Morning Euro Markets Bulletin

ADVFN  Morning Euro Markets Bulletin Daily world financial news Thursday, 01 March 2018 10:35:40 Monitor Quote Charts News CFD's Compare Brokers Free BB   Get Your FREE Weekly Bitcoin Newsletter From Guardian Stockbrokers Click Here To Subscribe For FREE Today All trading involves risk. Losses can exceed deposits. London open: Stocks edge lower on weak US cues, WPP tumbles on earnings FTSE 100 Euronext Dax perf CAC 40 Please click on the images to view our interactive charts London stocks edged lower in early trade on Thursday, taking their cue from another downbeat session on Wall Street, as investors pored through another blizzard of corporate news. At 0840 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.3% to 7,212.85, while the pound was off 0.1% versus the euro at 1.1276 and flat against the dollar at 1.3757. Sterling fell to its lowest level since mid-January overnight after Prime Minister Theresa May rejected the EU’s latest draft text on the Irish border issue, which stated that in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, Northern Ireland stays in a customs union after Brexit and is subject to all EU rules and regulations. The text also left out any reference to an extended transition period, which the UK has requested. Lee Wild, head of equity strategy at Interactive Investor, noted that the Dow Jones slumped 1.5% with the VIX volatility index is back above its long-term average of 20 for the first time in a week. "Inflation remains a concern here, but it’s in the US that interest rates will rise next and potentially faster than expected this year. "Under pro-business President Donald Trump, new Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell is already sounding hawkish, and the latest batch of mid-week data only increases the odds of a more aggressive rate tightening cycle. A strong US economy is great for confidence and jobs, but corporate America will have to absorb more expensive debt, which is why equity traders are selling into the rally from mid-February lows." All eyes will be on Powell again on Thursday when the Fed chair testifies before the Senate Banking Committee, with any further talk about an overheating economy likely to give equity market bears another reason to dump stocks. Investors were digesting the latest housing market survey from Nationwide, which should UK house prices unexpectedly fell in February. House prices were down 0.3% on the month following a 0.8% increase in January, missing expectations of a 0.2% gain. On the year, house prices were up 2.2%, slowing down from a 3.2% jump the month before and well below the 2.6% rise expected. Nationwide’s chief economist, Robert Gardner, said: "Month-to-month changes can be volatile, but the slowdown is consistent with signs of softening in the household sector in recent months. Retail sales were relatively soft over the Christmas period and at the start of the new year, as were key measures of consumer confidence, as the squeeze on household incomes continued to take its toll." Still to come, manufacturing PMI and mortgage approvals for the UK are due from IHS Markit at 0930 GMT, along with net lending to individuals. The manufacturing PMI is expected to slip back to 55.1 in February from January’s 553. In corporate news, advertising giant WPP tumbled as it blamed technological disruption and squeezed marketing budgets for flatlining revenue as it reported profit in line with muted market expectations. Rentokil also suffered sharp losses even as it said full year ongoing operating profit, which excludes the results of disposed businesses, increased by 14.8% to £294.7m, reflecting growth in all regions but offset by lower profits in France. Hastings tumbled even as the insurer reported a 39% jump in 2017 operating profits as its market share grew, while steel producerEvraz nudged lower despite saying full-year profits increased 70% on the back of higher prices. The retail sector was in focus again a day after Maplin and Toys R Us went into administration, with Carpetright losing a quarter of its market value after it issued its second profit warning of the year. On the upside, asset manager Schroders gained after it posted a 23% jump in full-year pre-tax profit as assets under management and net inflows rose amid growth across the group. Irish building materials group CRH gained as it generated an acceleration in profits growth towards the end of the year and saw good potential for more in the US and Europe in 2018. PureCircle was on the front foot as it announced that its US division and Sweet Green Fields have settled a dispute before the International Trade Commission on the importation of products that were alleged to infringe PureCircle's patents. FTSE 250 builders’ merchant Grafton Group, which recently acquired specialist decorators’ merchant Leyland SDM for £82.4m, rose as it reported a 15% jump in full-year profit amid record revenue. BBA Aviation was in the black after saying it swung to a pre-tax profit in 2017, while oilfield services provider Petrofac gushed higher as its full-year core profit beat expectations. Madame Tussauds owner Merlin Entertainments racked up strong gains on better-than-expected 2017 core earnings, while aerospace and defence group Cobham surged after posting better-than-expected full-year pre-tax profit. National Express edged up as it reported a 12% rise in full-year pre-tax profit as revenues increased 6%, while Vesuvius rallied as its full-year revenues came in a touch ahead of expectations. FTSE 250 housebuilder Bovis Homes, which saw off two takeover approaches last year, was up as it posted a drop in full-year in line with expectations and said it has seen good demand in the first eight weeks of 2018, while Hunting advanced thanks to a small beat on the top line in its 2017 results. In broker note action, ITV was cut to ‘equalweight’ by Barclays, while Card Factory was initiated at ‘hold’ by Berenberg. Aveva, Barclays, Beazley, Berkeley Group, EasyJet, Hays, RSA Insurance and Rio Tinto were among the companies whose stock went ex-dividend on Thursday.   