| | | | | | | "Renewable energy is about to boom in africa and we need to pay attention to it" (Forbes) - Register your interest | | |
| | London Market Report |  | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | | London open: Stocks nudge higher amid flurry of M&A activity Stocks in London eked out gains in early trade amid a flurry of M&A activity, as investors looked ahead to a parliamentary vote on Brexit later in the day.
At 0825 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.2% to 7,360.00, with heavily-weighted mining stocks providing much of the upside.
There are no major UK data releases due, but market participants will be eyeing a vote in the House of Commons later, with MPs likely to overturn amendments made by the House of Lords relating to the rights of EU nationals living in the UK and parliament having a say on the final exit deal.
Spreadex's Connor Campbell said: "The Prime Minister is currently trying to remove the amendments voted for by the House of Lords - if successful the official Brexit starting gun could be fired as early as tomorrow."
"It'll be interesting to see how much the pound reacts to the news if it is indeed activated on Tuesday: on one hand the currency knows it is coming; on the other, Britain is far from in the best place to begin negotiations."
On the corporate front, M&A news was in full swing. Housebuilder Bovis Homes surged as it said it was in merger talks with Galliford Try, after it rejected a £1bn offer from Redrow.
Meanwhile, shares in Amec Foster Wheeler rocketed as it agreed the terms of an all-share offer from oilfield services company Wood Group that values the engineer at around £2.2bn.
Under the terms of the deal, Amec shareholders will receive 0.75 new Wood Group shares for each of their shares. This represents a value of around 564p per Amec share and a premium of around 15.3% to the closing price of Amec's shares on Friday.
HSBC was in the black after saying it has hired ex-Prudential boss Mark Tucker to replace Douglas Flint as chairman after 22 years at the world's fourth largest bank.
Packaging company RPC Group edged higher as it completed the acquisition of Letica Group, a US plastics packaging manufacturer, for up to £511m in order to expand its reach in North America.
Allied Minds retreated as its co-founder and chief executive Chris Silva stepped down with immediate effect, to be replaced in the short - term by non-executive director Jill Smith.
Saga was in the black after UBS upgraded the stock to 'buy' but Homeserve was hit by a downgrade to 'underperform' from Jefferies.
Standard Life was weaker after Berenberg cut the stock to 'hold', while Domino's Pizza fell after a downgrade by Citigroup.
On Thursday, the Bank of England's latest rate announcement is due, although no changes are expected, while the Fed is due to make its rate decision a day before amid expectations it will raise the funds rate by 25 basis points to between 0.75% and 1.00%.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior market analyst at London Capital Group, said: "Although the Fed rate hike is priced in at 100%, the Fed watchers will be focused on the dot plot to catch any hints regarding the future of the Fed policy.
"The Fed could steepen the rate normalisation in 2017 and hike rates more than three times as anticipated until the beginning of March. The consensus shifts toward an overall 100 basis points hike via four actions in 2017." |
| | Banking Sector Outlook for 2017 | | In the first of a two-part series, this report covers the sector and its main players ahead of a barrage of full year results releases. We take an in-depth look at how US & UK Banks fared during 2016, reporting dates and forecasts for 2017, and what early US results have shown us. Get your copy of the Banking Sector Outlook for 2017 today! Losses can exceed deposits |
| Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,360.00 0.23%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,044.62 0.44%
techMARK (TASX) 3,470.48 0.20%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Anglo American (AAL) 1,182.00p 3.64%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,273.50p 2.99%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 769.50p 2.87%
Glencore (GLEN) 318.95p 2.70%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,025.00p 2.63%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,394.00p 2.50%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,275.00p 2.45%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 676.70p 1.50%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 543.50p 1.21%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 194.80p 1.19%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
BP (BP.) 463.70p -1.49%
Standard Life (SL.) 375.70p -1.13%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 242.90p -0.86%
Barclays (BARC) 230.15p -0.73%
