Archive for the 'Indices' Category

The FTSE started thre week on a bit of a downer, and was down 48 points in its first hour at 6,011, whilst the FTSE 250 was down 123 points at 9,929. We don’t see this as positive, as a break under 6,000 will become a resistance level, we feel.

Over the pond on Friday, the DJI closed down nearly 8 points at 12,638.32, whiclst the S&P500 closed up just over 2 points at 1,400.38, and the Nasdaq up 14.34 points at 2,522.66.

In the Far East today the Nikkei 225 closed up 101.60 points at 14,440.14, whilst in Hong Kong the Hang Seng recently closed at 24,831.36, up 298.24 points on the day.

Back here in London, the banks were taking a hit again after the Bradford & Bingley news.  The bank issued a profit warning and then said that it was going to have to lower the price of the rights issue, down to 55p from 82p. The bank also said that US private equity firm, Texas Pacific Group, will be investing £150m for a 20% stake in the bank.  It then finished by the small mention of the CEO was stepping down. Needless to say B&B shares fell, and were down nearly 20p at 69p. Peers fell too as a reaction, with Lloyds TSB down 11p at 373p, Alliance & Leicester down 26p at 399p, HBOS down 22p at at 378, Barclyas off 12p at 363p, and RBS down 7p at 2211.

On to utilities, where Severn Trent was down 23p to 1,434 after weekend press reports that it could be forced to pay up to £70m following a criminal investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (”SFO”) over allegations that it provided false data on leaks to Ofwat, the industry regulator. Peers fell as a reaction, with Northumbrian Water down 4p at 323p.

Tesco was down over 8p at 406.6p after weekend press reports that it is close to finalising a £1 bln buy out of RBS’s share of their Tesco Personal Finance joint venture.

Unilever was down a pennyat 1,670p after weekend press reports that the company has sold its Sainsbury’s in-store dry cleaning company that had gone in to administration to the shoe repair outfit Timpson.

The miners had a better start, with commodity prices gaining interst again. BHP was up 30p at 1,944, and Rio Tinto up 70p at 6,125. Rumours say that these two giants will be getting something like a 70% increase on their iron ore sales from China. It is said that the Chinese will pay a decent freight premium as it is much cheaper to ship the iron ore from Australia than from Brazil, where China gets lots of ore from Vale. Peer Anglo American was up 25p at 3,444p, and Xstrata up 7p at 3,996. One casualty in the mining sector was Vedanta Resources, who were down 40p at 2,459p after it said one of its subsidiaries had agreed to purchase the operating assets of Asarco, the US-based copper producer, for US$2.6 bln cash.

Oil was down on concrens of worlkd economy, with Light Sweet (Jul del) down to US$127.3 bbl, and Brent crude (Jul del) actually higher at US$127.9 bbl.

The oil heavyweighhts reacted, with BP down 8p at 6-quid, and RD Shell down 12p at 2,138p. Then news from BG Group, who were down 30p at 1,236p, said that Origin Energy, the Aussie power unit, had rejected its A$13.6 bln bid.

Pub group Mitchells & Bulters was down 8p pence to 316p after Goldman Sachs reminded everyone of its ’sell’ rating and 290p target.

The FTSE 100 closed down 14.6 poinst today at 6,053.5, which was down about 58 points off the session’s high, whilst the FTSE 250 closed down 48.9 points at 10,049.3. With the FTSE weighted with oil stocks, the drop in oil price affected those heavyweights, as did the fall in commodity prices, with the metal miners all suffering too.

Over the pond, by the time London closed the DJI was up just 0.4 points at 12,646.6, whilst the S&P500 was up 2 points at 1,400, and the Nasdaq up 11 poinst at 2,519.5. News from the US government that consumer spending rose in April didn’t cause too much of a stir as it was only in-line with rising costs of food and goods etc.

Back here in Lodnon, it was British Airways that was top of the leader board as the drop in oil price to around US$125 bbl helped the airline recover some ground. BA closed up 17.5p at 232.5p, also on the back of news that busienss airline Silverjet has suspended operations with immediate effect, giving BA one less competitor and those business passengers looking for alternatives.  Peer easyjet closed up 6p at 301p, also on the back of the lower oil price.

