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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 open: Stocks edge higher ahead of Queen's Speech, Imperial rises UK stocks rebounded slightly on Wednesday morning after a sharp sell-off the previous session, with investors awaiting the Queen's Speech on a quiet day in terms of economic and corporate news.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.32% at 6,971.03 early on after dropping 1.18% on Tuesday to 6,948.99.
Consumer confidence surveys will be released on Wednesday in France and Germany, alongside business confidence data out of Belgium, however the calendar looks sparse compared with a busy session previously.
Mostly better-than-expected economic data from the States spurred a continued rally in the dollar on Tuesday - which started on Friday following higher-than-expected US inflation figures - but had the opposite effect on commodity prices, sending stocks in the heavyweight UK mining and oil sectors firmly lower.
Ongoing uncertainty in Greece also dampened sentiment as fears about a potential default by Athens continue to grow.
As for Wednesday's session, investors will likely be keeping a close eye on the Queen's Speech as she puts forward the agenda of the new government following the elections. "For markets, any announcements on a potential EU membership referendum will likely be the most interesting feature of the speech," said analyst Henry Skeoch from Barclays.
Recent reports have suggested that Prime Minister David Cameron could fast-track plans for an EU referendum to as early as next year.
Meanwhile, consultancy EY warned on Tuesday that the uncertainty caused by the possibility of a referendum "will be disruptive and is a risk to the UK's foreign direct investment performance". Some 31% of those surveyed said their would either reduce of shelve planned investments up to 2017, EY said.
Imperial leads the rise
Imperial Tobacco gained after being given the green light by US trade regulators for its $4.7bn asset purchase from the merging Lorillard and Reynolds. The deal, which still must clear some smaller legal hurdles, is expected to complete within weeks.
Royal Bank of Scotland rose amid speculation it could bid for part of Granite, which is a £13bn state-owned mortgage portfolio for sale by the UK government, according to Sky News.
Engine maker Rolls-Royce was also higher after saying it was selected by the British Army to supply 589 MTU series 199 diesel engines for use in the new SCOUT specialist vehicle. The contract is worth around €80m.
Synergy Health was a heavy faller on rumours that US regulators might block the takeover by Steris.
Banknote printer De La Rue dropped sharply after posting a decline in pre-tax profit to £38.9m for fiscal 2015 from £59.8m amid ongoing pricing pressures.
Some of the fizz went out of Irn Bru maker AG Barr after sales fell 1.1% year-on-year in the first quarter.
Insurers Beazley and Hiscox were both higher after JPMorgan Cazenove upgraded the stocks to 'overweight'. Meanwhile, engineer Weir Group was hit by a downgrade to 'hold' at Deutsche Bank. |
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| | Market Movers
techMARK 3,298.11 +0.43%
FTSE 100 6,971.03 +0.32%
FTSE 250 18,139.37 +0.22%
FTSE 100 - Risers
CRH (CRH) 1,803.00p +1.52%
Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 3,333.00p +1.49%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 552.00p +1.38%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,427.00p +1.22%
Hammerson (HMSO) 678.00p +1.19%
SSE (SSE) 1,663.00p +1.09%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,632.00p +0.99%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,948.00p +0.93%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,320.00p +0.92%
Wolseley (WOS) 4,039.00p +0.92%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Old Mutual (OML) 226.90p -1.77%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,968.00p -1.70%
SABMiller (SAB) 3,517.00p -1.14%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,486.00p -1.07%
Glencore (GLEN) 287.00p -0.95%
Standard Life (SL.) 489.40p -0.83%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,366.50p -0.62%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 255.00p -0.51%
Prudential (PRU) 1,622.50p -0.49%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,887.00p -0.45%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Hiscox Limited (CDI) (HSX) 859.50p +3.31%
Beazley (BEZ) 291.80p +3.07%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 1,327.00p +2.63%
AL Noor Hospitals Group (ANH) 964.00p +2.55%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 5,720.00p +2.33%
Brit (BRIT) 286.00p +2.14%
Zoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 237.60p +1.84%
RPS Group (RPS) 228.70p +1.83%
Rank Group (RNK) 207.50p +1.72%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,441.00p +1.58%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Synergy Health (SYR) 1,877.00p -13.26%
De La Rue (DLAR) 502.00p -9.30%
Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 332.60p -5.75%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 127.50p -2.45%
Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 609.50p -2.17%
PZ Cussons (PZC) 361.00p -2.04%
Investec (INVP) 614.50p -1.52%
SSP Group (SSPG) 296.00p -1.50%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 171.00p -1.50% |
| | UK Event Calendar | | Wednesday 27 May
INTERIMS
Brewin Dolphin Holdings, Fusionex International, Urban&Civic
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
GFK Consumer Confidence (GER) (07:00)
MBA Mortgage Applications (US) (12:00)
GMS
African Copper, Creightons, Independent Resources
FINALS
Mckay Securities, Scapa Group, Telford Homes, Wizz Air Holdings
ANNUAL REPORT
Aminex, Instem
EGMS
LXB Retail Properties
AGMS
Acencia Debt Strategies Ltd., Alliance Pharma, Barr (A.G.), Cambridge Cognition Holdings, Card Factory, Cluff Natural Resources, Dunedin Income Growth Inv Trust, EnQuest, Escher Group Holdings, F&C Private Equity Trust, Jimmy Choo , JSC Kazkommertsbank GDR (Reg S), Judges Scientific, LXB Retail Properties, MHP SA GDR (Reg S), NAHL Group, Parity Group, Plus500 Ltd (DI), Polypipe Group , SQS Software Quality Systems AG, Standard Life Investments Property Income Trust Ltd., Standard Life Investments Property Income Trust Ltd.
TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS
HSS Hire Group
FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Bwin.party Digital Entertainment, Churchill China, Impax Environmental Markets, Portmeirion Group, Rexam, StatPro Group, UBM, Zotefoams
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| | Europe Market Report | | | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  | | | | | | Europe open: Stocks nudge up, but traders remain cautious as Greece remains in focus European stocks nudged higher in cautious trading on Wednesday, as investors continued to worry about Greece and mull the possibility of a US interest-rate hike by the end of this year.
By 09:05 BST, the Stoxx Europe 600 index and France's CAC 40 were up 0.3%, but Germany's DAX ws flat, giving up small opening gains.
Greece is due to meet with it creditors in Brussels later on Wednesday, with the government attempting to negotiate a new funding plan as it looks to pay back the first tranche of its debt to the International Monetary Fund by 5 June, while also paying pensions and wages.
"Time is rapidly running out to secure a deal between Greece and its creditors, with few signs of convergence," said Rebecca O'Keeffe, head of investment at Interactive Investor. "However, the real fear for Europe is not only that Greece may leave the EU, but that the markets may have to contend with potential contagion elsewhere in Europe," she said.
"Left-wing party Podemos's unexpected gains in Spanish local elections at the weekend highlighted the risks that an anti-austerity groundswell may undermine some of the hard gains that have been achieved through the pain of austerity," added O'Keeffe.
Also on Wednesday, finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of Seven wealthiest nations will begin their meeting in Dresden to discuss the health of the global economy and financial regulations, with Greece also on the agenda.
But it wasn't just Greece keeping investors cautious, as Tuesday's better-than-expected US data reinforced expectations of a rate hike by the Federal Reserve by the end of this year. Figures showed business investment spending plans increased in April, while consumer confidence picked up and house prices rose in March.
Last Friday, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said that the Fed could raise rates this year if the economy keeps improving as expected.
On the corporate front, shares in French luxury goods company LVMH nudged a touch lower after it said it was in excusive talks with Amaury Group to buy newspaper Le Parisien.
Dutch supermarket operator Ahold slipped after it posted lower-than-expected first quarter earnings, with the company's margins hit at its US and domestic operations.
Shares in Italian insurer Generali rose after the company said it would pay cumulative dividends of more than €5bn to the end of 2018.
International Consolidated Airlines added 1.3% after the Irish government gave its backing to the company's plan to buy Aer Lingus. |
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| | US Market Report | | US close: Dow plunges 190 points as dollar rallies and oil prices tumble US stocks plunged on Tuesday as the dollar continued to surge ahead, while oil prices tumbled.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 190.48 points down to 18,041.54, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq lost 22 and 54 points respectively.
The dollar rallied on Friday, boosted by higher-than-expected inflation data, and maintained the momentum on Tuesday, gaining 1.25% against the yen, 0.59% against the pound and 0.93% against the euro.
Oil prices lost ground, with West Texas Intermediate losing 2.71% to $58.25 a barrel, while Brent crude lost 2.63% to $63.84 a barrel.
Raft of economic data impresses
US durable goods orders fell as expected in April, although the previous month's count was revised significantly higher.
Orders for goods made to last more than three years dropped by 0.5% month-on-month, to reach $235.5bn, according to the Department of Commerce.
"The upshot is that the anticipated pick-up in the growth rate of business investment in equipment in the second quarter appears to be firmly on track," said Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics.
"This only makes up more confident that second-quarter GDP growth will be a healthy 2.5% to 3.0% annualised."
Sales of new homes in the US rebounded strongly in April, after suffering a sharp decline in March. According to data released on Tuesday, new home sales jumped 26% year-on-year in April to an annual rate of 517,000, marking a 6.8% increase from the previous month.
US house prices climbed 1.3% year-on-year in the first quarter, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index, marking the 15th consecutive quarterly price increase in the index.
