London open: Stocks flat ahead of a busy day
Market Movers
- techMARK 2,266.84 +0.30%
- FTSE 100 6,340.63 +0.02%
- FTSE 250 13,088.18 -0.15%
Markets opened flat on Wednesday morning ahead a busy day on the
economic calendar with all eyes focusing on growth data and a policy
decision in the US later on.
The world's biggest economy is expected to have grown at an annualised rate of 1.1%
in the fourth quarter of 2012, according to preliminary estimates due
for release at 13:30 (London time), well below the 3.1% growth in the
third quarter.
Meanwhile, the Federal Open Market Committee
(FOMC) will reveal its policy decision at 19:15 after a two-day meeting
in Washington. While markets will keep a close eye on the announcement,
analysts have labelled this as the most anticipated "non-event" of the
week.
"We think this Fed meeting is a complete non-event,"
said the experts at Jefferies. While the economy continues to slug
along, the improvements seen in recent data are said to be insufficient
to force the Fed to move its hand.
As such, the central bank
is expected to continue with its stimulus measures but everyone will be
looking out for comments on when the current third round of quantitative
easing (QE) will end. Most expect the Fed to continue through with QE3
until the end of the year, if not early 2014.
"Subdued start to a busy session
for European markets Wednesday with traders holding fire ahead of some
key economic releases. Earnings today are also a mixed bag, adding to
the general lack of conviction to get involved," said market strategist
Ishaq Siddiqi from ETX Capital.
FTSE 100: Petrofac sinks on Algerian concerns
Oilfield services group Petrofac
sank in early trading on reports that it has halted activities at the
In Salah gas compression project in Algeria. According to Algeria's Echorouk online newspaper, said that this was related to a terrorist attack at the natural-gas plant.
Tobacco giant Imperial
also suffered sharp falls after saying that its Finance Director is to
retire. The company also revealed that operating profits would fall in
the first half as "market trends have worsened in a number of key
markets including in the EU and Russia."
Oil group BP
was higher after a US court accepted an agreement to plead guilty for
its role in the Deepwater Horizone explosion and oil spill in 2010.
Water United Utilities was higher despite saying that revenue increased at a rate "slightly below the slowed regulated price rise for 2012/13".
Chemicals group Johnson Matthey
was in the red after saying that both sales and profits fell in the
third quarter. The firm said that volumes in the Precious Metals
division had been hit by Amplats' plan to close mines in South Africa.
Mining group Antofagasta
was a heavy faller as the wider mining sector was out of favour despite
the company posting strong production results in the fourth quarter.
Sector peer Polymetal was also lower even though it topped production guidance in 2012.
FTSE 250: Renishaw sinks after first-half results
Precision tool maker Renishaw
fell despite reporting a sharp increase in first-half earnings as it
was boosted by a string of large consumer electronics orders in China.
However, the company cautioned it faces tough financial comparators in
the second half.
Titanium feedstock miner Kenmare Resources rose after saying that revenue rose 40% in 2012.
Chip designer Imagination Tech was a high riser after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to 'overweight'.
INTERIMS
Hargreaves Lansdown
INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Ashtead Group, Halma, Vodafone Group
INTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATE
Cohort, Daejan Holdings, Penna Consulting, Stagecoach Group, Tricorn Group
QUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATE
Unilever
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
PMI Construction (GER) (08:55)
Q3
Canaccord Financial Inc.
Q4
GlaxoSmithKline, Wolfson Microelectronics
FINALS
GlaxoSmithKline, New Europe Property Investments, Wolfson Microelectronics
SPECIAL EX-DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Rensburg AIM VCT
AGMS
Blackrock Income And Growth Investment Trust, LED International Holdings Ltd (DI), Redhall Group
UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
BRC Shop Price Index (00:01)
New Car Registrations (09:30)
FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Edinburgh Worldwide Inv Trust
FINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATE
Noble Investments (UK), Victrex
| Europe Market Report |
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| FTSE 100 | Euronext | Dax perf | CAC 40 |
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Europe open: Mixed start for equities
- Italian and debt auctions slated for today
- Banks deposited 208.1bn euros overnight at ECB
- Spain´s Rajoy could soon unveil stimulus measures
FTSE-100: 0.02%
Dax-30: 0.10%
Cac-40: 0.10%
FTSE Mibtel 30: -0.08%
Ibex 35: 0.31%
Stoxx 600: -0.11%
European equities are continuing to tread water this morning – albeit
next to multi-year highs – ahead of the release of important
macroeconomic indicators, Stateside, this afternoon.
