and Holcim Ltd. gained as the cement makers agreed to appoint Eric Olsen to lead their soon-to-be merged company. |
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| | US Market Report | | US open: Dow and S&P climb on jobless claims report US stocks edged higher on Thursday, with investor sentiment buoyed by a better-than-expected jobless claims report, while oil prices rebounded. Just before 10:00 in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 25 points, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq gained 0.94 and 7 points, respectively.
Claims for unemployment benefits in the States rose by 14,000 last week, though the monthly moving average fell to its lowest level since 2000.
Initial weekly jobless claims totalled 281,000 in the week ended 4 April, from a revised 267,000 the week before, according to the Labor Department on Thursday.
Nevertheless, the jump was not as bad as feared, with the consensus estimate at 283,000.
The previous week's data was revised down by 1,000 to its lowest level since April 2000.
"Initial and continuing claims at post-recession lows suggest that US labor markets remain solid, despite the weaker-than-expected growth in March payrolls reported last Friday," analysts at Barclays said in a note.
In company news, Alcoa slid over 3.2% after the aluminium maker, which kicked off the earnings season late on Wednesday, said revenue had missed forecasts and pointed to a challenging outlook.
Game services provider Zynga slumped almost 14.8% after announcing late on Wednesday that its chief executive Don Mattrick had left the company with immediate effect.
Retailer Bed Bath & Beyond fell 3.5% despite reporting fourth-quarter earnings that were in line with expectations late on Wednesday.
Semiconductor group Altera Corp saw its shares fall over 6%, after reports emerged claiming that talks with tech giant Intel over a possible takeover had broken down.
US listed shares of Australian biotech group Novogen jumped almost 40% after the group said its experimental drug Anisina was effective against Melanoma cells.
Asian stocks closed higher on Thursday, driven by a 2.7% jump in Hong Kong's Hang Seng, while the Stoxx Europe 600 index was on track to close at an all-time high.
Having tumbled over 6% on Wednesday in the wake of rising inventories, crude prices staged a steady rebound, with West Texas Intermediate gaining 1% to $50.97 a barrel, while Brent crude gained $2% to $56.71 a barrel. |
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| | Broker Tips | | Broker tips: Anglo American, BHP Billiton, BG Group, Burberry, IHG Shares in UK listed mining giants BHP Billiton and Anglo American slumped on Thursday after two investment banks downgraded their ratings on both companies.
Credit Suisse and Investec Securities both downgraded BHP Billiton with the former now at 'sell' versus 'hold' while the latter at 'underperform' versus 'neutral'. Anglo American also got the chop with both investment banks taking their ratings a notch lower - Credit Suisse now rates the stock at 'neutral' versus 'outperform' while Investec has it at 'hold' from 'buy'.
BG Group's rating was upgraded to 'hold' from 'sell' by Societe Generale on Thursday after Royal Dutch Shell's proposal to buy the oil producer.
"In our view, it represents a fair price for BG, assuming oil recovers towards $80 per barrel by 2017 - at which level (SocGen's) sum-of-the-parts value of 1,274p corresponds to the current value of Shell's offer. We therefore upgrade BG's rating," SocGen said, while retaining a 1,275p target.
Shares in Burberry were on the rise on Thursday in London on the back of bid speculation, while JPMorgan Cazenove gave the stock an extra boost by lifting its target from 1,470p to 1,560p.
JPMorgan, which kept a 'neutral' stance, lifted its earnings estimates for the luxury group by around 5% for the next two years due to the positive impact of Burberry's sourcing in euros. "This benefit may have been somewhat overlooked by the market (Burberry has underperformed meaningfully European peers year-to-date) although it could, to a large extent, be erased by possible price adjustments, in particular possible price cuts in Asia Pac, and if the pound were to weaken versus the euro," the bank said.
Shares in Holiday Inn owner Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) shot up after US broker Jefferies raised its rating on the stock to 'hold' as it sees the company as a potential takeover candidate. | | |
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