| | | | | | | Share Tips for 2018 The Share Centre’s investment research analyst Ian Forrest, comments on five equities, an investment trust as well as an ETF that our expert research team think could flourish in 2018. Read more. Capital at risk. | | |
| | London Market Report |  | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  |  |  |  | | Please click on the images to view our interactive charts | | | London close: Stocks edge higher as finer miners mask retail wails Share prices in London nudged higher on Thursday as strength from miners and defence companies offset weak retailers and housebuilders following uninspiring updates from Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Barratt Developments. The FTSE 100 ended the session up 0.2% at 7,762.94, having hit a record intraday high of 7,768.95 earlier. It was a volatile day for the pound, sinking to 1.122 against the euro earlier after the release of the minutes from the last European Central Bank revealed tightening on the horizon. Having been down on the dollar early doors, the pound later climbed 0.2% higher to 1.3542. The ECB minutes revealed the governing council plans to revisit its forward guidance early this year, indicating to some economists that the central bank could end its asset purchases by around September and, depending on who you listened to, raise rates fourth quarter or first half of 2019. Earlier, talk was of the dollar, as China's foreign exchange regulator dismissed a press report suggesting the country might be looking to slow down or halt purchases of US Treasuries as "fake news". "The FTSE moves towards the end of the week in somewhat unremarkable fashion, with the headline UK stock market trading largely flat amid a distinct lack of fundamental drivers," said analyst Joshua Mahony at IG. "The gradual ascent in the pound will likely have something to do with the long-standing decline in the US dollar, yet with Nigel Farage calling for a second EU referendum, there will be some who see the potential for a Brexit reversal." On the UK corporate front, Thursday was a veritable retail bonanza. Tesco fell after its sales for the Christmas period missed City forecasts. For the 13 weeks to 25 November, Britain's largest grocery group increased like-for-like sales 2.3% in the UK and Ireland, and then for the six-week festive trading period to 6 January, saw LFL growth of 2.0%. This was a fairly strong performance, but expectations were for 2.4% growth in the third quarter and 2.8% for Christmas. Marks & Spencer's numbers were decidedly worse, with UK like-for-like sales off 1.4%. Over the 13 weeks to 30 December, M&S food LFL sales worsened by 0.4% due to what the group blamed on "ongoing trading pressures continued in the lead up to Christmas as consumer spending and choices reflected tighter budgets", though other supermarket groups seemed to do a lot better. Card Factory fared the worst of the shopkeepers, however, with its shares folding 20% despite what it insisted was a "solid" Christmas trading period. The Christmas cards and wrapping paper seller said any earnings growth for this year will be limited due to the impact of foreign exchange and wage inflation. FTSE 250 wholesaler Booker was also in the red despite saying third-quarter sales rose 3.4%, with like-for-likes up 3.8%, while outside the FTSE 350, shares in fast fashion brand Boohoo drifted lower despite upgrading its full-year forecasts and posted a doubling of its revenues for the four months to the end of December. Expectations are high, with many big brokers covering the fast-growing AIM-listed company. It wasn't all bad news in retail though, with online electrical specialist AO World rallying after posting an 11% jump in revenue in the final three months of last year. Moving into other sectors, housebuilder Barratt Developments was weaker after saying total completions improved in the first half of the year, but sales rates remained flat. Peers Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon also fell, while sector peer Bovis was flat ahead of its results due the following day. Ultra Electronics was a big winner on the day, with its shares flying 21% higher after directors said the torpedo and sonobuoy maker saw "significant exposure to the strengthening US defence budget". Peers BAE Systems and Meggitt were higher after analysts at Citigroup said they were likely to be the largest beneficiaries of the recently approved US tax cuts in their sector. Addictively acquisitive outsourcer Bunzl was another riser after saying it expects US tax changes to have a positive impact from this year and announcing yet more bolt-on additions in the UK and the US. Recruiter Hays was in the black as it posted a 13% jump in second-quarter net fees thanks to a solid performance form its international businesses as the UK segment was broadly flat, while builders merchant Grafton climbed on the back of an update saying it expects 2017 earnings before interest, tax and amortisation to be slightly ahead of consensus estimates. Jupiter Fund Management was weaker as it said total assets were up 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Helped by an upgrade at Barclays, Just Eat rose the highest on the day, while Anglo American was up after an upgrade by Morgan Stanley. As well as stronger metal prices, the mining sector was also supported by a raft of target upgrades from JP Morgan, alongside very supportive comments for Glencore. Going the other way, Greene King and Metro Bank were hit by downgrades from Numis and Investec, respectively. |
| | The Top 10 Stocks for 2018 | | What does the year hold for these 10 blue chips? A look at some of the key themes in the coming 12-months, the key numbers from 2017, FTSE 100 companies that reached record highs… and those that fell to all-time lows, and our Top Stock Picks for 2018. Losses can exceed deposits. Get your copy |
| | Europe Market Report |  | | FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |  | | | | | | Europe close: Stocks lower as retailers weigh heavy; euro up on ECB comments European stocks closed lower on Thursday as retail stocks pulled indices lower after gloomy Christmas trading updates. The benchmark Stoxx 600 fell 0.3% to 397.53, while Germany's Dax was off by 0.59% or 78.44 points at 13,203.19 and the French CAC-40 down 0.29% at 5,494. Spain's IBEX 35 shrugged off the trend to finish 0.7% higher at 10,452, while the UK FTSE 100 was also positive, with a gain of 0.19% to 7,767. The euro was 0.72% higher against the dollar at $1.196 as the European Central Bank signalled it could begin to ease its €2.5trln stimulus program this year On the economic front industrial production in the euro area jumped by 1% month-on-month in November beating the consensus rise 0.6%. Italy's, ISTAT reported that retail sales volumes jumped by 1.4% year-on-year in November, just below forecast 1.5%), while Spain's INE announced that November industrial production accelerated to 1% from 0.6% in October. In corporate news, bank shares were tracking the rise in US government bond yields with Royal Bank of Scotland, Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank all higher. Germany's Bayer announced its intention to sell a further stake in chemicals outfit Covestro with the goal of raising roughly €1.5bn. Danish-listed shares in fashion jewellery chain Pandora sharply fell after the pendant maker said expected forecast margins would slip from this year. Chief executive Anders Colding Friis cited a "difficult retail climate as well as an unfavourable currency development" for the revised numbers. Akzo Nobel disclosed it was holding contacts with between three and four suitors for its specialty chemicals arm. UK-based Marks & Spencer was hit hard after it said like-for-like food sales declined in the 13 weeks to Christmas. Fellow supermarket operator Tesco was also lower despite reporting a positive outlook for the financial year as like-for-like U.K. sales rose 1.9% during the Christmas period. |
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Top of the stocks Number of Deals Bought Number of Deals Sold |
| | Cryptocurrencies Report | | Top Cryptocurrencies | # | Name | Market Cap($) | Price(%) | Change | Price Graph(3m) | | 1 |  | Bitcoin (BTC) | 232,798,503,345 | 13,815.61 | -7.03% |  | | 2 |  | Ethereum (ETH) | 119,498,553,057 | 1,227.18 | -10.79% |  | | 3 |  | Ripple (XRP) | 78,304,978,930 | 2.05 | +5.61% |  | | 4 |  | Bitcoin Cash / BCC (BCH) | 43,689,218,500 | 2,558.22 | -10.34% |  | |