Tesco (TSCO) 187.65p -0.61%
Pearson (PSON) 672.50p -0.59%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 737.80p -0.47%
WPP (WPP) 1,693.00p -0.47%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,200.50p -0.41%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,105.50p -0.38%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 576.50p 17.85%
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 898.00p 8.45%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 802.00p 6.65%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 248.00p 4.20%
Hunting (HTG) 551.50p 2.80%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 810.00p 2.79%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 469.00p 2.72%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 243.80p 2.61%
National Express Group (NEX) 368.10p 2.39%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 938.00p 2.29%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 480.00p -4.38%
Homeserve (HSV) 537.50p -4.02%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 334.10p -3.61%
Indivior (INDV) 334.10p -3.05%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 274.90p -1.79%
Evraz (EVR) 209.30p -1.74%
GCP Infrastructure Investments Ltd (GCP) 127.40p -1.47%
Keller Group (KLR) 895.00p -1.05%
AA (AA.) 269.00p -0.92% |
| | UK Event Calendar | | Monday 13 March
Q4
Grupo Clarin SA GDR (Reg S)
FINALS
Clarkson, Computacenter, Forbidden Technologies, Grupo Clarin SA GDR (Reg S), H&T Group, Hutchison China Meditech Ltd, Raven Russia Ltd, Telecom Egypt SAE GDS (Regs), Telit Communications
AGMS
eServGlobal Limited (DI), Hazel Renewable Energy VCT 1, Hazel Renewable Energy VCT 2, SSP Group
|
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| | Europe Market Report |  | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  | | | | | | Europe open: Investors' focus squarely on upcoming political hurdles It was all about politics at the start of the week as investors bided their time ahead of Wednesday's Dutch elections and the possbility that Brexit might be triggered that same day. Against that backdrop, as of 0931 GMT the benchmark Stoxx 600 was higher by 0.07% ot 0.25 points to 373.48, Germany's Dax was almost unchanged, gaining 3.94 points or 0.03% to 11,967.12 while France's Cac-40 was off by 0.07% at 4,989.96. "In focus today, and indeed this week, will be the build-up to the UK Prime Minister’s potential triggering of Article 50 (tomorrow?), a tight Dutch election (another populist backlash? Nexit?) and what most expect to be another Fed rate hike on Wednesday evening. This means close watching of the trio of GBP, EUR and USD until Thursday," said Mike Van Dulken, Head of Research at Accendo Markets. Speaking to the BBC, David Davis, the Secretary of State for Exiting the EU, confirmed the Prime Minister would trigger Article 50 by the end of March. However, he refused be drawn on the exact timing. On the economic side of things, Belgian central bank governor Frank Smets told the Wall Street Journal that on 9 March the European Central Bank had not flagged any upcoming changes to its policy mix. Italian industrial production shrank by 2.3% month-on-month in January, a far worse outcome than the 0.8% drop economists had penciled in. Officials in Rome were working on plans to transfer up to €60.0bn-worth of assets, including stakes in Eni, Enel and Finmeccanica into a vehicle which it would then list on the Milan Bourse, according to Milano Finanza. That would allow the Italian government to raise funding to cut its debts. Airbus sold eight A320s to South Korea's KAIR airlines. BNP Paribas and 15 other institutions may face a tribunal in July due to allegations that they colluded to rig the exchange rate for the South African rand. |
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| | Newspaper Round Up | | Monday newspaper round-up: Scottish referendum, post-Brexit trade, fracking Nicola Sturgeon will threaten to derail Brexit by setting out plans for a second independence referendum unless Theresa May offers Scotland a special deal. The Scottish First Minister could name the date she intends to hold a new referendum as early as this week if Mrs May does not bow to her will. - Telegraph
If Britain leaves the European Union without a replacement trade deal its commercial links with the bloc will overnight become less favourable than any other major industrialised nation, a cross-party campaign has warned as Theresa May prepares to trigger article 50. Research commissioned by the Labour MP Pat McFadden - a supporter of Open Britain, which campaigns for continued ties with Europe in the aftermath of Brexit - found that no members of the G20 group of richer nations currently interact with the EU without some sort of trade arrangement. - Guardian
The tax burden on British households and businesses is on course to climb to a 40 year high by the end of the next parliament as slower growth and an ageing population forces policymakers to choose between more austerity or higher taxes. The Government's fiscal watchdog expects tax to continue rising as a share of national income over the next decade, climbing to 37.5pc of GDP by 2025-26, which would represent its highest share since 1986. - Telegraph
The government will go to court this week to defend test drilling at a fracking site in Lancashire as it comes under pressure to pay hundreds of thousands of pounds to cover the cost of policing anti-fracking protests. The high court in Manchester will hear two cases on Wednesday that pit Sajid Javid, the communities secretary, against protesters who oppose the permission granted to fracking companies for test sites near Blackpool. - Guardian
Troubled builder Bovis Homes is in talks with rival construction firm Galliford Try over a merger that would create one of Britain's biggest housebuilders. Bovis, which has recently come under fire for the quality of its new-build homes, was forced to confirm over the weekend that it had received takeover approaches from both Galliford and another housebuilder, Redrow. - Guardian
It is a "high-risk", six-year project that is already behind schedule and if it fails to arrive on time ports will grind to a halt and gaps will appear on supermarket shelves, leaving traders and hauliers worried. A new computerised customs system to replace a creaking 25-year-old platform was supposed to be switched on for testing last month, before a full switchover in October. - The Times
Rents in Britain have recorded their first annual drop for six years, according to the UK's biggest estate and lettings agency. In February, the average rent in Britain was £921 a month, £5 lower than a year earlier, and the first annual decrease since 2011. - Guardian
The food and drink industry has called on the government to protect tariff-free trade with the Republic of Ireland. In an attempt to ensure a healthy future for Britain's largest manufacturing sector, it wants to highlight the risks faced if Brexit results in a "hard border" between Ireland and the UK. - The Times
Households have spent £180m over the past three years on spare power capacity that was never used, according to a report that comes as MPs prepare to debate what can be done about rising energy bills. Power stations have been put on standby over the winter since 2014 as part of the National Grid's supplemental balancing reserve but the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) has found that the scheme, which closed in February, was never used. - Guardian
Seven gamblers lost more than £10,000 in a day while using controversial fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) during a 10-month period, it has emerged. The losses, revealed in a submission to the government's gambling review by the GambleAware charity, has sparked renewed criticism of FOBTs. - Guardian
Britain is failing to turn world-class research into commercial success because there is too little focus on encouraging businesses to invest, MPs have warned. The Commons' science and technology committee said that while the nation's shortcomings in transforming promising academic work into wealth-creating companies were well known, responses had focused too much on the "supply-side" issue at universities. - The Times
Britain boasts more foreign chief executives than any other country. The number of non-UK nationals leading companies on the FTSE 100 rose from 21 in 2001 to 40 at the end of last year, research from Odgers Berndtson, the recruitment firm, found. They include Iván Arriagada, the Chilean boss of Antofagasta, the copper miner, Pascal Soriot, the French boss of Astrazeneca, and António Horta Osório, the Portuguese chief of Lloyds Banking Group. - The Times
Premier Oil is asking the Falkland Islands for a tax break to help to develop its Sea Lion field and deliver the area's first oil. The company is struggling to make the project commercially viable because of low crude prices. - The Times
Europe's biggest coffee roastery will be opened today (March 13) by high-street chain Costa Coffee enabling it to produce more than 2bn cups of the hot drink a year. The £38m site in Basildon, Essex, will more than quadruple the Whitbread company's roasting capacity from 11,000 tonnes per year to 45,000 tonnes and the site was chosen for its proximity to Tilbury Docks where its raw coffee beans are imported to. - Telegraph
Vodafone is attempting to repair the battered customer service record of its UK arm by bringing thousands of call centre jobs back from overseas. The company will create 2,100 roles at sites around the country, including 800 in Manchester, 600 in Newcastle and nearly 300 in Scotland. - Telegraph |
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