Also of
import, both Germany and Italy are expected to tap sovereign debt
markets today. Italy will be selling up to €6.5bn in medium and
long-term debt while Germany is set to auction €30bn in long-term
instruments.
Worth pointing out as well, the single currency is sitting atop the 1.35 level this morning.
Spain´s Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, has indicated that he will unveil stimulus measures shortly.
Nordic bank Nordea has released better-than-expected fourth-quarter operating profits.
One of its main Scandinavian rivals, Swedbank, also beat analysts´ forecasts for the fourth-quarter.
Still on the equity front, but from a sector stand-point, the worst
performing industrial groups are: Oil (-0.96%), Personal and household
goods (-0.54%) and Basic resources (-0.45%).
Italian business confidence beats expectations
Italian
Statistics office ISTAT´s business confidence index for the month of
January fell to 88.2 (Consensus: 89.5) after a reading of 88.9 in the
previous month.
Norway´s unemployment rate rose to 3.5% in November, after registering 3.2% in October.
Single currency rises
The euro/dollar is now rising by 0.17% to the 1.3511 dollar mark.
Front month Brent crude futures are now lower by 0.237 dollars to the 114.09 dollar mark on the ICE. |
| US Market Report |
US close: Stocks mixed as consumer confidence falls and house prices rise
-Consumer confidence declines
-House prices rise
-US banks sit government's annual stress test
Dow Jones Industrials: 0.52%
Nasdaq Comp.: -0.02%
S&P 500: 0.51%
The main US equity benchmarks ended mixed Tuesday following a day of ups and downs in economic and corporate data.
US consumer confidence fell in January to its lowest level in over a
year, according to the Conference Board Tuesday. The index dropped to
58.6, down from a reading of 66.7 in December, mirroring higher Social
Security taxes that have left Americans with less disposable income.
On a brighter note, house prices in areas of the US most affected by
the financial crisis grew faster than those in the rest of the country
over the past year, according to the Financial Times.
Also in the spotlight during the day were six of the country's largest banks – Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
The banks submitted balance sheets to have trading positions compared
to 'a global market shock' as part of the latest round of the US Federal
Reserve's annual stress tests. The financial institutions were being
tested to ensure they would be able to withstand adverse economic
scenarios.
Portales Partners analysts expect large regional US banks to return 62% of net income to shareholders. Results will be announced in March.
Meanwhile, investors are turning their focus to an announcement from
the Federal Reserve as it begins a two-day monetary policy meeting
Tuesday.
In company news, Valero Engery Corp. pushed
the S&P 500 higher after the oil refiner said its fourth-quarter net
income climbed to $1.0bn or $1.82 per share from $45m or $0.08 per
share a year ago.
Pfizer Inc. was also rising after the
Viagra drug producer reported an increase in fourth-quarter profits to
$6.4bn from $1.4bn in the previous year.
Seagate Technology plunged as the maker of hard drives forecast third-quarter revenues that trailed consensus.
Front month West Texas crude futures rose by 0.945% to the 97.360 dollar per barrel mark on NYMEX.
10 year US Treasury yields gained 2 basis points, with yields at 1.74%.