Market Movers FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,212.85 -0.26% FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,658.76 -0.14% techMARK (TASX) 3,329.83 0.36% FTSE 100 - Risers Schroders (SDR) 3,582.00p 3.86% Evraz (EVR) 441.50p 3.37% CRH (CRH) 2,480.00p 3.25% Admiral Group (ADM) 1,880.50p 2.03% Severn Trent (SVT) 1,722.00p 0.85% Just Eat (JE.) 883.00p 0.68% London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 4,055.00p 0.67% United Utilities Group (UU.) 670.40p 0.63% Centrica (CNA) 143.85p 0.59% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 618.20p 0.59% FTSE 100 - Fallers WPP (WPP) 1,232.00p -11.62% Rentokil Initial (RTO) 265.40p -8.36% ITV (ITV) 155.50p -2.81% Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,819.50p -2.71% easyJet (EZJ) 1,640.50p -2.29% RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 618.20p -2.09% Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,793.00p -1.58% Sage Group (SGE) 682.20p -1.50% Mondi (MNDI) 1,874.00p -1.47% Standard Chartered (STAN) 799.20p -1.43% FTSE 250 - Risers Cobham (COB) 128.20p 13.00% Merlin Entertainments (MERL) 380.10p 11.79% Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 482.40p 8.62% Vesuvius (VSVS) 619.00p 4.83% Grafton Group Units (GFTU) 786.50p 2.81% Provident Financial (PFG) 1,006.00p 2.65% Purecircle Limited (DI) (PURE) 436.00p 2.59% Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 1,076.02p 2.43% Rank Group (RNK) 224.50p 2.05% Hunting (HTG) 619.50p 1.81% FTSE 250 - Fallers Aveva Group (AVV) 1,869.00p -35.24% Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 292.00p -6.59% Capita (CPI) 168.40p -4.40% Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 829.00p -3.78% Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,255.00p -2.33% CLS Holdings (CLI) 214.00p -2.28% Convatec Group (CTEC) 202.00p -2.18% Stagecoach Group (SGC) 139.30p -2.18% Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 224.82p -2.17% Ocado Group (OCDO) 541.80p -2.06% Crypto Pizza Evening with Clem Chambers, CEO of Online Blockchain In May 2010, programmer Laszlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas from Papa Johns for 10,000 bitcoins. Had he kept the coins, as of today they would be worth a cool $86,000,000. Join us on Wednesday 14 March for a crypto pizza 'Bite' on Clem Chambers, the CEO of the first London-listed British blockchain company - Click Here To Register For Free  US close: Markets reverse earlier gains to finish in the red Trading on Wall Street finished in the red on Wednesday, having bounced higher earlier in the session after a sell-off on Tuesday was fuelled by new Fed chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimony on, which rattled the market. The Dow Jones Industrial Averagefinished 1.5% behind at 25,029.20, the S&P 500 was off 1.11% at 2,713.83, and the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.67% to 6,854.42. On Tuesday, stocks ended in the red as Powell’s first congressional testimony did little to soothe investors’ worries about inflation. A hawkish tone signalled that US interest rates were set to continue rising, adding weight to expectations of four rate hikes this year - rather than three. Powell said that his "personal outlook for the economy had strengthened since December", with data that "will in my case add some confidence to my view that inflation is moving up to target." Among the reasons for his optimism, he cited the continuing strength in the labour market, a fiscal impulse, and the global economic expansion. “This was a clear shot across the bow from the new Chair, suggesting that - if it is up to him - the FOMC may want to revise its current projections of three hikes for this year up to include a fourth,” noted analysts at Rabobank. Powell was due to make his next appearance on Capitol Hill in front of a Senate committee on Thursday. On the data front, fourth-quarter GDP was, as expected, revised down by the Commerce Department to reveal a rate of expansion of 2.5%, less than a prior reading of 2.6%, keeping it on track for a slow start to the year. The downward revision reflected a greater subtraction from private inventory investment. Output grew 2.5% in the fourth quarter of 2017 when compared with same period a year earlier, which was far faster than the 1.8% pace of expansion seen in 2016, something Spreadex market analyst Connor Campbell said "might take the shine off the dollar and give the Dow a bit more room to breathe." Separately, economic activity in the Chicago area deteriorated more quickly than expected in February, according to the Chicago PMI published by MNI. The MNI Chicago Business Barometer fell to 61.9 in February from 65.7 in January, its lowest level since August 2017, missing expectations of a smaller decline to 64.1. As in January, firms reported a slower pace of incoming orders and output, as new orders