Staying with travel, cruise operator Carnival was up again nicely, 53p higher at 1,918p.

on to the bad news, where the oil stocks were those hit the most. RD Shell closed down 40p at 2,105p, Cairn Energy down 53p to 3,366p, BG Group down 28p at 1,266p, and Tullow Oil down 32p at 890p. News that Origin Energy of Austrlia had turned down BG Group’s offer of $15.50 a share didn’t help BG, either.

As mentioned earlier, commodities were down, meaning the metal miners were also down. Copper is now sub US$8,000 per ton, whilst gold was also suffering. BHP Billiton closed down 46p at 1,914, Eurasian Natural Resources Corp (ENRC) closed down 22p at 1,459, and Rio Tinto closed down 125p at 6,055.

Insurers were in favour, with Friends Provident up 4.1 pence at 121.1, continuing to
pick up from near a 12-month low earlier this week, as takeover speculation continued. Standard Life, meanwhile, took on 8-1/2 pence to 251.

Carrying on from this morning, Johnson Matthey received a Merrill Lynch positive note, closing up 80p at 2,015, after being added to the Merrills favourite Europe 1 list.

DSG International received a Morgan Stanley upgrade to ‘overweight’ from ‘equal-weight’, helping the Currys & PC World owner to close up nearly 2p at 58.25p.

The FTSE was diown about 10 points this morning at 6,058, whilst the FTSE 250 was down 7 points at 10,091. Lower crude and commodity prices hindered the energy and mining companies.

Over the pond, last nigh the DJI closed up over 52 points at 12,646.22, which was down about 80 points from its high of the day.  The S&P500 closed up nearly 7.5 points at 1,398.26, and the Nasdaq up over 21.5 points at 2,508.32.  With the dollar gaining some strength the price of the black stuff had fallen about US$4 bbl yesterday, down to around US$126 bbl. The US givernment had helped the situationafter reporting that the US economy grew last quarter more than had been estimated.

In the Far East today, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed up over 214 points at 14,338.54, whilst in Hong Kong the Hang Seng was up abgout 136 points at 24,520 by its lunchtime chow time.

Back here in London this morning, as mentioned at the top it was the energy & miners that were under pressure. BP was off 6p at 606.5p, and BG Group was down 37p at 1,257, whilst the miners reacted to lowr metal prices, with BHP down 60p at 19-quid, Vedanta Resources down 50p at 2,481, and Xstrata off 110p at 3,930.

Mind you, this fall in the oil price did help the airlines. British Airways had a decent start and was up 14p at 229p, whilst easyJet was up 20p at 315p.

On to financials, where the banks were also doing ok. RBS, after closing at an all-time low yesterday, was up 4p at 236p despite concerns over its £12 bln rights issue, Lloyds TSB was up 7p at 384p, and Alliance & Leicester was up 9p at 429p.

Johnson Matthey was given a decent write-up by Merrills, and promptly rose 37p to 1,972 as it joined Merrills favourite Europe 1 list.

Staying with financials, the insurers also did well, with Friends Provident up 4p at 121p, Standard Life up 8p at 250.5p, and Admiral Group up 20p at 888p.

DSG International was up 3p at 60p after a Morgan Stanley upgrade to ‘overweight’ from ‘equal-weight’, adding a 90p target, up from 57p, as it felt the Currys & PC World owner was getting its house together after the recent announcment on branch closures etc.

On to building, where Taylor Wimpey rose 4p to 89.5p after a Goldman sachs upgrade to ‘neutral’ from ’sell’, basically saying that this one had really hit the floor and was now looking like value, with all the bad news built in to the price.

The FTSE closed only 1.5 points lower at 6,068.1, down about 62 poits from the day’s high.  The FTSE 250 closed up 40.9 points at 10,098.2.

Over the pond, the DJI was up 40 points at 12,634, whilst the S&P500 was up 7.5 points at 1,398, and the Nasdaq up nerly 14.5 points at 2,501.  The US Commerce Department said the first-quarter GDP growth was at an annual rate of 0.9%, which was better than the 0.6% expected, above 4th-quarter figure of 0.6%, although many had hoped to hit the 1% level. On to employment, where the Labor Department said that jobless claims were up by 4,000 to 372,000, which wasn’t quite as bad as many feared, but continuing unemployment claims stayed above the 3m level for the 5th week in a row.

Back here in London it was the banks and the housebuilders that had a poor day. With house prices down 2.5%, we’re told, and builders moth-balling projects, both sectors took hits.

The banks were down, with HBOS off nearly 17p at 414.25, barclays down nearly 10p at 377.5p, and RBS down over 6p at just shy of 232p. ABN Amro didn’t help, either, with their sector review that forecasts a strong reversal in both earnings yield and leverage, which have both helped drive up financial sector returns in recent years.

On to the housebuilders, where Persimmons was down 26p at 487.5p, Barratt Developments down 10.5p at 190p, Taylor Wimpey down 8p at 85.5p, and Bovis Homes down 19p at 429p. The only FTSE 100 memmber, Persimmons looks like it couldget kicked out in the reshuffle next month too. Building materials group Wolseley was also down 19.5p to cose at 537.5 after a Panmure Gordon reminder of their ’sell’ stance and 4-quid target.

BT Group didn’t have a good day, closing down over 4p at 222.25p after a SG Securities ’sell’ stance and 2-quid target was made apparent.

Trying to find some good news, oil heavyweights did well, despite the price of the black stuff down $3 to $4 today, as BP closed up 7p at 612.5p, RD Shell up 28p at 2,145, Tullow Oil up 24.5p at 922p, and Cairn Energy up 104p at 3,419.

On to financials again, where hedge fund manager Man Group closed up 30.5p at 619p after reporting a 60% growth in full-year profit, immediately nudging Credit Suisse to up its target by 30p to 670p.

On to the miners, where Rio Tinto closed up 43p at 6,180p after an upbeat production update, and ENRC was up 71p at 1,481p as those bid rumours are still doing the rounds.

The FTSE 100 was up this morning, around 55 points at 6,125, whislt the FTSe 250 was up 95 poinst at 10,152.

Over the pond, the DJI closed last night at 12,594.03, up 45.68 on the day, whilst the S&P500 closed up 5.49 points at 1,390.84, and the Nasdaq up 5.46 points at2,486.70. It seems US durable goods figures were better than expected.  Today in the US we see the GDP figures for the 1st quarter. a 1% figure is expected, up from 0.6%.

In the Far East today, the Nikkei 225 closed up 415.03 points at 14,124.47, whilst in Hong Kong the Hang Seng recently closed up 134.48 points higher at 24,383.99.

Back here in London, Anto’s results are due this morning, and are expected to be ahead of exepctations, giving the stock a 13p lift to 710p,  Revenue should be around the US$830.4m mark.  Peer Rio, meanwhile, was up 125p at 6,262p, after saying it expects 8.6% compound growth moving forward for the next 7 years. It added that reckons it will be able to take advantage of an expected doubling of world demand for its metals and minerals over the next 15 years. Other peers also rallied. BHP was up 37p at 1,996p, ENRC up 25p at 1,435p, Xstrata up 43p at 4,059p, and Lonmin up 40p at 3,388.

On to oil, where world oil prices rfell back but remained above US$130 bbl last night in the Far East’s trading. The oilheavyweights were up again, with BP up 7p at 613p, RD Shell up 22p at 2,176, and Tullow Oil up 22p at 920p.  BG Group also had a good start, up 10p at 13-quid, after the FT said that BG will up its offer for Australia’s second largest retail energy supplier.

On to financials, where Man Group was up 17p at 606p after reporting a 60% increase in profits, adding that this year had started strong too. Credit Suisse jumped in by reitereating its ‘outperform’ stance and rising its target to 670p, up 30p from its 640p previous.

A JP Morgan downgrade caused insurance giant Standard Life to fall 2p to 240p after the broker said UK sales look like suffering. It gave a taget of 230p, down 15p.

The banks were under pressure as well, with HBOS down 7p at 424p, Lloyds TSB down 5p at 380p, Barclays down 4p at 383p, and RBS down 1.5p at 236.5p. ABN Amro said that the sector is due for a strong reversal in both earnings yield and leverage, compared to previous years.

The FTSE closed up 11.1 points at 6,069.6, down about 153 points from its peak, whiclst the FTSE 250 closed up 23.1 points at 10,057.3.

Over the pond, by the time London closed the DJI was down about a point at 12,547, whilst the S&P500 was down nearly 3 points at 1,383, and the Nasdaq down nearly 6 points at 2,475.4.

Back here in London, with oil now at about US$130 bbl, the airlines were pleased their fuel bills may be dropping just a little.  British Airways closed up 3.5p at 218p, whilst peer easyJet closed up just over 17p at 291.5.

Staying with travel, Carnival, the cruise operator, also saw benefits of cheaper fuel, closing up 52p at 1,892.5p.

Supermarket chain WM Morrison was up nearly 6p at just shy of 291p after a Credit Suisse upgrade to ‘outperform’ from ‘neutral’.

On to insurance, where Friends Provident, received a JP Morgan upgrade which helped a 1.9p rise to 117.75p, with the broker upping it to ‘overweight’ from ‘neutral’.

Rolls-Royce closed up 11.25p to 411.25 after it said it has formed a JV company with GKN Aerospace to carry out R&D for work with composite materials in aeroplane engines.

As mentioned above, oil was down, so the heavyweights fell too. BP closed down 11p to 605.5, whilst exploration group Tullow Oil closed down 12.5p to 896.5p.

UK nuclear power provider British Energy closed down 12p to 725p after posting year end figures, which certainly didn’t please Merrills, who reierated it’s ’sell’ stance. British Energy’s EBITDA fell to £882m from £1.2 bln, with blam eon lower annual output as well as lower prices charged. There was also no more news on the UK government’s stake in the nuclear group and who, if anyone, may be bidding for it.

In to the high street, with Marks & Sparks closing down nearly 15p at 381p after going ex-div, whilst peer Next closed down 17p to 1,168, and Cobham closd down 3p at just shy of 208p, also both going ex-div.

The FTSE was up this morning, trading at about 6,070, up over 11 points. The FTSE 250 was actually down about 20 points at 10,015.

Over the pond the DJIA closed up 68.72 points at 12,548.35, whilst the S&P500 closed up 9.42 points at 1,385.35, and the Nasdaq up 36.57 points at 2,481.24. Figures show the US economy is slowing.

In the Far East today the Nikkei 225 closed down 177.42 points at 13,715.89, whilst in Hong Kong the Hang Seng was down about 79 points at 24,203 by lunchtime chow time.  It seem the priuce of the black stuff falling has triggered a bit of a sell off over there.

In Far East trading there was some profit taking on oil, with concerns on demand from the US falling as the economy slows. Oil was trading sub-$130 again, with light sweet crude (July del) at US$128.80 bbl, and Brent North Sea crude (Jul del) at US$128.20 bbl.

Back here in London, it was the Royal Bank of Scotland that was a little suprise after a Credit Suisse upgrade to ‘neutral’ from ‘underperform’ saw the price rise 5p to 246p. Credit Suisse continued with thier sector review by giving peer Lloyds TSB a downgrade to ‘underperform’ from ‘neutral’, causing a 4p drop to 389.5p.

On to insurance, where Friends Provident was up 2p at 118p after a JP Morgan upgrade to ‘overweight’ from ‘neutral’. Peer Prudential liked the news and was up 8p at 652p.

On to the supermarkets, where Morrisons was up 6p at 291p after a Credit Suissse upgrade to ‘outperform’ from ‘neutral’, adding a new target of 340p up 20p from its last target.  Peer Sainsburys followed the trend, up 7p at 292p.

Some of the FTSE 100 went ex-div today, causing the yield to be taken out of the prices.  Those going ex-div included British Energy, Marks & Sparks, and Cobham.

British Energy was actually down 10p at 727p, but this was also due to reporting a drop in earnings from £1.2 bln down to £882m this year, blaming lower full year nuclear output and prices charged.

With the oil price down, the oil heavyweights backed off too. BG Group was down 7p at 1,283, RD Shell down 8p 2,144, Tullow Oil down 4p at 906p, and Cairn Energy down a penny at 3,370.

Commodity prices were also down, affecting the miners. BHP was down 15p at 1,957, ENRC down 25p at 1,385p, Vedanta Resources down 21p at 2,577, and Kazakhmys down 8p at 1,670.

Despite bing up at 6,147 at one point, the FTSE closed at 6,058.5, down 28.8 points on the session, whilst the FTSE 250 closed down 43.4 points at 10,034.2.  The FTSE 100 has had 3 lower sessions in a row, now.

