London open: Stocks flat after hitting multi-year high
Market Movers
- techMARK 2,195.91 +0.11%
- FTSE 100 6,098.26 -0.01%
- FTSE 250 12,723.41 +0.11%
The FTSE 100 opened flat on Thursday morning after hitting a near
four-year high the day before, with economic data from China and
well-received results from Tesco providing some support early on.
The Footsie finished at 6,099 on Wednesday, its highest closing level since May 22nd 2008.
Chinese trade
rebounded strongly last month, lifting sentiment this morning. The
trade surplus totalled $31.6bn in December, well ahead of the $19.6bn
surplus reported in November and the $20bn forecast.
Exports
jumped by 14.1% year-on-year, ahead of the 5% estimate, while imports
also beat expectations rising by 6%, ahead of the 3.5% estimate.
However, market analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari said that investors
don't appear to be getting too carried away with the data "and for good
reason".
"Chinese trade data has been quite volatile over the last 12 months so we shouldn't read too much into a single figure.
Especially when the next year is going to be extremely difficult for
two of its largest trading partners, the US and the Eurozone."
The markets' focus today will likely be on central bank decisions in the UK and Europe,
with the Bank and England and European Central Bank scheduled to report
this afternoon. Both are expected to maintain current policy.
FTSE 100: Tesco and Bunzl provide a lift
Internet
purchases supported a moderate rise in sales at Tesco, according to the
supermarket chain's latest trading statement. Group sales in the six
weeks to January 5th increased by 3.8% including petrol, causing shares
to rise.
International distribution and outsourcing giant Bunzl
was also higher after completing three further purchases in South
America and the US, bringing its 2012 total acquisition spend to £270m
pounds.
Heading the other day was High Street giant Marks & Spencer
after reporting worse-than-expected sales figures for the key Christmas
period in a trading update that was partially leaked the night before.
LFL sales in the UK dropped by 1.8%, worse than the 1.4% decline
expected by Nomura.
Banks were performing well this morning with RBS, Lloyds and Standard Chartered
making gains. The latter was lifted this morning by Societe Generale,
which upgraded its rating to 'buy' and hiked its target for the shares
from 1,530p to 1,900p.
FTSE 250: Pace jumps on upbeat guidance
TV decoder maker Pace
surged after saying that full-year revenue is expected to be ahead of
previous forecasts and 4% higher than last year. The West Yorkshire
based firm said it expects revenue to be around $2.4bn after a strong
second half.
Lighting, signalling and electronics group Dialight was higher after expressing confidence for a "continued strong performance in 2013".
| UK Event Calendar |
Thursday January 10
TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Bwin.party Digital Entertainment, Goals Soccer Centres, Hays, Hilton Food Group, Rathbone Brothers, SIG, Tesco
IMS
Hilton Food Group, JD Sports, XP Power
INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Caledonia Investments, Creston, Mckay Securities, Morgan Crucible Co, Whitbread
QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE
Land Securities Group, XP Power Ltd. (DI)
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Spanish and Italian Treasury debt auctions
ECB Interest Rate (EU) (12:45)
Weekly initial unemployment claims (US) (13:30)
Wholesale inventories (US) (15:00)
Q4
Sandvine Corp.
GMS
Capital & Regional
FINALS
Sandvine Corp.
IMSS
Marks & Spencer Group
EGMS
Bridge Energy Asa, NetDimensions Holding Ltd. (DI)
AGMS
Baronsmead VCT, Baronsmead VCT 2, Cardiff Property
UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
MPC policy decision
| Europe Market Report |
 |
| FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |
 |  |  |  |
|
European Stocks To Rise On Chinese Data
European
stocks are seen opening higher on Thursday on optimism the global
economic recovery is gaining traction after data showed Chinese exports
rebounded strongly in December from a three-month low. China's exports
soared 14.1 percent in the month from a year earlier, the fastest pace
in seven months, data released by the General Administration of Customs
showed. The outcome was much stronger than the 5 percent increase
forecast by economists.
Asian markets are trading broadly higher,
extending gains for a second straight session, boosted by the Chinese
trade data and amid continued weakness in the yen after Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe renewed his pressure on the central bank to double its
inflation target. The euro is turning in a mixed performance in Asian
trading as investors await the European Central Bank's as well as the
Bank of England's latest monetary policy meetings later in the day.