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| | US Market Report | | US open: Dow, Nasdaq hit record highs as investors eye earnings season US stocks rose in early trade on Thursday, recovering from the previous session's losses as the Dow and Nasdaq hit fresh intraday highs. At 1540 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3% at 25,452.74, having earlier hit a record intraday high of 25,468.83, while the S&P 500 was 0.2% firmer at 2,753.66 and the Nasdaq was up 0.2% at 7,166.43 after reaching a record intraday peak of 7,181.51. Stocks had fallen on Wednesday following a report that China might be looking to slow down or halt purchases of US Treasuries. But China's foreign exchange regulator dismissed the report the next day, with a spokesperson for the State Administration of Foreign Exchange saying in a statement on its Chinese website that the "news may quote the wrong source of information, or it may be fakes news". Investors were digesting the latest data from the Labor Department, which showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week. US initial jobless claims were up 11,000 from the previous week's unrevised level to 261,000. Economists had been expecting a drop to 245,000. Meanwhile, the four-week moving average came in at 250,750, up 9,000 from the previous week's unrevised average. Pantheon Macroeconomics said: "This looks like the curse of the holiday seasonals, again. We had expected a clear reversal of the recent increase in claims but it has been delayed. Unadjusted claims this week are 2.3% lower than in the same week last year, but the headline adjusted print is 18K higher. That's not sustainable; we expect claims to drop sharply next week. "We see nothing in the business surveys to support the idea that the underlying trend in claims is turning higher. The problem is simply that seasonally adjusting weekly data immediately before, during, and after the holidays is very difficult. The dust will settle in due course, likely showing that the trend in claims is a bit below 240K." Meanwhile, the US producer price index fell 0.1% in December compared to a 0.3% increase the month before and expectations for a 0.2% rise. This was the first drop in the PPI since August 2016. For the year, PPI was up 2.6% compared to expectations of 3.0% and following a 3.1% gain in November. Pantheon said the PPI was held down by a hefty 0.6% month-on-month drop in the trade services component, which measures margins for wholesalers and retailers, and a 0.4% dip in transportation/warehousing. In corporate news, Boston Scientific fell despite saying it has received FDA approval for a spinal cord simulator system that offers non-opioid treatment, but Delta Airlines flew higher after its fourth-quarter profit and sales exceeded analysts' expectations. Elsewhere, DST Systems rallied after the company agreed to be bought by SS&C Technologies in a deal valued at $5.4bn. Friday will see investors focus squarely on the corporate calendar, as earnings season kicks off with releases from JPMorgan Chase, BlackRock and Wells Fargo. Oanda analyst Craig Erlam said: "Earnings season should provide a more positive story for markets, with investors optimistic ahead of the fourth quarter results following some very encouraging results last time around. The question now is whether companies can live up to expectations and whether the benefits of tax reform for companies has been accurately priced in." Economic data will also be watched as retail sales and inflation figures for December are due. |
| | Following the financial crisis, high street banks have funded fewer SME housebuilders | | Alternative finance providers are stepping in to fill this void, offering investors high margins and attractive returns. One of these lenders, Clearwell Capital is currently fundraising with a 3-year secured bond paying 10% per annum. Click here to find out more. Capital at risk. |
| | Broker Tips | | Broker tips: G4S, BP, Shell, Ashtead Security services and solutions outsourcer G4S is approaching a trough in its growth profile thanks to its leadership position in the cash handling market, supported by quicker growth in emerging markets, analysts at UBS said. On the back of all of the above, the Swiss broker lifted its target for the shares from 300p to 310p and raised its recommendation for the stock from 'neutral' to 'buy'. In fact, excluding one-off installation work, growth had been relatively stable at between 2% and 4%, and as it began delivering on its pipeline of new cash solutions that would accelerate to between 5% and 6% over the second half of 2018, with an inflection point being reached during the second quarter, UBS said. "Our detailed review indicates G4S's solution is more developed than those of its peers (bank agnostic). The growth should be a net positive for margins, given the high-margin service component: we forecast 15bps/10bps of margin expansion in 2018/19," Bilal Aziz, Rory McKenzie and Denis Moreau said in a research note sent to clients. There was also upside to be had from consolidation in its industry given the structural trend towards lower rates of cash usage. | | | | To advertise in the Euro Markets Bulletin please contact advertise@advfn.com |
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