dropped to a six-month low, the principal reason for the barometer's decline, while the production indicator also slipped, to a level last seen lower in September. Elsewhere, the National Association of Realtors said that contracts to buy previously owned homes had unexpectedly declined in January to their lowest level in more than three years, another indication that the housing market was losing some of its steam. NAR's pending home sales index dropped to a reading of 104.6, down 4.7% from December, which was also downwardly revised to 109.8, missing forecasts for a 0.3% increase by a mile. In corporate news, Office Depot fell 9.31% after its fourth-quarter profit beat expectations but sales fell short, while Lowe’s Companies dropped 6.76% after its quarterly profits missed expectations. Etsy surged 20.35% after the online marketplace issued forecast-beating fourth quarter earnings, while Booking Holdings was 6.77% higher after better-than-expected quarterly earnings and sales late on Tuesday. Dow Jones - Risers Apple Inc. (AAPL) $178.12 -0.15% Boeing Co. (BA) $362.21 -0.35% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $93.77 -0.46% Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $44.78 -0.58% United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $134.68 -0.58% Intel Corp. (INTC) $49.29 -1.24% Visa Inc. (V) $122.94 -1.32% Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $129.88 -1.66% International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $155.81 -1.75% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $43.22 -1.84% Dow Jones - Fallers Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $103.14 -6.07% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $154.63 -5.53% Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $70.26 -5.13% American Express Co. (AXP) $97.43 -4.14% Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $75.74 -3.93% Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $78.52 -3.81% Nike Inc. (NKE) $67.03 -3.76% General Electric Co. (GE) $14.11 -3.69% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $157.74 -3.57% 3M Co. (MMM) $235.51 -3.53% S&P 500 - Risers Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $20.60 8.02% Macy's Inc. (M) $29.41 7.14% Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $2,034.04 6.74% TJX Companies Inc. (TJX) $82.68 4.86% AES Corp. (AES) $10.88 4.11% Mallinckrodt Plc Ordinary Shares (MNK) $16.68 3.03% O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $244.19 2.35% Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $141.21 2.24% Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $318.41 2.09% L Brands Inc (LB) $49.33 1.61% S&P 500 - Fallers Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $7.03 -23.92% Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $2.82 -12.31% Spectra Energy Corp. (SE) $10.96 -9.79% AutoZone Inc. (AZO) $664.13 -9.67% Celgene Corp. (CELG) $87.12 -9.04% Lowe's Companies Inc. (LOW) $89.59 -8.12% Perrigo Company plc (PRGO) $81.46 -7.75% TEGNA Inc (TGNA) $12.86 -7.68% Newell Brands Inc (NWL) $25.69 -7.66% Endo International Plc (ENDP) $6.30 -7.42% Nasdaq 100 - Risers Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $2,034.04 6.74% Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $387.97 3.34% O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $244.19 2.35% Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $141.21 2.24% Liberty Interactive Corporation QVC Group (QVCA) $28.87 2.01% Expedia Inc. (EXPE) $105.17 1.41% Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $117.47 1.16% T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $60.61 1.12% Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $53.40 1.00% Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $57.10 0.94% Nasdaq 100 - Fallers Celgene Corp. (CELG) $87.12 -9.04% Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $41.69 -4.47% Express Scripts Holding Co (ESRX) $75.45 -4.06% Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $30.03 -3.44% Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $31.14 -3.23% Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $341.93 -2.65% CSX Corp. (CSX) $53.72 -2.54% Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $90.15 -2.29% Tesla Inc (TSLA) $343.06 -2.26% Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $81.17 -2.22% Looking for early access to investment opportunities? Make your own informed investment decisions. Get the right tools and information at Master Investor Show 2018. Register for free today Cryptocurrencies Report Top Cryptocurrencies # Name Market Cap($) Price(%) Change Price Graph(3m) 1 Bitcoin (BTC) 180,560,563,288 10,620.18 +2.99% 2 Ethereum (ETH) 85,279,201,240 867.75 +0.35% 3 Ripple (XRP) 35,664,311,489 0.9035 +0.33% 4 Bitcoin Cash / BCC (BCH) 21,212,769,304 1,281.11 +5.95% 5 Litecoin (LTC) 11,552,295,488 207.72 +0.63% 6 NEO (NEO) 8,331,570,000 128.92 -2.11% Atlantic Advisory - Share Tips of the Year 2018 Download Our Latest Report Here Losses can exceed deposits Thursday newspaper round-up: Brexit, Scottish bank, gas prices, Sky Britain will refuse to pay its multibillion-pound Brexit divorce bill until Brussels backs down on attempts to keep Northern Ireland subject to European Union rules, David Davis warned last night. In an uncompromising letter sent to Tory MPs, the Brexit secretary said that Britain would not finalise financial payments to the EU until “all the issues” of concern to Britain had been addressed. - The Times The Scottish government has committed to