US house prices rose in March, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index, which monitors prices in 20 cities. Prices rose 0.9% on the month and 5% year-over-year.
Economists had expected year-over-year growth of 4.6%, while the monthly gain was in line with expectations.
Meanwhile, the US consumer confidence index for May rose to 95.4 from 95.2 the month before, according to data by the Conference Board.
The reading beat forecasts by analysts, who had expected a slight dip to 95.0.
Fed could slow rate hikes
The US central bank might slow the pace at which it hikes rates should global economic growth prove weaker than expected, US Federal Reserve vice chairman Stanley Fischer said in a speech at Tel Aviv University.
"If foreign growth is weaker than anticipated, the consequences for the US economy could lead the Fed to remove accommodation more slowly than otherwise," he said.
Time Warner surges on merger
In company news, Time Warner Cable jumped 7.15% after Charter Communications said it agreed a takeover deal worth $55bn for the cable-TV group. Charter Communications gained 2.58%.
Social media giant Twitter shed 0.27% after reports emerged that the company was in negotiations to acquire article sharing platform Flipboard for approximately $1bn.
Biotech group Cerulean Pharma fell 2.14% despite revealing the US Food and Drug Administration had granted orphan drug designation to its CRLX101 drug for ovarian cancer.
S&P 500 - Risers
Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) $183.60 +7.26%
Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC) $25.86 +3.52%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $70.55 +1.28%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $58.59 +1.24%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $52.44 +1.00%
AbbVie Inc (ABBV) $66.12 +0.98%
E*TRADE Financial Corp. (ETFC) $29.78 +0.93%
Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) $44.15 +0.80%
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT) $31.99 +0.79%
Weyerhaeuser Co. (WY) $32.96 +0.70%
S&P 500 - Fallers
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $51.06 -7.28%
Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR) $14.75 -6.11%
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $3.41 -6.06%
CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) $29.72 -5.62%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $4.92 -4.65%
QEP Resources Inc (QEP) $18.94 -4.54%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $20.08 -4.34%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $31.16 -4.21%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $19.31 -4.17%
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $33.40 -3.91%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $129.62 -2.20%
Visa Inc. (V) $68.54 -1.55%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $103.29 -1.53%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $116.87 -1.48%
Boeing Co. (BA) $142.79 -1.39%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $85.35 -1.35%
American Express Co. (AXP) $80.19 -1.30%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $74.90 -1.27%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $170.18 -1.18%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $118.24 -1.13%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $179.78 +2.54%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $70.55 +1.28%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $58.59 +1.24%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $57.74 +0.53%
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) $42.45 +0.35%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $205.09 +0.04%
Sigma-Aldrich Corp. (SIAL) $139.13 +0.04%
DIRECTV (DTV) $91.57 +0.00%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $165.94 -3.49%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $77.77 -3.11%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $159.01 -2.79%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $88.33 -2.42%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $55.08 -2.31%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $104.12 -2.27%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $129.62 -2.20%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $75.50 -2.18%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $54.59 -2.15% |
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| | Newspaper Round Up | | Wednesday newspaper round-up: FIFA corruption charges, IAG-Aer Lingus, EU referendum Authorities in the States are set to unveil a criminal indictment against a number of FIFA officials over allegations of widespread corruption, according to The Wall Street Journal. As many as 12 officials were expected to be arrested. IAG has completed the deal to buy Irish national carrier Aer Lingus for €1.4bn after months of negotiations and the Irish government's commitment to sell its 25% stake, The Telegraph writes. David Cameron is predicted to set out plans to fast-track a referendum on EU membership, keeping open the prospect of a vote as early as next year, the Financial Times reports. A Nielsen survey has shown that UK consumer confidence hit the pre-crisis levels of 2006 in the first quarter of 2015, The Guardian writes. The EU has proposed the relocate of 40,000 Syrians and Eritreans who arrive in Italy and Greece over the next two years to other countries in the bloc, writes The Wall Street Journal. Asking prices in London have surged 17% since the election, partly due to a seasonal increase but also on the back of heightened demand, The Telegraph said. Consultancy EY has said that plans to hold an EU referendum in the UK will hit foreign investment and threaten Britain's position as Europe's top destination for overseas investors, according to The Guardian. The founder and boss of Keydata has been fined £75m by the FCA, its largest fine on an individual, after people were mis-sold £475m-worth of so-called 'death bonds', The Times said. The IMF has said that China's renminbi is "no longer undervalued" after gaining 25% against the dollar since it was allowed to adjusted upwards within a narrow band a decade ago, writes the Financial Times. Jaguar Land Rover profits dropped by nearly a third in the first quarter of 2015 due to a slowdowns in China, Russia and Brazil, writes The Times. | | |
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