Morning Euro Markets Bulletin

ADVFN  Morning Euro Markets Bulletin Daily world financial news Friday, 23 March 2018 10:26:38 Monitor Quote Charts News CFD's Compare Brokers Free BB   FCA Regulated Rockpool Investments LLP are offering 15% returns from investing in private companies We provide thorough due diligence, expertise and support  including HMRC tax saving benefits. Find out more - Click Here London open: Stocks drop amid trade war worries; Next bucks trend after results FTSE 100 Euronext Dax perf CAC 40 Please click on the images to view our interactive charts London stocks fell in early trade on Friday following heavy losses in the US and Asia as financial markets were hit by fresh worries about a trade war after China promised immediate retaliation to the hefty import tariffs levied by US President Donald Trump. At 0845 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 0.7% to 6,907.34, having tumbled to its lowest finish in over 15 months the day before at 6,952.59. Meanwhile, the pound was down 0.2% against the euro at 1.1442 and up 0.1% versus the greenback at 1.4110. Overnight, the Dow Jones index closed 2.9% lower, the S&P 500 dropped 2.5% and the Nasdaq 2.4% as equities experienced their biggest sell off since 8 February. Last night President Donald Trump signed off on 25% tariffs on $50bn worth of Chinese imports in a bid to punish the People's Republic for intellectual property infringements. China's retaliation was immediate as it drew up a list of 128 products as potential retaliation targets for higher duties, aiming its sights at US goods such as pork, apples and steel pipe. The commerce ministry in Beijing said in a statement on Friday said the higher US tariffs “seriously undermine” the global trading system. "China doesn’t hope to be in a trade war, but is not afraid of engaging in one," the statement said. In Asia the Nikkei was down 4.5%, the Hang Seng down 3% and the Shanghai Composite down 3.4%. Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "Investors aren’t just reacting to the firing of the potential first shot in a trade war, and awaiting the likely retaliation form China, but news that HR McMaster has been replaced as national security advisor by foreign policy hawk John Bolton. "Bolton, who worked under Reagan and both Bushes and was a key proponent of the Iraq war, has previously backed attacking both North Korea and Iran, and is the latest destabilising figure to enter the White House’s already stacked rogue's gallery." Konstantinos Anthis, head of research at ADS Securities, said a trade war between the US and China will have a damaging effect on US and global equities but it could have even more significant consequences than we realise. "An extended sell-off in the equity market triggered by these tensions could pose a difficult dilemma for the Fed down the road. "Does it hike rates on two more occasions, as expected and risk driving drive the stock market even lower or should it step back and slow down their gradual rate increases? This scenario has very lows chances of materializing but the mere speculation that a full-scale trade war could prevent the Fed from staying on course could have a massive effect to risk sentiment and investors are already on the defensive." In UK corporate news, Next bucked the trend, rallying 3% as it kept the dividend flat despite reporting a 5.6% fall in earnings per share after store sales fell in the year to 31 January. Analysts said the fact it has maintained its full-year guidance will be taken well following recent weakness and negative news flow from the UK retail sector. "Next’s 54-page-long results release is a whopper but it is what is missing from the statement that matters more than what is in it - there is no profit warning, there is no dividend cut and there is no sense of panic," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. GlaxoSmithKline was in the black after saying it's no longer interested in Pfizer and announcing European and Japanese approval for its Shingrix shingles vaccine. Engineer Smiths Group slumped after it posted a 12% drop in interim profit as revenue fell, although it did reiterate its guidance for the year. Brick maker Ibstock was a little weaker as it confirmed that Joe Hudson will be appointed as CEO of the company from 4 April, on completion of the handover period with retiring Wayne Sheppard. Shares in Indivior took a beating after the company said it was likely to appeal a ruling from the US District Court of Delaware, which found that Alvogen does not infringe the asserted claims of three