Over the pond, by the time London closed the DJI was down nearly 5 points at 12,475, whilst the S&P500 was actually half a point up at 1,376.5, whilst the Nasdaq was 12 points to the good at 2,444.  The US government gave some good news in that there had been a slight gain in new home sales, but added that data showed that consumer confidence was disappointing. The Dow had opened up a little, but backed off, despite oil falling back to about US$130 bbl.

Back here in London, the heavyweight oil companies fell a bit due to the price of the black stuff finally pullng back. BP closed down 13.5p at 616.5p, RD Shell down 10p at 2,152, and Cairn Energy closed down 72p to 3,371.

On to the housebuilders, who suffreed again due to Hometrack reporting that prices were down for the 8th month in a row, with prices this month actually 1.9% down on a year ago. Then Citigroup was reported to have managed to place 7m barratts shares at 208p a go, causing barrats to close down 9.25p at just under 211p.  Peer Taylor Wimpey closed down nearly a penny at just shy of 96p.  Persimmons, who closed down 5p at 509p, is actually the only housebuilder remaining in the FTSE 100 list, and it may even lose that next month in the reshuffle.

Retailers didn’t do too well as a very wet Bank Holiday Weekend caused people to stay at home instead of spend cash, and then weekend press reports said that DIY sales were down 20% on last year.  B&Q owner Kingfisher fell nearly 2p to 138.1p in reaction.  Other retailers were down too, with Next down 18p at 1,185, and DSG International closed down 2p at 58.5p, not helped by a new Credit Suisse target of 34p, down from 50p.

Vodafone, which had been up this morning, closed down 2.8p at 160.5p after news that chief executive Arun Sarin will be replaced by his deputy, Vittorio Colao. Vodafone’s results were good, though, with group turnover at £35.5 bln for year end 31st March, and boasted a 4.2% growth.

As mentioned this morning, SABMiller closed up 85p at 1,309 after bid rumours that InBev were sniffing with intent on a bid.  InBev is also looking at Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc. and may consider SABMiller as a target too, depending on progress with Anheuser-Busch.  SAB has impressed ING, who raised their target to 1,550p, up from 15-quid.

British Airways did well today as well, helped by the price of oil dropping a bit, closing up 8.25p at just shy of 215p.

Compass Group, the commercial caterer, closed up 11.5p at 373.25p as Credit Suisse upped its target to 425p, 10p higher, saying the recetn results were very good.

GlaxoSmithKline closed down 17p at 1,104 after a Morgan Stanley downgrade to ‘underweight’ from ‘equal-weight’.  Peer Shire, however, closed up over 10p at 871.5p after its Hunter syndrome treatment Elaprase has now been approved in Brazil.

The FTSE was up about 21 points in it sfirst hour at 6,181, whilst the FTSE 250 was down about 10 points at 10,067.

Over the pond they were closed yesterday, as we were here in the UK, but on Friday the close there was negative.  At Friday’s close the DJI was down almost 146 points at 12,479.63, whilst the S&P500 was down nearly 18.5 points at 1,375.93, and the Nasdaq down almost 20 points at 2,444.67.

In the Far East today it was far mre positive, with the Nikkei 225 closing up over 203 points at 13,893.31, whilst in Hong Kong the Hang Seng was up nearly 150 points by its lunchtime chow.

The price of the black stuff has backed off as well, although still around the US$133 bbl mark. With more problems in Nigeria, there were stil, concerns on supply. Both Light Sweet & Brent were just about US$133 bbl for July deleivery, with Brent being 15cents cheaper.

Back here in London the oil price helped the oil stocks. Tullow Oil was up 14p at 935p, BG Group up 15p to 1,325p, and Cairn Energy up 70p at 3,513p.

The miners bounced this mirning after their poor end to the week last week, with the majors all up.  Vedanta Resources was up 65p at 2,642, Anglo up 82p at 3,454, Anto up 71p at 711p, and Rio up 107p at 6,406.

M&A rumours in the press at the weekend has SABMiller at the top of the board this morning, up 62p at 1,286, after reports that Inbev sniffing with intent on trying to put together the majors in the market. The reports said they were also looking at Anheuser-Busch as well as SABMiller as targets. ING upped its target to 1,550p from 15-quid.

Vodafone was up 3.2p at 166.5 after posting its results that were received well. Revenue was at £35.5 bln for the year end at March, which is up over 14%. Merrills reiterated their ‘buy’ stance. News that chief executive Arun Sarin will be stepping down appers to also have been received well.  He will be replaced by deputy chief executive Vittorio Colao. Peer Cable & Wireless was up 2.8p to 165.8 after a Goldman Sachs upgarde to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’.

Compass Group was up 5p to 367p, aided by Credit Suisse upping its price target to 425 pence from 415 following the group’s results earlier this month.

GlaxoSmithKline was down 10p to 504p after a Morgan Stanley downgrade to ‘underweight’ from ‘equal-weight’, citing risk to expectations for US Cervarix approval next year.

On to retailers, where bad weather over the bank holiday added to woes. Home Retail Group was down 6p to 225p, Next down 15p to 1,188, Kingfisher down nearly 2p to 138.1p, and Marks and Sparks down 2.5p to 391p.

Northern Foods was up 2p at 88p after some decetn figures. Full-year pretax profit was just over £50m, which was up from £40m last time.

The FTSE closed down 94.3 points at 6,087.3, which was the session’s low, whilst the FTSE 250 closed down 109.3 points at 10,077.6, also at its low.

Over the pond, by the time London closed the DJI was about 136 points down at 12,489, whilst the S&P500 was down around 19 points at 1,375, and the Nasdaq down about 31 points at 2,433.

Back here in London, the miners had a poor day as metal prices fell.  There was also some profit taking ahead of the 3-day weekend. Kazakhmys closed down 99p at 1,678,  Rio down 37p at 6,299, Anto down 38.5p at 693-1/2, Anglo down 171p at 3,372, BHP down a quid to 2,010, and Xstrata down 166p at 4,058.

The heavyweight oil stocks did fall back on profit-taking, as the price of the black stuff took a breather after such a strong rise. The price actually hit a record high at more than US$137 bbl yesterday.  BP closed down 16.5p at 630, BG Group down 27p at 1,310, Cairn Energy down 95p at 3,443, and Tullow Oil down 34.5p to 921.5.

FirstGroup closed down 12.5p to 511.5 after Morgan Stanley said it had doen a transport review and issued a note in which it said it was cautious on UK rail. The broker cut its price target for FirstGroup to 650p from 910p but did keep its ‘overweight’ stance. Morgan Stanley also downgraded Go-Ahead to ‘underweight’ from ‘equal-weight’, which fell 45p to 1,525, and cut National Express to ‘equal-weight’ from ‘overweight’, whicg closed 19p lower at 860. Stagecoach, though, was upped to ‘equal-weight’ from ‘underweight’, but the price still fell 5p to 227.25p.

On to banks, where Lloyds TSB closed up nearly 4p at 395p after a Exane BNP Paribas upgrade to ‘neutral’ from ‘underperform’, adding a price target of 495p.  Peer RBS closed up 2p top just shy of 247p,

On to insurance, where Aviva ahead 5p at 612, and Friends Provident up 0.9p at 115.1 amid talk Rabobank is set to make an offer for its Lombard division.

Sainsburys shares closed up 1.25p at 346 after an ABN Amro upgrade to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’, adding a target of 440p. The broker said the recent 13% fall aftre posting its pre-lim results was too much.  Peer Morrisons was up nearly a penny to just shy of 280p ahead of a trading update due in a week or so. Deutsche Bank reiterated its ‘buy’ stance and 310p target ahead of the quarterly figures.

Cable & Wireless closed up 6.4p to 161.3 after a Investec Securities upgrade to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ after it said the telecom firm’s full year results posted yesterday were good. Investec said C&W’s loked strong for this coming year. Other brokers also upped their targets.

Confectioner Cadbury was down 10p to 688 after an ING downgrade to ‘hold’ from ’sell’, citing pure valuation reasons.

Home shopping firm Findel closed down nerly 8p to 240.25p, extending recent falls following unimpressive full year results last week and rumours and chat about some rather large lines of stock on offer.

Discount airline easyJet lost 14p to close just shy of 266p on concerns with the price of fuel. There was also related sector news that AIM-listed business-only carrier Silverjet were temporarily suspended as its financing remained uncertain.