ADVFN III Evening Euro Markets Bulletin (February 6, 2013).:

ADVFN III Evening Euro Markets Bulletin

Daily world financial news Wednesday, 06 February 2013

London Market Report

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

FTSE 100 movers: Hargreaves Lansdown rises on record revenue Financial service company Hargreaves Lansdown on Wednesday posted record revenue and profits for the last half of 2012 driven by a boost in client numbers. Those prompted an upgrade out of Cannacord to buy. Metal mining company Eurasian Natural Resources was higher following the release of its fourth quarter production update. The fourth quarter Kazhak iron ore operations saw a strong rebound. Coal was another area of strength according to analysts, while the fall in copper output was due to power issues in the DRC. Fellow miners Kazakhmys, Antofagasta, and Vedanta were also making gains. Shares of Schroders were rising strongly following an upgrade out of analysts at Morgan Stanley to overweight. Unilever, on the other hand, led the losers today after going ex-dividend. ARM Holdings was slightly lower following a number of broker ratings. Investec upped its target from 900p to 940p, maintaining its hold recommendation, while JP Morgan increased its target from 540p to 625p and retains a neutral rating. UBS moved its target from 900p to 930p, while its neutral rating was reiterated. Espirito Santo raised its target  from 850p to 920p, keeping a neutral rating, while Numis revised target from 820p to 920p, while leaving its hold recommendation unchanged. Bank of America moved its target from 1,030p to 1,145p and still recommends buying. Liberum Capital upped its target from 440p to 725p, but recommended selling. FTSE 100 - Risers Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 809.50p +10.21% Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 373.00p +8.37% Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,430.00p +2.88% Schroders (SDR) 1,989.00p +2.37% Kazakhmys (KAZ) 738.50p +1.79% Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,132.00p +1.71% Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,204.00p +1.69% Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,288.00p +1.26% Pearson (PSON) 1,211.00p +1.17% BAE Systems (BA.) 336.90p +1.05% FTSE 100 - Fallers Unilever (ULVR) 2,547.00p -1.93% Aviva (AV.) 351.10p -1.76% Aggreko (AGK) 1,559.00p -1.39% Rexam (REX) 462.50p -1.18% SABMiller (SAB) 3,148.00p -1.05% BP (BP.) 464.20p -0.96% ARM Holdings (ARM) 923.00p -0.86% Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,237.00p -0.84% BG Group (BG.) 1,132.50p -0.83% Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,190.50p -0.77%

ICAP climbed after seeing a 17 per cent increase in electronic volumes in January, with sector peer Tullett Prebon also on the rise. Enterprise Inns rose after Barclays upgraded the stock to overweight. Talk Talk Telecom Group climbed after Barclays raised its target from 235p to 300p, while maintaining an overweight rating. Meanwhile, Centamin fell after Westhouse Securities downgraded the stock from buy to neutral with a target  of 65p. FTSE 250 - Risers Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 272.00p +8.11% New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 280.90p +7.42% IG Group Holdings (IGG) 496.50p +6.43% ICAP (IAP) 359.50p +6.11% Enterprise Inns (ETI) 100.20p +5.75% TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 253.60p +4.79% Man Group (EMG) 94.90p +4.57% Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 113.60p +4.41% ITE Group (ITE) 265.70p +4.24% Senior (SNR) 208.60p +4.09% FTSE 250 - Fallers Centamin (DI) (CEY) 59.95p -4.16% Workspace Group (WKP) 318.90p -2.89% Debenhams (DEB) 96.15p -2.39% Invensys (ISYS) 342.20p -2.23% Genus (GNS) 1,433.00p -2.18% Dixons Retail (DXNS) 26.27p -2.01% Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust (ASL) 743.50p -1.85% Victrex (VCT) 1,510.00p -1.76% Great Portland Estates (GPOR) 481.20p -1.57% UBM (UBM) 729.50p -1.49%

