| | | | | | | Stocks for your stocking this Christmas As it’s the season for sharing Ian Forrest, investment research analyst at The Share Centre, comments on five companies that ‘yule’ likely see prosper as a result of the festive season. Capital at risk. Read more | | |
| | London Market Report |  | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | | London close: Stocks push further into record territory, amid holiday-thinned trading volumes London shares notched up fresh record highs on Wednesday as the pound ticked up against the greenback, with a strong performance from miners and retailers and a sprinkling of M&A news providing some momentum amid holiday-thinned volumes. The FTSE 100 was 0.37% or 28.02 points firmer at 7,620.68, while the pound was up 0.16% against the dollar at 1.3399 and 0.15% lower versus the euro at 1.1261. Commenting on Wednesday's market action, IG's Joshua Mahony said: "The FTSE 100 and 250 indices have punched into fresh highs as we head towards the close of 2018, with Donald Trump's tax reforms proving to carry enough weight to ensure global markets look into the New Year with an optimistic impetus. "Today has seen a focus upon the mining sector, with buoyant crude, gold and copper prices driving the commodity heavy FTSE 100 into fresh territory." Oanda analyst Craig Erlam chipped in, adding: "This period between Christmas and New Year is often very quiet, with politicians and central banks endeavouring to wrap everything up ahead of the holiday period. With the US having got tax reform over the line last week and kicked the budget issue back to January at the last minute, investors have been left with little to turn their attention to." Heavily-weighted miners were the standout gainers, with Fresnillo, Antofagasta, Glencore and BHP Billiton sitting at the top of the risers as copper prices hit a three-and-half year high amid news that Jiangxi Copper, the largest Chinese producer, had been told by Beijing to halt production for at least a week before further assessment to combat pollution levels. Prices were also underpinned by expectations of strong demand from China next year. Retailers were also on the front foot following the Boxing Day sales. Figures revealed that while high street footfall fell compared to last year, online sales surged, helping the likes of Marks & Spencer, Burberry and Sainsburys to gain ground. Shares of South Africa-exposed Mediclinic and Old Mutual were also near the top of the leaderboard, as the Rand strengthened to its best level year-to-date against the Greenback. As of 1819 GMT, the US dollar was down by 1.64% against the Rand at 12.3045. FTSE 250 flexible office workspace provider IWG rocketed as it noted recent press speculation and confirmed it has received an indicative proposal from funds managed by affiliates of Canada's Brookfield Asset Management and Onex Corporation regarding a possible cash offer for the company. Both Royal Dutch Shell and Barclays were in focus as they updated the market on the impact of the changes to US tax laws that kick in in January, which include a reduction in the corporate income tax rate to 21% from 35%. Barclays edged up even after saying that annual pre-tax profit will be hit by a one-off charge of around £1bn, while the oil giant gushed a little higher as it said it expects the potential economic impact to be favourable to it and its US operations. Business-to-business information company Ascential rallied after announcing the acquisition of e-commerce analytics group Clavis for up to $219m. Great Portland Estates nudged up as it exchanged contracts to sell 30 Broadwick Street to a client of Savills IM for a headline price of £190m, equating to £186m after deductions for tenant incentives. |
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| | Europe Market Report |  | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  | | | | | | Europe close: Stocks finish the session little changed Stocks on the Continent ended the session little changed but off their worst levels, as investors drew encouragement from a positive start to trading Stateside. By the closing bell, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was 0.07% or 0.26 points higher at 390.54, alongside a dip of 0.02% to 13,070.02 for the German Dax and a gain of 0.08% to 5,368.84 for the French Cac-40. Tech stocks finished well off their worst levels of the day, with the Stoxx 600's gauge for that sector having traded nearly a percentage point lower earlier on reports that Apple was set to lower its forecasts iPhoneX shipments for the current quarter due to poor demand. In the end, the Stoxx 600 technology sub-index only gave back 0.24% to 443.67. Helping to offset the above, the Stoxx 600 Basic Resources subindex added 1.18% in the wake of renewed measures out of Beijing to curb pollution. Jiangxi Copper, the largest Chinese producer of that base metal, was ordered by officials to halt production for at least a week before further assessment to combat pollution levels. Prices were also underpinned by expectations of strong demand from China next year. "This period between Christmas and New Year is often very quiet, with politicians and central banks endeavouring to wrap everything up ahead of the holiday period. With the US having got tax reform over the line last week and kicked the budget issue back to January at the last minute, investors have been left with little to turn their attention to. "News flow aside, trade during this week is often very thin with large numbers of people taking the week off and the lack of volatility we've seen so far isn't exactly drawing traders back in. With the data calendar not looking particularly full over the coming days, I don't hold much hope for conditions improving dramatically," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Think Markets UK. The economic calendar was light on Wednesday, with Spain's national office of statistics having reported a 2.9% year-on-year increase in retail sales for November (consensus: 0.8%). In the corporate space, some of the Continent's largest carmakers were in focus after BMW and Dailer detailed the impact which tax cuts in the US were expected to have on their bottome line for 2017. The former estimated that net profits would be increased by between €950m and €1.55bn, while at Daimler the boost was seen reaching €1.7bn. |