a publicly owned national investment bank that campaigners and leading economists hope will tackle the country's chronic lack of investment. Speaking on Wednesday at the launch of the implementation plan, the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said the “truly transformative” measure would be operational by 2020. - Guardian Tax relief on pension saving cost the exchequer £38.6 billion last year, equivalent to one and half times the defence budget or roughly two thirds of total education spending. The relief to employees and employers worked out at £1,200 per worker. - The Times The UK government must put the car industry at the heart of Brexit negotiations or risk the loss of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of pounds of investment, MPs have warned. In a gloomy assessment of prospects for UK car manufacturing, the business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) select committee said Brexit was negative for the sector, with “damage limitation” the best possible outcome. - Guardian Wholesale gas prices in the UK more than doubled on Wednesday to their highest level in at least 10 years, as freezing temperatures across Britain drove a spike in demand and raised fears of a supply shortage. Within-day prices rose 108% to 160p per therm, after hitting am earlier peak of 190p per therm. Day ahead prices were up 6p at 95p. - Guardian European industry risks falling behind Asia and the United States because of a failure to invest in new mobile networks, according to the head of Ericsson. Borje Ekholm, chief executive of the Swedish group, said that Europe was falling behind the US and Asia in deploying 5G mobile technology, which will allow a range of new services and millions of connected devices. - The Times Toyota will build the new model of its Auris car in the newly revamped factory in Burnaston in Derbyshire, in a major vote of confidence in the UK. The new model will start rolling off production lines before the end of this year. The factory typically made around 140,000 of the previous Auris models per year. - Telegraph An activist investor increased its position in Sky, a day after the broadcaster found itself at the centre of a takeover battle between Comcast and 21st Century Fox. Elliott Management lifted its stake to just over 2.5 per cent after buying a slug of shares at £13.31 a share and boosting its derivatives position. - The Times The editors of the Daily Express and Daily Star have resigned days after the publisher of the Mirror completed its £200m takeover of Richard Desmond’s national newspapers. The Daily Star editor, Dawn Neesom, the longest-serving female national newspaper editor, and her counterpart, Hugh Whittow, who has edited the Daily Express since 2011, have announced they are leaving. - Guardian Carillion’s former chairman Philip Green has been accused by MPs of showing either a “woeful lack of leadership” or having “no grip on reality” as it emerged that he was planning an upbeat financial announcement just five days before the company made £845m of writedowns last July. Minutes from a Carillion board meeting on July 5 were made public on Thursday by the joint business and pensions select committee as part of their investigation into Carillion. - Telegraph The boss of consumer goods giant Unilever saw his pay package surge by 51pc to €11.6m (£10.3m) in 2017 and is line for a bumper hike in salary and potential bonuses under an overhaul of executive pay. Chief executive Paul Polman's mammoth 2017 pay deal includes a €1.15m annual salary, €2.3m annual bonus and €7.2m in long-term bonus scheme shares, according to the group's annual report. - Telegraph Utility companies in Britain should consider moving overseas to guard against the threat of nationalisation by Labour, a leading analyst at an Australian investment bank has argued. Foreign investors would enjoy higher standards of protection than British ones in the event of an expropriation by a future Labour government, Dominic Nash, Macquarie’s utilities analyst, said. - The Times The music streaming service Spotify filed for an initial public offering on Wednesday, becoming the first company to file for a direct listing of up to $1bn with the US. A direct listing is an unconventional way to pursue an IPO without raising new capital, helping the company eliminate the need for a Wall Street bank or broker to underwrite the public offer. - Guardian Amazon has thrown down the gauntlet in the home security market and bought a leading maker of video doorbell systems for upwards of $1.2 billion. The purchase of Ring is its second largest takeover after Whole Foods, the upmarket grocery chain that it bought for $13.7 billion last year. - The Times Google has a “bro-culture” that allowed the daily sexual harassment of a female software engineer, a new lawsuit from a former employee alleges. Loretta Lee, who worked for Google from 2008 to 2016, filed suit this month against the Silicon Valley giant for sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and wrongful termination in California state court. - Guardian   To advertise in the Euro Markets Bulletin please contact advertise@advfn.com     To unsubscribe from this news bulletin or edit your mailing list settings click here. Registered Office/Accounts Dept: Suite 27, Essex Technology Centre, The Gable, Fyfield Road, Ongar, CM5 0GA. Customer Support +44 (0) 207 0700 961. Company registered in England and Wales: Number 2374988 VAT No. GB 549 2130 49