S&P 500 - Risers
Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) $43.77 +12.78%
D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $23.82 +11.78%
J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (JCP) $21.01 +9.31%
Hess Corp. (HES) $68.11 +9.01%
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $26.56 +5.56%
Phillips 66 Common Stock (PSX) $59.88 +4.89%
Tesoro Corp. (TSO) $48.05 +4.84%
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) $71.97 +4.84%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $56.96 +4.40%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $169.12 +4.32%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Lexmark International Inc. (LXK) $23.74 -15.06%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $33.91 -9.36%
BMC Software Inc. (BMC) $41.71 -6.23%
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $27.94 -5.93%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $260.35 -5.68%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $46.11 -5.20%
Ford Motor Co. (F) $13.14 -4.64%
Harris Corp. (HRS) $47.09 -4.39%
JDS Uniphase Corp. (JDSU) $13.06 -4.32%
EMC Corp. (EMC) $24.18 -4.05%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $27.70 +3.20%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $43.50 +1.71%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $43.66 +1.70%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $75.00 +1.67%
AT&T Inc. (T) $34.68 +1.61%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $98.60 +1.18%
3M Co. (MMM) $101.81 +1.15%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $37.42 +1.11%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $74.41 +1.07%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $21.27 +1.05%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $16.48 -3.17%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $20.78 -1.33%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $53.99 -0.68%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $67.20 -0.56%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $203.90 -0.50%
Boeing Co. (BA) $73.65 -0.47%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $47.96 -0.39%
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $8.88 -0.22%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $89.76 -0.04%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB) $153.92 +2.62%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $174.96 +2.38%
Staples Inc. (SPLS) $13.66 +2.17%
Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $32.58 +1.97%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $458.27 +1.88%
Randgold Resources Ltd. Ads (GOLD) $95.50 +1.66%
Dell Inc. (DELL) $13.25 +1.59%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $84.38 +1.50%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $86.59 +1.17%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $39.90 +1.17%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $33.91 -9.36%
BMC Software Inc. (BMC) $41.71 -6.23%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $260.35 -5.68%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $46.11 -5.20%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $30.79 -5.17%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $68.73 -3.75%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $7.58 -3.07%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $19.70 -3.00%
Equinix Inc. (EQIX) $216.45 -2.80%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $12.34 -2.14%
| FX and Commodities round-up |
FX round-up: Dollar weakens as euro soars
The
dollar weakened against major currencies on Tuesday while the euro
scaled to the highest level since December 2011 against the US currency
as sentiment towards the Eurozone improves.
The dollar index,
which measures the dollar against a basket of six other major
currencies, dropped to 79.527 from 79.790 on Monday after a
disappointing US consumer confidence report.
US consumer confidence index fell to 58.6 in January, compared to 66.7 in December. It also fell short of estimates of 64.3.
Meanwhile the euro puckered up to the key resistance and
psychologically important $1.35, trading at a high of $1.3497, after
upbeat German economic data.
A leading German consumer
confidence indicator rose 5.8 from 5.7 the previous month, in contrast
to the US. Comments from European Comission Vice President Ollie Rehn
noted a steadily growing confidence in Spain despite of ongoing
difficulties faced by the country.
Sterling changed hands at $1.5761 versus $1.5693.
Against the yen, the dollar traded at ¥90.71 compared with ¥90.76 before.
Commodities: Economic data bolsters crude
Hopes
of increased demand for crude sent oil prices higher on Tuesday with
the March contract settling at the highest level since September.
Investors cheered further indication of an improving US economic
outlook after Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller home-price index rose
5.5% from last year.
However crude briefly came off intra-day
highs after a US consumer confidence report fell in January to its
lowest level since November 2011.
The spotlight also turned to
tensions in the Middle East, upcoming data on US stockpiles, a policy
statement from the Federal Reserve and uncertain oil export capacity out
of Cushing, Okla.
Crude oil for March delivery topped $97 a barrel, rising $1.13 to at $97.57 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Over on the ICE futures exchange Brent crude rose 88 cents to $114.22 a barrel.
Among precious metals gold bucked its recent losing streak on Tuesday,
to log a 0.5% increase, after falling as much 2.4% in the last four
sessions.
Gold futures for February delivery rose $7.90 to
settle at $1,660.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
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