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| | US Market Report | | US open: Stocks nudge up in thin trade; pending home sales and consumer confidence in focus US stocks edged higher in early trade on Wednesday as investors digested the latest data on home sales and consumer confidence, with volumes light as many traders were still away from their desks for the holidays. At 1530 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were up 0.1% to 24,771.24 and 2,683.72, respectively, while the Nasdaq was 0.2% firmer at 6,951.80. Oanda analyst Craig Erlam said: "This period between Christmas and New Year is often very quiet, with politicians and central banks endeavouring to wrap everything up ahead of the holiday period. With the US having got tax reform over the line last week and kicked the budget issue back to January at the last minute, investors have been left with little to turn their attention to. "News flow aside, trade during this week is often very thin with large numbers of people taking the week off and the lack of volatility we've seen so far isn't exactly drawing traders back in. With the data calendar not looking particularly full over the coming days, I don't hold much hope for conditions improving dramatically." In corporate news, Boeing nudged up after Morocco's Royal Air Maroc said it ordered four 787-9 Dreamliners valued at $1.1bn at list prices. Apple was a little weaker following reports the technology giant is being sued for slowing down older iPhone models to compensate for poor battery performance. Shares of Pareteum Corp were in the red following sharp gains in the previous session, when the company said it had "completed development enabling it to add support of Blockchain technology to its billing and settlement services". Horizon Pharma rose after the company said it has received US Food and Drug Administration approval to expand the indication for its treatment for nephropathic cystinosis, a life-threatening metabolic disorder. Electric car maker Tesla was in the red after chief executive Elon Musk promised to make a pick-up truck as part of future plans for the company. Musk made the pledge on Twitter after asking followers for suggestions about how the company could improve. Also on Wednesday KeyBanc cut its fourth-quarter estimates for Model 3 deliveries to around 5,000 from 15,000. On the data front, pending home sales in the US edged higher last month, according to one of the sector's leading industry groups, but existing home sales were seen flatlining in 2018 due to sharp price growth and the impact of recently approved changes to the country's tax laws. The National Association of Realtors' pending home sales index increased at a 0.2% month-on-month clip in November to reach 109.5, versus expectations for a 0.5% drop, and was left standing 0.8% above its year-earlier level. "The strengthening economy, and expectation that more millennials will want to buy, serve as promising signs for solid homebuying demand next year, while also putting additional pressure on inventory levels and affordability," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. "Sales do have room for growth in most areas, but nationally, overall activity could be slightly negative. Markets with high home prices and property taxes will likely feel some impact from the reduced tax benefits of owning a home." Elsewhere, data revealed that consumer confidence declined in December a month after hitting a 17-year high, although optimism among Americans this year was the highest since 2000. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index fell to 122.1 in December from a revised 128.6 in November, missing expectations for a reading of 127.5. |
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| | Broker Tips | | Broker tips: Shire, Tullow Oil, Easyjet Liberum has downgraded Shire to 'hold' from 'buy' and cut the price target to 4,100p from 4,200p, saying the risk/reward is more balanced. The brokerage noted that since upgrading the stock mid-November on valuation grounds, the shares are up 14% in dollar terms despite better-than-expected competitor haemophilia data and a small pipeline failure on Tuesday, when the company announced that clinical trials for a drug to treat Hunter syndrome in children, SHP609, failed to meet their primary and secondary endpoints. Liberum had pencilled in around $70m of risk adjusted peak sales for SHP609. Adjusting for the drug trial failure and FX moves - the impact of a stronger pound - Liberum cut its valuation to 4,100p a share, which now implies just 4.5% upside. "We still believe that, if handled right, the update on the neuroscience strategic review due by year end could be a catalyst for the shares, but with fundamental upside now limited the risk/reward is more balanced." Tullow Oil shares were boosted by an upgrade from Jefferies as analysts hiked their crude oil price forecasts for 2018, though Cairn Energy was downgraded due to its strong performance of late. Brent crude will average $63 a barrel in 2018, Jefferies forecast in a pair of Wednesday notes on oil companies, up from its previous $57 expectations, with the WTI forecast upped to $59 per barrel from $54. Analysts said they are "increasingly confident that the oil market will remain undersupplied through 2018" and that oil inventories will fall to five-year average levels in the third quarter of next year. "The incremental tightness in the market is more a function of robust demand that, while broad-based, is underpinned by accelerating Chinese growth," they wrote, expecting the market to remain tight. As a result of these crude price upgrades, forecasts for net asset values across its international exploration and production sector coverage increased on average 15%. Tullow Oil's successful refinancing without further equity dilution "removes a risk we were concerned about" and the new oil price forecast now suggests $741m free cash flow next year and so lifts Jefferies' target 3% to 180p. Tullow shares were therefore upgraded to 'hold' from 'underperform'. | | | | To advertise in the Euro Markets Bulletin please contact advertise@advfn.com |
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