Most
economists are not expecting any change in interest rates, but weak
economic data from Germany has fueled speculation of a further ECB rate
cut. The Bank of England is also set to adopt a "wait and see" stance at
the start of the year as policymakers see little compelling case for
another stimulus. Meanwhile, construction activity in the U.K. will
likely improve in 2013, and the sector is set to recover from last
year's slump which was marked by tough conditions, the latest
construction market survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors showed. The number of experts who expect a growth in output in
the coming twelve months increased by 15 percent following a
challenging 2012.
Across the Atlantic, investors await reports on
weekly jobless claims and wholesale inventories for further signs of
economic recovery.
In domestic corporate news, French car maker
Renault SA proposed to its labor unions that working time at its
production sites in France be increased by an average of 6.5 percent to
make the plants more attractive in terms of allocation of additional
volumes from other carmakers.
Media house Vivendi SA said a New
York court confirmed a 765 million euros jury verdict rendered against
the company on June 25, 2012 in a lawsuit filed by Liberty Media Corp.
German
sugar company Südzucker AG posted higher third-quarter net earnings
attributable to the company's shareholders of 113 million euros,
compared with 109 million euros last year.
Automaker Chrysler
Group LLC said it has received a "registration demand" from the UAW
Retiree Medical Benefits Trust for the sale of a part of the trusts
ownership in Chrysler.
Credit Suisse Group said it has agreed to sell its exchange traded funds business to BlackRock, Inc. for an undisclosed price.
Cryo-Save
Group N.V., a stem cell storage firm in Europe, said it stored 8,300
new samples in the fourth quarter compared to 10,300 samples stored in
the prior year.
European stocks gained ground on Wednesday,
benefiting from encouraging fourth-quarter results posted by U.S.
aluminum producer Alcoa. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of Eurozone bluechip
stocks rose 0.6 percent and the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes
some major U.K. companies, advanced 0.8 percent.
Around Europe,
the German DAX and France's CAC 40 gained about 0.3 percent each and the
U.K.'s FTSE 100 advanced 0.7 percent, while Switzerland's SMI rallied
1.1 percent to close above the 7,100 mark for the first time since
September 2008.
Wall Street broke two days of losses overnight on
optimism about the outlook for corporate earnings following
better-than-expected quarterly results from bellwether Alcoa. The Dow
and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose about half a percent each, while the
S&P 500 added 0.3 percent.
| US Market Report |
US close: Averages finish higher but still below resistance
- Obama to name Jack Lew as Treasury Secretary
- Morgan Stanley to start 1,600 lay-offs
- Bullishness amongst financial advisers rises to 51% -Inv.Inteligence
Dow Jones Industrials: 0.47%
Nasdaq Comp.: 0.46%
S&P 500: 0.26%
The main US equity averages finished near their best levels of the day,
with average gains of 0.4%. The S&P 500 however is below the 1,471
point mark which some see as the break-or-make level.
That followed better than expected sales figures out from Alcoa
overnight. Far more important, at least for ever whimsical stock
markets, the company expects global demand to recover next year, as
China's does.
Of interest, US oil production will jump by a
quarter by 2014, to its highest level in 26 years, according to the
latest forecasts from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the
US Energy Department's statistical arm.
This is mainly because of the discovery of vast reserves of shale oil.
The EIA also forecast that average global oil prices would fall from $112 a barrel in 2012 to $99 in 2014.
Medical equipment maker Danaher
rose following on the back of positive comments to be delivered by its
Chief Executive Officer at Healthcare sector conference sponsored buy JP
Morgan.
Hard drive manufacturer Seagate Technology raised its fiscal second quarter revenue forecasts to $3.6bn, versus $3.5bn.
Shares of Clearwire surged after the company received an unsolicited offer from Dish Network, countering an offer by Sprint Nextel.
Education group Apollo was down by 10% after reporting an 11% fall in first-quarter earnings.
Goldman Sachs raised its view on shares of Mastercard to buy from neutral.
Credit Suisse downgraded Bank of America to neutral.
Housing affordability was expected to set a record in 2012, according to data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Front month West Texas crude futures nudged higher by 0.06% to the 93.25 dollar mark on the NYMEX.
10 year US Treasury yields were down by one basis point at 1.86%. That
despite the relative weaker demand seen at this afternoon's auction of
$21bn in 10 year bonds.