of its US patents protecting its key Suboxone Film treatment for opioid addiction. If Alvogen is successfully launched in the US, Indivior said it believes "it could potentially result in a rapid and material loss of market share for Suboxone Film in the US" within months. There wasn't much going on on the broker note front, although Mitie did get a big boost from an upgrade to 'overweight' from 'underweight' at Barclays. Atlantic Advisory - Share Tips of the Year 2018 Download Our Latest Report Here Losses can exceed deposits Market Status   FTSE 100   change pct -0.96%   cur price 6,885.96   change -66.63   FTSE 250   change pct -1.38%   cur price 19,127.15   change -266.74   FTSE TechMARK   change pct -0.41%   cur price 3,157.66   change -13.03 Top 10 FTSE 100 Risers #   Name Change Pct Change Cur Price 1 Next Plc (LSE:NXT) +4.67% +216.00 4,845.00 2 Micro Focus International (LSE:MCRO) +3.01% +27.40 939.20 3 GlaxoSmithKline (LSE:GSK) +3.00% +38.20 1,312.00 4 Fresnillo plc (LSE:FRES) +1.72% +20.00 1,179.50 5 Centrica (LSE:CNA) +1.40% +1.85 133.75 6 Randgold Resources (LSE:RRS) +0.90% +52.00 5,814.00 7 British American Tobacco (LSE:BATS) +0.73% +28.50 3,913.50 8 Shire Plc (LSE:SHP) +0.62% +18.50 3,014.50 9 Imperial Brands (LSE:IMB) +0.25% +6.00 2,366.00 10 BT Group (LSE:BT.A) +0.18% +0.40 219.25 Top 10 FTSE 100 Fallers #   Name Change Pct Change Cur Price 1 Smiths Group (LSE:SMIN) -11.10% -170.50 1,365.50 2 Intertek Group (LSE:ITRK) -3.98% -192.00 4,633.00 3 Rentokil Initial (LSE:RTO) -3.45% -9.40 263.30 4 Anglo American (LSE:AAL) -2.97% -50.40 1,645.80 5 Babcock International Group (LSE:BAB) -2.68% -17.80 647.40 6 International Consolidated Airlines Group (LSE:IAG) -2.65% -16.20 594.40 7 Glencore (LSE:GLEN) -2.58% -9.25 349.95 8 Burberry Group (LSE:BRBY) -2.45% -40.50 1,615.50 9 Old Mutual (LSE:OML) -2.27% -5.60 241.30 10 Johnson Matthey (LSE:JMAT) -2.26% -70.00 3,031.00 Paradigm Capital are introducing structured real estate assets comprising of fixed income opportunities and managed fund positions It is increasingly clear the time for tangible assets is looming. Head for portfolio consolidation as opposed to market speculation. Click to register US close: Markets decline amid Fed developments, trade war fears US stocks finished lower on Thursday, as investors continued to mull over the latest policy announcement from the Federal Reserve overnight, and amid worries about a trade war leading to what one analyst referred to as "a veritable bloodbath" on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 2.93% at 23,957.89, the S&P 500 closed off 2.52% at 2,643.69, and the Nasdaq 100 was 2.5% lower at 6,682.26. Stocks had ended in the red on Wednesday after the Fed lifted rates by 25 basis points as widely expected, to a target range of 1.5% to 1.75%. The central bank also signalled that rates would rise twice more this year and three times in 2019. “We're trying to take the middle ground,” said Fed chair Jerome Powell. “On the one hand, the risk is we wait too long and then we have to raise rates quickly, and that foreshortens the expansion - we don't want to do that. "On the other side if we raise rates too quickly inflation doesn’t get sustainably up to 2% and that will hurt us going forward. Goldman Sachs said there was "something for everyone" in the FOMC meeting. "On the dovish side, the committee downgraded the near-term growth assessment and narrowly kept to a three-hike median for 2018,” the analysts wrote. “On the hawkish side, the committee noted an improved outlook, significantly upgraded its growth and employment forecasts, projected an inflation overshoot in 2019-2020, and steepened its post-2018 funds rate path by more than we and probably most others had expected.” It wasn't just the Fed keeping investors on edge though, as worries about a possible trade war weighed on sentiment, alongside news that President Trump's administration is planning to announce a package of punitive measures later in the day that includes tariffs on Chinese imports worth at least $30bn. “Donald Trump seems intent on starting trade wars, most notably with China, which could trigger a wave of protectionism and drive up prices in the US and likely weigh on the growth momentum,” said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam. “How the central bank deals with this will be very interesting given the already fast pace of hikes. “Policy makers may well be feeling very happy with the decision to get ahead of the curve with tightening as it affords them the ability to maintain gradual hikes now.” On the macroeconomic front, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly picked up last week, according to data from the Labor Department. US initial jobless claims rose by 3,000 from the previous week's unrevised level to 229,000, against expectations for a drop to 225,000. The four-week moving average was up 2,250 to 223,750 from the previous week's average, which was also unchanged from the previous estimate. Elsewhere, business activity in the US weakened in March, according to IHS Markit. In a report published by the market research group on Thursday, its composite purchasing managers' index (PMI), which covers both the manufacturing and services sectors, fell to 54.3 in March, from its prior reading of 55.8. In corporate news, Facebook was down 2.66% as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg vowed to change the company in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Zuckerberg said the group is taking actions to ensure the Cambridge Analytica data exploit doesn't happen again and that it will investigate any apps that have access to large amounts of data. Guess shares surged 28.29% after the company beat earnings and sales expectations, while transportation and supply chain management product provider Ryder System fell 4.82% after the release of its last earnings report. FedEx shares lost 5.12% despite posting improved revenues. Dow Jones - Risers Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $42.76 -0.56% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $113.70 -0.70% Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $100.60 -0.74% Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $54.12 -0.95% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $87.15 -1.19% Apple Inc. (AAPL) $168.85 -1.41% Intel Corp. (INTC) $50.83 -1.42% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $157.04 -1.47% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $175.29 -1.61% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $46.88 -1.70% Dow Jones - Fallers Boeing Co. (BA) $319.61 -5.34% Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $215.21 -5.10% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $146.83 -4.65% JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $109.95 -4.09% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $252.60 -4.02% 3M Co. (MMM) $223.17 -3.99% Visa Inc. (V) $119.99 -3.94% American Express Co. (AXP) $91.43 -3.73% Nike Inc. (NKE) $64.42 -3.56% Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $127.38 -2.92% S&P 500 - Risers Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $15.13 5.73% Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $336.71 5.17% Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) $30.55 4.44% Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $15.49 4.17% Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $15.84 3.80% Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) $60.65 3.73% Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) $24.26 3.68% Hess Corp. (HES) $50.09 3.53% Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $10.03 3.51% ConocoPhillips (COP) $56.50 3.29% S&P 500 - Fallers AbbVie Inc (ABBV) $98.10 -12.92% United States Steel Corp. (X) $34.50 -11.01% General Mills Inc. (GIS) $44.45 -10.98% Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI) $85.93 -9.64% Accenture Plc (ACN) $150.23 -7.77% FedEx Corp. (FDX) $236.27 -6.24% Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) $57.00 -6.08% Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $163.11 -5.87% J. M. Smucker Co. (SJM) $118.28 -5.70% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $118.04 -5.66% Nasdaq 100 - Risers Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $65.93 0.40% Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $38.15 -0.10% Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (FOXA) $36.75 -0.30% Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class B (FOX) $36.18 -0.33% Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $31.13 -0.42% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $65.83 -0.66% Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $32.06 -0.68% Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $322.97 -0.77% Broadcom Limited (AVGO) $243.57 -0.99% Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $103.99 -1.01% Nasdaq 100 - Fallers Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $163.11 -5.87% Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $236.11 -5.57% Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $81.36 -5.47% NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $302.51 -5.40% Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $103.90 -4.36% KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $112.92 -4.35% Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $214.82 -4.22% Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $204.72 -4.22% Cerner Corp. (CERN) $57.47 -3.99% Incyte Corp. (INCY) $85.25 -3.99% Crypto Currencies #1 Bitcoin (BTC) change -2.38% mktcap 261.46B volume 63175.64T price 8,688.50 #2 Ethereum (ETH) change -3.73% mktcap 110.5B volume 10462.16T price 538.99 #3 Ripple (XRP) change -3.59% mktcap 99.59B volume 2235.35T price 0.65 #4 Bitcoin Cash / BCC (BCH) change -5.41% mktcap 41.41B volume 6798.35T price 1,003.60 #5 Cardano (ADA) change -5.06% mktcap 24.18B volume 1792.98T price 0.20 Friday newspaper round-up: China, Brexit, Unilever, Glencore, Facebook China has retaliated against Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium by signalling that it will hit US goods such as pork, apples and steel pipe with higher duties. As Asian stock markets plunged at the prospect of a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies, China’s commerce ministry urged Washington to negotiate a settlement as soon as possible but set no deadline. - Guardian A further escalation in protectionism by President Trump's White House could dent global growth, drive up inflation and blow the Bank of England's economic forecasts for the UK off course, its rate setters warned yesterday. The Bank's monetary policy committee, the nine experts who set interest rates, used the minutes to its latest meeting to respond to punitive tariffs imposed by the US on steel and aluminium from the UK and the European Union this month. - The Times Thousands of jobs in the City of London will begin migrating to continental Europe from next month despite Theresa May's success in negotiating a standstill transition deal, senior business figures have told The Times. EU leaders are expected to sign off today on the legal wording of a Brexit implementation period that will effectively keep the UK aligned with Brussels until the end of 2020. One of Unilever's biggest shareholders has hit out at the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant's decision to abandon its double-headed structure in favour of a single corporate entity in the Netherlands. Iain Richards of Columbia Threadneedle, a top 10 investor, said his company was "disappointed" by its "lack of engagement with shareholders" ahead of the decision, which could lead to its expulsion from the blue-chip FTSE 100 index. - Telegraph A former colleague of Archie Norman, chairman of Marks & Spencer, has been appointed as the head of the struggling retailer's food business. The appointment of Stuart Machin, a 30-year retail veteran and boss of Steinhoff UK, the company behind Poundland, Harveys and Bensons for Beds, will renew speculation about the growing influence of Mr Norman at M&S. - The Times The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is set to recover £4.4 million lost in a bribery scandal at an African oil company subsequently bought by Glencore. The High Court in London yesterday granted the SFO the right to recover the proceeds from the sale of shares in Chad Oil, a company used by Griffiths Energy International to bribe diplomats in order to win contracts in Chad. - The Times Heathrow risks losing a legal challenge against its third runway unless it meets a raft of tough conditions on landing charges, pollution and public transport, an influential committee of MPs has warned. The transport select committee believes Heathrow and the Government must put more stringent stipulations on the north west runway expansion project to ensure an expected legal challenge by opponents is unsuccessful and to prevent passengers being hit in the pocket. - Telegraph Facebook should be regulated, Mark Zuckerberg has said after apologising for the leak of 50 million users' data to a British company accused of interfering in elections. Asked if he was worried by pressure from governments, he said: "I actually am not sure we shouldn't be regulated... in general, technology is an increasingly important trend in the world." - The Times Dropbox has priced its initial public offering at $21 per share, setting the stage for the file-sharing company to debut with a $9.2bn (£6.5bn) valuation tomorrow. The price is above the already-increased range Dropbox had laid out earlier this week, of between $18 and $20 per share. It had initially planned to list its shares at between $16 and $18. - Telegraph   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