European Markets Higher Ahead Of Bernanke Comments
8/31/2012 7:25 AM ET
The European markets are moderate to notably higher in afternoon
trading Friday, ahead of a policy address by Federal Reserve Chairman
Ben Bernanke at the Jackson Hole meet later in the day. The Asian
markets fell while the U.S. index futures are higher.
Moody's
Investor Service said late Thursday its review of Spain's government
rating for a possible downgrade would continue through the end of
September because of pending information.
The
review is dependent on the scope of the bank recapitalization, support
available under the European Stability Mechanism and potential changes
to the existing crisis-management framework, the rating agency said.
German
retail sales unexpectedly dropped for the first time in three months in
July amid a continued rise in unemployment. Retail sales fell a
calendar-and-seasonally adjusted 0.9 percent, while economists expected
sales to grow 0.2 percent, the Federal Statistical Office said.
Meanwhile,
Eurozone inflation accelerated to 2.6 percent in August from 2.4
percent in July, flash estimate issued by Eurostat showed. The rate was
forecast to rise to 2.5 percent. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate
remained unchanged at a record 11.3 percent in July.
Residential
property prices in the U.K. rebounded strongly in August after falling
for two months in a row, results of a survey revealed.
The euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is advancing 1.40 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is adding 0.65 percent.
The German DAX is gaining 1.31 percent and the French CAC 40 is advancing 1.36 percent. The FTSE 100 of the UK is adding 0.54 percent and Switzerland's SMI is rising 0.68 percent.
In Frankfurt, Deutsche Bank is gaining 2.1 percent and Commerzbank is rising 0.7 percent.
Lufthansa is advancing 1.7 percent and insurer Allianz is adding 1.4 percent.
HSBC started Fresenius with an "Overweight" rating. The stock is moderately higher.
Deutsche EuroShop is climbing 1.1 percent after a broker upgrade.
Societe Generale started Fresenius Medical Care with a "Buy" rating. The stock is falling 0.7 percent.
K+S is losing around 1 percent.
In Paris, Credit Agricole is surging 5.1 percent. Societe Generale is up 2.3 percent and BNP Paribas is gaining 1.5 percent.
Peugeot is advancing 2 percent. Renault is up 1 percent.
GDF Suez is gaining 0.6 percent. UBS removed the stock from its "Most Preferred List."
Luxury
retailer Hermes reported higher profits for the first half but sounded
cautious about the full year. The stock is up 1.3 percent.
8/31/2012 7:25 AM ET Iliad is climbing 4.7 percent after announcing results for the first six months of the year.
Aeroports de Paris is losing 2.9 percent. The firm reported first-half results.
Essilor is falling 1.6 percent. The lens maker reported first-half results.
Carrefour is down 0.4 percent even after Barclays upgraded the stock.
HSBC cut Eurofins Scientific to "Neutral" from "Overweight." The stock is losing 3 percent.
In London, miners Anglo American, Rio Tinto, Antofagasta and Kazakhmys are gaining between 1.7 percent and 2.8 percent. Commodities trader Glencore is climbing 2.7 percent.
Barclays is up 0.9 percent and Royal Bank of Scotland is gaining 1.4 percent.
Outside
the main index, Redrow is gaining 2.8 percent. The company has received
an initial approach from Bridgemere Securities Limited, Toscafund Asset
Management LLP and Penta Capital LLP in connection with a possible cash
offer of approximately 152 pence per share.
Restaurant Group is gaining 2.8 percent after reporting higher profit in the first half of the year.
WPP is falling 1 percent after a broker downgrade.
Bankia is adding 3.3 percent in Madrid on reports of recapitalization.
Across Asia/Pacific, Japan's Nikkei 225 retreated 1.6 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.4 percent. China's Shanghai Composite index lost 0.25 percent and Australia's All Ordinaries slid 0.03 percent.
In
the U.S., futures point to a higher open on Wall Street. In the
previous session, uncertainty ahead of the speech by Bernanke hurt
stocks. The S&P 500 and the Dow fell 0.8 percent each while the Nasdaq dropped 1.1 percent.
In the commodity space, Crude for October delivery is adding $0.42 to $95.04 per barrel and December gold is climbing $3.5 to $1660.6 a troy ounce.
US Market Report |
US midday: Bernanke keeps the ball rolling
Market movers Dow Jones: +122 at 13,123 S&P 500: +11 at 1,401 NASDAQ Composite: +24 at 3,072
US stocks enjoyed a Bernanke-bounce after the Federal Reserve Chairman
kept the door open to more quantitative easing in his keynote speech at
the Jackson Hole symposium today. There were few surprises
from Ben Bernanke, but his comments did cement rises in already buoyant
equity markets and laid to rest fears that the run-up to his speech had
been so elongated - Bernanke took longer to take to the stage than James
Brown used to take getting off it - that the speech itself would be a
let-down. Nevertheless, after the dust had settled, global
stock markets maintained their upwards momentum as the Federal Reserve
Chairman hinted that more quantitative easing (QE) would be necessary at
some point, as he harboured some serious concerns about the US economy.
Financial trader Shavaz Dhalla said: "Bulls were able to claw
back gains and once again prove that the hope for QE, even without
concrete policy announcements, is enough to catalyse optimism within the
markets." Bernanke said that the Federal Reserve "will
provide additional policy accommodation as needed to promote a stronger
economic recovery and sustained improvement in labour market
conditions." He said that the economic situation in America is
"far from satisfactory" with the "painfully slow" recovery in the
labour market: "unless the economy begins to grow more quickly than it
has recently, the unemployment rate is likely to remain far above levels
consistent with maximum employment for some time," he said.
However, Michael Derks, the chief strategist at spread betting firm
FxPro, said that Bernanke's comments were simply a reiteration of what
everyone has heard before: "For his part, the Fed Chairman failed to
really add in any material way to the last set of FOMC [Federal Open
Market Committee] Minutes, other than to voice 'grave concern' over the
state of the labour market and to assert that high unemployment might
'wreak structural damage' onto the economy."
Companies
Banking giant JPMorgan Chase gained after The Wall Street Journal reported that the company is looking to scale back its dealing with brokerages in an attempt to reduce risk. Molybdenum producer Thompson Creek Metals was higher after Dahlman Rose & Co lifted its rating on the stock from 'hold' to 'buy'. Facebook
dropping to a new low is hardly an event worth tweeting about these
days, but the social networking giant was on the slide again after
Daniel Salmon, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets, cast doubts on the
firm's ability to grow sales in the current environment. Salmon is
bearish on the stock and reduced his price target from $25 to $15, a
far-cry from the $38 a pop so many people were anxious to pay/sell at on
the morning of the stock's flotation. US Airways gained altitude on news it is in merger talks with American Airlines owner AMR.
Economic data
US
factory orders rose 2.8% in July, the biggest monthly gain in a year.
Consensus forecasts were for a 1.2% increase month-month in July,
compared with the 0.5% fall registered in June. The University
of Michigan's index of consumer sentiment rose to 74.3 in the final
August report, compared with the preliminary August estimate of both
73.6. he market had been expecting the final reading to confirm the
preliminary estimate. Perceptions of labour market conditions
were unchanged from July as 21% of respondents expected lower
unemployment in the coming year, but perceptions of current financial
situations improved a tad, as 30% of consumers reported being better off
than a year ago, up from 28% previously. S&P 500 - Risers First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $20.59 +4.67% SAIC Inc. (SAI) $12.35 +4.57% Corning Inc. (GLW) $12.12 +4.30% Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $50.21 +3.42% Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT) $12.17 +3.31% Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $31.57 +3.14% National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $78.56 +3.10% Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) $32.61 +3.07% Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) $35.74 +3.01% Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) $41.74 +2.96% S&P 500 - Fallers Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $4.64 -2.00% Spectra Energy Corp. (SE) $28.16 -1.28% Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $31.18 -0.89% GameStop Corp. (GME) $19.02 -0.73% Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $60.06 -0.69% Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) $42.14 -0.66% Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $5.25 -0.57% Ameren Corp. (AEE) $32.82 -0.55% Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) $37.66 -0.50% Forest Laboratories Inc. (FRX) $34.88 -0.46% Dow Jones I.A - Risers Intel Corp. (INTC) $24.90 +2.60% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $112.73 +1.62% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $30.81 +1.62% Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $19.20 +1.59% Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $17.04 +1.55% Dow Jones I.A - Fallers None Nasdaq 100 - Risers Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $31.22 +2.66% Intel Corp. (INTC) $24.90 +2.60% Apollo Group Inc. (APOL) $27.13 +2.53% Randgold Resources Ltd. Ads (GOLD) $100.42 +2.51% Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $11.75 +2.44% Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $34.20 +2.43% eBay Inc. (EBAY) $47.57 +2.19% Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) $35.69 +2.00% Nasdaq 100 - Fallers Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $31.18 -0.89% Research in Motion Ltd. (RIMM) $6.66 -0.76% Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $60.06 -0.69% Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (SIRI) $2.53 -0.59% Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $28.90 -0.52% |
Broker Tips |
Broker tips: IAG, SSE, BHP Billiton
Credit Suisse has reduced its target for British Airways and Iberia owner International Consolidated Airlines Group, otherwise known as IAG, saying that consensus forecasts for 2013 look 'very vulnerable'.
"We reduce our target from 160p to 140p as valuation support dissipates
for the stock, and remain 'neutral', however we expect the stock to
remain weak in the short - term as the market more fully factors in
recent jet fuel price appreciation." Utilities giant SSE
is enjoying 'better growth at lower risks', according to UBS which
upgraded its recommendation for the stock from 'neutral' to 'buy' on
Friday morning. "Thanks to a well balanced asset mix and its
UK location, SSE is well positioned to benefit from the UK's renewable
generation growth," the broker said. The broker has raised its
target for the stock from 1,340p to 1,515p, saying that its strong 6.4%
dividend yield should help to "put a floor under the company's share
price". Nomura reduced its targets for a group of iron ore
producing stocks on Friday on the back of falling prices but has
highlighted BHP Billiton as its sector preference. While all diversified miners are exposed to bulk commodities, Nomura reckons that BHP will likely outperform its peers in the current market due to its "more diversified/defensive portfolio". As for the others, the broker said that: Rio Tinto
may be the lowest cost iron ore producer but near-term earnings are
leveraged and "not without risk"; higher costs/leverage assets leave Anglo American and ENRC as the least preferred stocks.
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