ADVFN III Morning Euro Markets Bulletin (December 13th, 2012).

ADVFN III Morning Euro Markets Bulletin

Daily world financial news

Thursday, 13 December 2012

London Market Report

FTSE 100 Euronext Dax perf CAC 40 Please click on the images to view our interactive charts

Stocks fall as focus turns back to 'fiscal cliff'     Market Movers     techMARK 2,125.74 -0.30%     FTSE 100 5,931.14 -0.25%     FTSE 250 12,202.60 -0.18% Stock markets in the UK opened broadly flat on Thursday morning in spite of the Federal Reserve's stimulus announcement last night, as the focus turns back to the impending 'fiscal cliff'. While mining stocks more or less gained early on, FTSE 250 gold miner Centamin grabbed the headlines plunging by over a half after suspending operations. The Fed announced that it would reinstate a policy of ‘quantitative easing’ “initially at a pace of $45bn per month". It said it would keep its range of interest rates near zero as long as the unemployment rate remains above 6.5%, near-term inflation stays below 2.5% and longer-term inflation expectations continue to be well anchored. "While no doubt the Fed did deliver and lived up to expectations last night […] markets still turned lower on a combination of profit taking as much of the news from the Fed has already been priced in and investors are now quickly starting to shift their focus to the budget stalemate in Washington where the US going over the 'fiscal cliff' in less than three weeks time is still a real possibility," said Markus Huber, the head of German HNW trading at ETX Capital. In the press conference following the Fed decision, Chairman Ben Bernanke said: “We cannot offset the full impact of the fiscal cliff — it’s just too big." Nevertheless, he did add that he thought the 'cliff' would be averted. FTSE 100: Wood Group hit by mixed update Energy services giant Wood Group has said that it expects to deliver good growth this year, with overall conditions in energy markets remaining "favourable". However, shares fell early on after reporting mixed trading in its Upstream division. Natural gas company BG Group was out of favour after naming executive Chris Finlayson as its new CEO to replace Sir Frank Chapman, who is stepping down because of medical reasons. Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, fell despite saying that it has been awarded a significant order to supply integrated power and propulsion systems for seven offshore drilling vessels for Brazilian oil company Petrobras. Mining stocks were performing well this morning with ENRC, Vedanta and Rio Tinto among the best performers. However, diversified resources giant BHP Billiton was bucking the trend after giving the green light for a $520m investment in its Longford Gas Conditioning Plant project in Australia, which is necessary to its production plans. Supermarket group Morrison was flat after appointing Trevor Strain as its new Finance Director, who will replace Richard Penncock who announced his resignation in June. Strain is currently the Finance Director of Corporate at the company. FTSE 250: Centamin plummets after suspending operations Egypt-focused gold mining company Centamin saw shares drop around 60% this morning after suspending operations at its Sukari gold mine because diesel has stopped being supplied. Centamin stated that it had received a “retrospective claim” for LE403m (approximately $65m) from the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) for diesel fuel supplied from December 2009 to January 2012. Centamin alleged that the claim was “illegal” and claimed that EGPC had refused to authorise future supply of diesel to the Sukari Gold Mine until the amount was paid. High Street retailer Sports Direct fell despite delivering significant growth across the board in the first with with revenue up 22.5%. Bus and train group National Express gained after saying it is on target to deliver full-year results in line with company expectations despite challenging conditions. AIM/Small Cap Report FTSE 100 - Risers Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,203.00p +1.78% British Land Co (BLND) 560.50p +0.81% SABMiller (SAB) 2,803.50p +0.52% Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 708.50p +0.50% Land Securities Group (LAND) 814.00p +0.49% Intertek Group (ITRK) 3,086.00p +0.46% Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 248.10p +0.45% Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,497.00p +0.34% Barclays (BARC) 253.40p +0.32% Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 302.20p +0.27% FTSE 100 - Fallers Evraz (EVR) 257.70p -2.28% Wood Group (John) (WG.) 752.50p -2.08% Amec (AMEC) 1,022.00p -2.01% BG Group (BG.) 1,048.50p -1.55% Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,277.00p -1.47% AstraZeneca (AZN) 3,000.00p -1.40% Fresnillo (FRES) 1,938.00p -1.32% Reed Elsevier (REL) 634.50p -1.17% Polymetal International (POLY) 1,130.00p -1.14% Kazakhmys (KAZ) 749.00p -1.12% FTSE 250 - Risers COLT Group SA (COLT) 99.00p +2.33% Synthomer (SYNT) 194.40p +2.32% Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 95.65p +2.30% Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 3,069.00p +2.30% African Barrick Gold (ABG) 423.00p +1.93% National Express Group (NEX) 183.60p +1.89% Grainger (GRI) 118.30p +1.89% Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 110.00p +1.85% Domino Printing Sciences (DNO) 580.50p +1.84% Michael Page International (MPI) 383.70p +1.64% FTSE 250 - Fallers Centamin (DI) (CEY) 24.00p -54.46% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 715.00p -3.18% Dignity (DTY) 1,033.00p -2.27% New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 271.20p -2.09% Kenmare Resources (KMR) 30.53p -2.05% Bumi (BUMI) 266.50p -1.59% Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 419.00p -1.41% BTG (BTG) 344.80p -1.37% Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 796.00p -1.36% Hunting (HTG) 806.00p -1.35% European broker round-up FTSE 100 Euronext Dax perf CAC 40 Altran: Societe Generale maintains BUY rating with a price target of €6.40. Dassault Systemes: Morgan Stanley reiterates OVERWEIGHT rating with a price target of €95. Enagas: Nomura issues NEUTRAL rating and raises price target to €16 from €14. EON: Nomura downgrades to UNDERWEIGHT from neutral and lowers its price target to €13.70 from €15.30. REE: Nomura issues BUY rating and lowers price target to €39.50 from €42. UK Event Calendar INTERIMS Betfair Group, Cohort, Greenko Group, OPG Power Ventures, Sportingbet, Sports Direct International INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE Hansa Trust, Hansa Trust 'A' Non Voting Shares INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS ECB Report (EU) (09:00) Producer Price Index (US) (13:30) Retail Sales (US) (13:45) Q2 Sportingbet EGMS Capital Lease Aviation AGMS British Empire Securities & General Trust, Conroy Gold & Natural Resources, Fidelity Special Values, JPMorgan Elect Managed Growth Shares, Karelian Diamond Resources, New City High Yield Fund Ltd., Uranium Resources, ZCCM Investments Holdings 'B' Shares TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS Wood Group (John) UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS CBI Industrial Trends Surveys (11:00) US Market Report Stocks unchanged despite Fed boost     Market movers     Dow Jones: 13,245 (-0.03%)     Nasdaq: 3,014 (-0.27%)     S&P 500: 1,428 (+0.01%) US stocks finished broadly flat on Wednesday in spite of the Federal Reserve revealing new stimulus measures, as Chairman Ben Bernanke warned about the seriousness of the impending 'fiscal cliff'. The Fed announced that it would reinstate a policy of ‘quantitative easing’ “initially at a pace of $45bn per month". It said it would keep its range of interest rates near zero as long as the unemployment rate remains above 6.5%, near-term inflation stays below 2.5% and longer-term inflation expectations continue to be well anchored. However, in the subsequent press conference, Bernanke said: “We cannot offset the full impact of the fiscal cliff — it’s just too big." Nevertheless, he did add that he thought the 'cliff' would be averted. According to analyst Michael Gapen from Barclays Research, there is "little left for the Fed to do at this point in terms of altering its policy stance". "While there is ongoing uncertainty about the stance of fiscal policy, the FOMC has gone to great lengths in a short time to alter its policy framework completely. Both the timing of future rate increases and the overall amount and duration of purchases will be dependent on evolving economic conditions." Meanwhile, newsflow surrounding the ‘fiscal cliff’ was mixed today. Optimism that leaders will eventually agree on the budget has been increasing steadily over the past few days following an unscheduled weekend meeting between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner. However, Boehner said today that their two parties still have “serious differences" on resolving the issue. In company news, chemical maker DuPont climbed after saying 2012 earnings will come in at the upper end of the company’s forecast and that it will spend as much as $1bn to repurchase shares. Health insurance group Aetna gained after saying that earnings would grow around 6% next year. Costco, the largest American warehouse-club chain, rose after announcing quarterly net income of $416m, ahead of last year’s $320m. S&P 500 - Risers Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $90.73 +5.40% FMC Corp. (FMC) $56.80 +4.78% TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $42.65 +4.25% Lennar Corp. Class A (LEN) $37.87 +4.01% PulteGroup Inc. (PHM) $17.11 +3.82% D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $19.21 +3.50% Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $56.80 +3.45% Masco Corp. (MAS) $16.26 +3.44% Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $113.46 +3.33% Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) $49.20 +3.32% S&P 500 - Fallers Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $27.75 -4.41% CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $209.69 -3.47% Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) $49.00 -3.16% R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. (RRD) $9.22 -2.95% Ecolab Inc. (ECL) $70.51 -2.79% Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $68.94 -2.75% EMC Corp. (EMC) $24.67 -2.57% Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) $42.38 -2.57% Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $63.98 -2.44% Ralph Lauren Corp (RL) $150.50 -2.37% Dow Jones I.A - Risers Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $14.53 +1.89% E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $44.30 +1.40% General Electric Co. (GE) $21.78 +1.26% American Express Co. (AXP) $57.67 +1.07% AT&T Inc. (T) $34.49 +1.00% Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $10.61 +0.95% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $44.79 +0.79% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $87.95 +0.71% Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $89.45 +0.52% Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $49.64 +0.32% Dow Jones I.A - Fallers Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $68.94 -2.75% International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $192.95 -0.64% 3M Co. (MMM) $93.12 -0.60% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $37.64 -0.58% Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $25.51 -0.51% Boeing Co. (BA) $75.47 -0.46% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $89.31 -0.35% Alcoa Inc. (AA) $8.65 -0.35% Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $26.04 -0.34% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $27.24 -0.29% Thursday newspaper round-up The Fed, Oil demand, ECB... The US Federal Reserve renewed its efforts to support the still weak American economy today, unveiling a fresh round of bond buying and, in a landmark move, tying critical interest rate decisions to the health of the jobs market. The move came as Ben Bernanke, America's top monetary policymaker, lamented the "enormous waste human and economic potential" as the country struggles to get back on its feet following the Great Recession. He spoke after the Fed said it would only begin raising interest rates from near zero levels struck during the financial crisis when the jobless rate falls below 6.5 per cent. It also tied policy to concrete inflationary thresholds, setting a new, more transparent precedent for the way monetary policy decisions are made in the world's largest economy. [The Independent] The International Energy Agency (IEA) has raised its estimates for oil demand next year but says soaring shale production in America should ensure there are no shortages in supply. Improving economic conditions in China and the US is likely to result in about 865,000 barrels of extra crude demand during 2013, to reach total consumption to 90.5m barrels a day, according to the IEA's latest oil report. That figure is more than 110,000 barrels more than estimated just four weeks ago even though the IEA believes demand will remain sluggish in the first half of the year. [The Guardian] European finance ministers have agreed a deal to give the European Central Bank new powers to police eurozone banks, embarking on the first step in a new phase of closer integration to help underpin the euro. Following months of tortuous negotiations, finance ministers from the European Union's 27 countries agreed to hand the ECB the authority to directly supervise the eurozone's biggest banks and intervene in smaller banks at the first sign of trouble. [The Telegraph] James Harding, Editor of The Times, resigned yesterday, saying it had become clear to him that News Corporation wanted to appoint a new editor. He announced to staff that he had telephoned Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of News Corporation, yesterday morning offering to resign, and that his offer was accepted. Mr Harding’s departure comes at a key moment for the future of the newspaper industry, with negotiations at a critical stage over the implementation of Lord Justice Leveson’s recommendations on press regulation. [The Times] Facebook is expanding its efforts to introduce real-money gaming to millions of British users after announcing a deal with the online gambling company 888 Holdings. The American social network said that it had reached an agreement to introduce a range of bingo, casino and slot games on its website. British users of Facebook aged over 18 can bet up to £500 using their credit or debit card to win jackpots of tens of thousands of pounds. [The Times] Two of Deutsche Bank’s top executives have been drawn into a tax fraud inquiry by German prosecutors, casting further dark clouds over the country’s largest bank. Police and investigators raided the bank’s headquarters as part of a probe into tax evasion, money laundering and obstruction of justice involving carbon trading. Jürgen Fitschen, the bank’s co-chief executive, and Stefan Krause, chief financial officer, are involved because they signed the bank’s value-added tax statement in 2009, Deutsche said. [Financial Times] Bank of England chief economist Spencer Dale yesterday warned that the UK faces a “long and painful” recovery as wages grow more slowly than prices, and admitted there is little the monetary policy committee (MPC) can do to help. A combination of rising raw material costs, a weak pound and higher university tuition fees and VAT has kept inflation above 2 per cent since December 2009 and it is expected to remain so until the second half of 2014.[The Scotsman]