Europe Market Report

FTSE 100 Euronext Dax perf CAC 40

European Markets Finished Mixed Ahead Of Central Bank Announcements The European markets ended Wednesday's session with mixed results. Investors were cautious ahead of Thursday's announcements from both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England. The political uncertainty in Italy also continued to weigh on investor sentiment. Silvio Berlusconi continues to gain support in Italy, ahead of the upcoming Italian elections. Berlusconi has vowed to reduce taxes if he regains control of the country. Investors are concerned that Berlusconi would put an end to austerity measures. The European Central Bank is expected to maintain status quo on Thursday as it waits for the positive trends in the financial markets to trickle down to the real economy and to take stock of the harm caused by a stronger euro. While ECB President Mario Draghi is unlikely to announce any further stimulus measures, he is widely expected to embark on verbal intervention to halt a further appreciation of the euro. The central bank of 17 nations will likely maintain the refinancing rate at a record low 0.75 percent for a seventh consecutive month in February, following the Governing Council meeting in Frankfurt on Thursday. The deposit rate is expected to be held at zero and the marginal lending facility rate at 1.50 percent. A renewed contraction in the fourth quarter is unlikely to trigger any action from the Bank of England policymakers in the face of heightened inflation concerns and hopes of positive signs in the euro area underpinning the U.K. economy. The Monetary Policy Committee is expected to maintain the quantitative easing at GBP 375 billion and the interest rate at 0.50 percent. The announcement is due on Thursday at 7.00 am ET. Fitch Ratings cut its outlook on the Netherlands' triple-A ratings to 'negative' from 'stable', citing sharp correction in housing market, banking system problems and high state debt burden. At the same time, the agency maintained the credit ratings of the nation at 'AAA', which was underpinned by the country's flexible, diversified, high-value-added and competitive economy as well as its current account surpluses and positive net international investment position. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks declined by 1.12 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, lost 0.40 percent. The DAX of Germany dropped by 0.99 percent and the CAC 40 of France fell by 1.40 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. increased by 0.18 percent and the SMI of Switzerland gained 0.31 percent. In Germany, Commerzbank fell by 1.52 percent and Deutsche Bank lost 1.27 percent. In Paris, Vinci declined by 3.35 percent. The builder reported a modest 0.7 percent rise in fiscal 2012 net income and warned of a flat year for its construction and concessions businesses. Shares of ArcelorMittal rose by 2.01 percent. The steel giant posted a significantly wider fourth-quarter IFRS net loss of $3.99 billion, but said its sees improvement ahead. Total SA finished lower by 1.19 percent. The oil giant entered into exclusive negotiations with a consortium regarding the proposed sale of all outstanding shares of Transport et Infrastructures Gaz France or TIGF. In London, Virgin Media fell by 1.90 percent after John Malone's Liberty Global agreed to buy the U.K-based cable television provider in a stock and cash merger valued at approximately $23.3 billion. Royal Bank of Scotland finished higher by 1.54 percent. The lender has been fined $612 million for its role in rigging rates, known as the Libor charges. Mining stocks turned in a positive performance Wednesday, especially shares of Eurasian Natural Resources, which leaped by 9.01 percent. Anglo American climbed by 0.62 percent and BHP Billiton gained 0.92 percent. Kazakhmys increased by 2.62 percent and Rio Tinto added 0.95 percent. Syngenta AG decreased by 2.40 percent in Zurich. The agribusiness company reported an increase in full-year profit to $1.87 billion from $1.60 billion in the same period last year, backed by a 7 percent growth in revenues. U.K. house prices fell 0.2 percent month-on-month in January after rising for two straight months, a survey by Lloyds Banking Group's Halifax division showed Wednesday. The monthly rate of fall matched economists' expectations and follows a 1 percent rise in December and 1.6 percent increase in November. Shop price inflation in the United Kingdom declined to 0.6 percent in January compared to December, the British Retail Consortium reported Wednesday. The decline in overall price inflation was 1.5 percent in December.

US Market Report

Stocks Nearly Flat After Early Move To The Downside Stocks are turning in a lackluster performance in mid-day trading on Wednesday after recovering from an early move to the downside. While selling pressure has waned from earlier in the session, buying interest also remains subdued. The major averages are currently lingering near the unchanged line. The Nasdaq has inched up 0.33 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 3,171.91, while the Dow is down 7.49 points or 0.1 percent at 13,971.81 and the S&P 500 is down 0.78 points or 0.1 percent at 1,510.51. The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders express some uncertainty about the outlook for the markets after recent strength lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to five-year highs. Stocks showed big swings back and forth over the course of the two previous sessions, but traders now seem reluctant to make any significant moves. Uncertainty about the financial situation in Europe may be helping to keep traders on the sidelines ahead of Thursday's monetary policy announcement from the European Central Bank. Along with the monetary policy meeting, the leaders of the European Union member states are due to hold a two-day meeting in Brussels beginning on Thursday. In a letter inviting the 27 national leaders to the summit, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy tried to instill a sense of urgency among them to adopt a financial plan for 2014-2020. Amid a lack of major U.S. economic data, traders are also keeping a close eye on the latest batch of earnings news. Shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) have moved sharply lower after the freight and shipping company reported fourth quarter earnings that missed estimates. Insurance company Aflac (AFL) is also posting a notable loss after reporting fourth quarter adjusted earnings that matched expectations but on weaker than expected revenues. Meanwhile, shares of Zynga (ZNGA) have moved sharply higher after the social gaming company reported an unexpected fourth quarter profit. The company also provided upbeat revenue guidance. Disney (DIS) has also moved to the upside after reporting first quarter earnings that fell year-over-year but came in above analyst estimates. The entertainment giant also reported better than expected revenue growth. Sector News Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves in mid-day trading, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets. Nonetheless, considerable strength has emerged among steel stocks, as reflected by the 1.6 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. Reliance Steel (RS) is turning in one of the steel sector's best performances, surging up by 8.8 percent after announcing an agreement to acquire Metals USA Holdings Corp. (MUSA) for about $766 million. While notable strength is also visible among airline stocks, oil service stocks have moved to the downside on the day. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index is currently down by 1 percent. Other Markets In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index soared by 3.8 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended the day up by 0.5 percent. Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the day mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged up by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index tumbled by 1.1 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively. In the bond market, treasuries have pulled back off their best levels but continued to see modest strength. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2.7 basis points at 1.989 percent.

Thursday preview

Thursday preview: Vodafone Group to report 'growth deterioation' Vodafone Group is expected to post 'growth deterioration' in its financial results Thursday. Last month Deutsche bank lowered its recommendation from ‘buy’ to ‘hold’ citing concerns about the telecom company’s worsening cash returns. "We forecast growth deterioration through calendar 2013 with the outlook for financial FY14 set to confirm declining free cash flow (FCF), no further dividend-per-share (DPS) growth and a scaled down buyback to avoid increased leverage." Deutsche Bank said it anticipates organic service revenues to falter further this year, with a return to positive growth unlikely until 2014. It also reduced its target for the shares from 225p to 175p. Analysts at Jefferies expect there will be no rise in dividends per shares (DPS) from the 10.19 guided in the fiscal year 2013. They said Vodafone may show reliance on its Verizon Wireless joint venture with Verizon to sustain DPS growth. It comes following reports Verizon wants to buy out Vodafone’s 45% stake in Verizon Wireless. “The urgency of fixing strategic weaknesses in the core may force Vodafone to accept an unsatisfactory [Verizon Wireless] endgame,” Jefferies said in a note. “…Vodafone can expect ongoing dividends from [Verizon Wireless] but it really needs to preserve this cash to fund strategic acquisitions.” INTERIMS Mcbride INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE FirstGroup INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS Consumer Credit (US) (20:00) ECB Interest Rate (EU) (12:45) Industrial Production (GER) (11:00) Productivity (US) (13:30) Q4 Smith & Nephew FINALS Beazley, Smith & Nephew IMSS Avon Rubber, Supergroup, Vodafone Group EGMS Hotel Corporation (The) AGMS Avon Rubber, BlackRock New Energy Inv Trust, Compass Group, Downing Absolute Income VCT 1, Downing Absolute Income VCT 1 'C' Shares , Downing Income Vct, Downing Income Vct 4, Paragon Group Of Companies, Thomas Cook Group, TUI Travel, Unicorn AIM VCT TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS Bellway UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS Balance of Trade (09:30) BoE Interest Rate Decision (12:00) FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE Cardiff Property, JPMorgan Asian Inv Trust Q1 TUI Travel, TUI Travel