S&P 500 - Risers
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $33.48 +6.64%
Hospira Inc. (HSP) $34.07 +5.28%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $43.80 +4.34%
PerkinElmer Inc. (PKI) $34.36 +4.06%
Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) $50.81 +3.95%
Total System Services Inc. (TSS) $23.55 +3.74%
Danaher Corp. (DHR) $59.80 +3.68%
Harman International Industries Inc. (HAR) $49.32 +3.64%
Boeing Co. (BA) $76.76 +3.55%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $214.25 +3.50%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Apollo Group Inc. (APOL) $19.32 -7.76%
DeVry Inc. (DV) $24.00 -4.91%
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $11.43 -4.59%
Alpha Natural Res (ANR) $9.90 -3.88%
First Horizon National Corp. (FHN) $10.05 -3.27%
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) $47.53 -2.92%
FirstEnergy Corp. (FE) $40.22 -2.64%
EQT Corp. (EQT) $57.19 -2.54%
GameStop Corp. (GME) $22.61 -2.50%
Big Lots Inc. (BIG) $27.84 -2.45%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Boeing Co. (BA) $76.76 +3.55%
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $15.85 +2.99%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $52.37 +1.89%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $26.47 +1.73%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $21.45 +1.71%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $84.55 +1.20%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $73.94 +1.02%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $42.59 +0.97%
3M Co. (MMM) $96.41 +0.95%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $46.44 +0.85%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $11.43 -4.59%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $88.14 -0.38%
AT&T Inc. (T) $34.24 -0.32%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $192.32 -0.29%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $43.00 -0.23%
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $9.08 -0.22%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $90.81 -0.14%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $63.17 -0.08%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $45.47 -0.07%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $20.30 -0.05%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $33.48 +6.64%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $30.59 +5.26%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $43.80 +4.34%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $183.40 +3.83%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $70.75 +3.35%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $104.34 +3.21%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $36.81 +3.11%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $100.31 +2.89%
Life Technologies Corp. (LIFE) $54.08 +2.83%
DIRECTV (DTV) $51.86 +2.77%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $39.30 -6.98%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $12.21 -2.25%
Dollar Tree Stores Inc. (DLTR) $38.18 -2.13%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $54.63 -1.78%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $19.33 -1.68%
Expedia Inc. (EXPE) $63.70 -1.62%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $517.10 -1.56%
Nuance Communications Inc. (NUAN) $23.02 -1.41%
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $39.70 -1.10%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $88.39 -0.91%
|
| FX and Commodities round-up |
FX round-up: Dollar makes headway, yen under pressure
The
dollar made headway against the yen and the euro on Wednesday with the
yen pulling off recent highs ahead of the European Central Bank meeting.
The ECB is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold when it meets Thursday
Against the yen, the greenback changed hands at ¥87.78 from ¥87.09 on
Tuesday after flirting with ¥88, a two and a half year high.
The euro firmed to ¥114.78 from ¥113.96 as investors bet that the Bank
of Japan will take more aggressive stimulus action at its next policy
meeting at January 21-22nd.
Newly elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pledged to take decisive measures to boost Japan's economy.
The euro was down against the dollar at $1.3065 from $1.3084 on Tuesday
following disappointing German industrial production data for November.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency against a
basket of six major currencies, advanced to 80.515 from 80.323 on
Tuesday.
The pound fell below $1.60 for the first time in over
a month on bets that the Bank of England will signal more stimulus as
the economy struggles to recover.
The UK currency also weakened after a government report showed the November trade deficit narrowed less forecast.
The pound later traded at $1.6034 from $1.6053.
Commodities: Crude logs slight loss
Crude
oil futures nursed a small loss on Wednesday after government weekly
data showed a bigger than expected rise in gasoline and distillate
inventories.
Crude for February delivery had been trading in
positive territory before the Energy Information Administration report
but later retreated 5 cents to settle at $93.10 a barrel on the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
The EIA report showed crude supplies
rose by 1.3m barrels for the week ended January 4th. Analysts expected a
1.5m barrel increase.
Meanwhile gasoline supplies surged 7.4m
barrels in the last week while distillates, used in heating oil and
diesel, advanced 6.8m barrels, the EIA report said. Analysts had
pencilled in an increase of 2.6m barrels and 1.5m barrels respectively.
In London, February Brent crude dropped 18 cents to settle at $111.76 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.
Among precious metals gold declined after the previous session's sharp
rally as gains among equities and the stronger dollar eroded the yellow
metal's appeal.
Gold for February delivery dropped $6.70 to
settle at $1,655.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
|
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment