ADVFN III Morning Euro Markets Bulleti february 8, 2013.

ADVFN III Morning Euro Markets Bulletin

Daily world financial news Friday, 08 February 2013

London Market Report

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

Stocks rise after Chinese trade data     Market Movers     techMARK 2,291.13 +0.23%     FTSE 100 6,262.89 +0.55%     FTSE 250 13,338.84 +0.29% Positive data from China helped European stocks rebound on Friday morning, following a sell-off the day before on the back of comments from European Central Bank President (ECB) Mario Draghi. Both imports and exports in China jumped year-on-year in January, "suggesting that what we saw in the fourth quarter of last year may not have been a blip in a longer term down trend," said market analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari. Imports surged 28.8% on last year while exports rose 25%, beating the consensus estimates for increases of 23.5% and 17.5%, respectively. The trade surplus fell by less than expected from $31.6bn to $29.2bn, above the $26.6bn forecast. Markets across Europe suffered steep falls on Thursday - London's FTSE 100 dropped 1.06% - after Draghi said that the recent rise in the euro could post a threat to the inflation outlook and hamper the recovery across the continent. Weir and Aggreko lead the riser Engineering group Weir was performing well this morning after UBS raised its target price from 2,000p to 2,300p and reiterated its 'buy' rating on the stock. The broker cited positive read-across from results from sector peers Metso and Outotec. Temporary power and temperature controls firm Aggreko was also higher after HSBC upgraded the stock to 'neutral'. There is also some 'market chatter' regarding how Aggreko could be a bid target for ABB, according to Killik Capital. In contrast, Imperial Tobacco was a heavy faller after Investec downgraded the stock from 'buy' to 'hold', saying: "there is support from the valuation and the prospect of a takeout. But we don’t think the latter is imminent enough and while IMT looks ‘cheap’, it doesn’t look that cheap in the current Darwinian climate." On the FTSE 250, insurer Catlin was firmly lower despite raising its dividend after reporting that annual profit before tax surged from $71m to $339m. Telecoms company C&W Comms was higher after saying it is on track to hit earnings guidance. Investors shrugged off the news that the company is to take a further $20m in restructuring costs after accelerating investments to improve efficiency and flexibility. Chip group Imagination Technologies gained after completing the acquisition of the perating business and certain patent properties of MIPS Technologies, a provider of architectures and IP cores. Office provider Workspace was wanted after saying that demand for space remains strong with an increase in like-for-like rent roll in the quarter and the year to date as it continues with its programme of refurbishment and redevelopment.

AIM/Small Cap Report

FTSE 100 - Risers Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,153.00p +2.58% Weir Group (WEIR) 2,121.00p +2.07% Vodafone Group (VOD) 175.10p +1.89% Experian (EXPN) 1,103.00p +1.85% Old Mutual (OML) 189.30p +1.83% Aggreko (AGK) 1,585.00p +1.80% Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 338.70p +1.74% Anglo American (AAL) 1,970.50p +1.73% Polymetal International (POLY) 1,071.00p +1.61% Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,673.50p +1.42% FTSE 100 - Fallers Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,065.00p -0.90% Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,328.00p -0.81% ITV (ITV) 116.40p -0.60% Rexam (REX) 457.50p -0.59% Kingfisher (KGF) 277.80p -0.43% GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,431.50p -0.42% InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,896.00p -0.37% G4S (GFS) 279.00p -0.29% Severn Trent (SVT) 1,614.00p -0.25% Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,222.00p -0.24% FTSE 250 - Risers Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 134.00p +14.82% Playtech Ltd. (PTEC) 515.00p +5.17% Heritage Oil (HOIL) 205.00p +2.50% Workspace Group (WKP) 324.70p +2.43% William Hill (WMH) 403.90p +2.28% Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 550.00p +2.23% Debenhams (DEB) 99.75p +1.99% Computacenter (CCC) 480.00p +1.98% Dixons Retail (DXNS) 26.90p +1.89% Supergroup (SGP) 743.50p +1.85% FTSE 250 - Fallers Synthomer (SYNT) 189.88p -4.58% F&C Asset Management (FCAM) 105.10p -3.13% Catlin Group Ltd. (CGL) 527.50p -2.04% New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 266.40p -1.48% Big Yellow Group (BYG) 363.40p -1.46% Fidessa Group (FDSA) 1,525.00p -1.23% Lonmin (LMI) 372.50p -1.17% Ophir Energy (OPHR) 470.00p -1.05% COLT Group SA (COLT) 111.90p -0.97% Kentz Corporation Ltd. (KENZ) 413.00p -0.96%

FX round-up

FTSE 100 Euronext Dax perf CAC 40

Euro slumps against dollar The euro tumbled against the dollar and yen on Thursday after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi commented on the currency's recent rise. While Dragi said the rise stems from fresh confidence in the Eurozone and the currency, he also noted inflationary risks, increasing expectations of a rate cut. The euro fell to a trough of $1.3369, the lowest since January 25th before changing hands at $1.3392 after the ECB comments. Before the ECB the euro bought $1.3567. The central bank kept interest rates unchanged, as was widely expected. The ECB President added that economic activity in the Eurozone should gradually recover in 2013, however on a cautionary note, he said there were more negative risks than positive. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, stood at 79.724 compared to 79.728 on Wednesday. Against the yen, the greenback traded at ¥93.41 from ¥93.37 before. Sterling bought $1.5696 from $1.5659 after the Bank of England maintained its key lending rate at 0.5% and kept the size of its asset-buying programme at £375bn. UK Event Calendar INTERIMS Aquarius Platinum Ltd. INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE ICAP, Pinewood Shepperton INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS Balance of Trade (GER) (07:00) Balance of Trade (US) (13:30) Current Account (GER) (07:00) Factory Orders (GER) (11:00) Retail Price Index (GER) (07:00) Wholesales Inventories (US) (15:00) FINALS Catlin Group Ltd. IMSS Cable & Wireless Communications, Shaftesbury AGMS Grainger, Shaftesbury FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE Daily Mail and General Trust 'Ord' Shares, Daily Mail and General Trust A (Non.V), Grainger, Next Fifteen Communications, Smiths News, Unicorn AIM VCT

US Market Report

Stocks Close Modestly Lower But Well Off Worst Levels After moving sharply lower in morning trading on Thursday, stocks staged a notable recovery attempt over the course of the afternoon. Buying interest remained somewhat subdued, however, and the major averages still ended the day in the red. The major averages posted modest losses on the day, well off their worst levels of the session. The Dow dipped 42.47 points or 0.3 percent to 13,944.05, the Nasdaq edged down 3.35 points or 0.1 percent to 3,165.13 and the S&P 500 slipped 2.73 points or 0.2 percent to 1,509.39. President Barack Obama has called on Congress to pass a smaller budget package in order to temporarily delay the automatic cuts for a few months, although Republicans have expressed opposition to the idea. Nonetheless, lingering optimism about the outlook for stocks helped to limit the downside for the markets, and some traders used the pullback as an opportunity to pick up stocks at reduced levels. Traders were also presented with a mixed batch of U.S. economic data regarding weekly jobless claims and fourth quarter productivity. The Labor Department released a report before the start of trading showing that first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits saw a modest decrease in the week ended February 2nd, although claims remain well above the five-year low set last month. Among individual stocks, Apple (AAPL) showed a strong move to the upside late in the trading day after the iPad and iPhone maker releasing a statement noting that its management and Board of Directors have been in active discussions about returning additional cash to shareholders. Earlier in the day, David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital urged fellow Apple shareholders to oppose the company's attempt to amend its corporate charter, arguing that the amendment would limit the board's flexibility to distribute preferred stock as a means of unlocking shareholder value. Sector News Pharmaceutical stocks also came under pressure on the day, with Sanofi (SNY) leading the sector lower after reporting a sharp decline in its fourth quarter profits. Sanofi dropped by 4.3 percent, contributing to a 1 percent loss by the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index. Steel and biotechnology stocks also saw notable weakness, while some strength emerged among defense stocks. The Philadelphia Defense Sector Index advanced by 1.1 percent due in part to a standout gain by FLIR Systems (FLIR), which jumped 9.9 percent on upbeat earnings news. Other Markets In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.9 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended the day down by 0.3 percent. In the bond market, treasuries moved to the upside over the course of the session, climbing further off their recent lows. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, dipped 1.7 basis points to 1.951 percent. Looking Ahead On the earnings front, Activision Blizzard (ATVI), Hasbro (HAS), LinkedIn (LNKD), and Microchip Technology (MCHP) are among the companies releasing their quarterly results after the close of today's trading.

Friday newspaper round-up

Barclays, EU budget, Chinese trade... More than 1,000 investment bankers at Barclays have been told they will not receive up-front cash bonuses this year. Managing directors in the group's investment banking arm were informed that their 2012 bonuses would be deferred for at least a year. The move is part of Antony Jenkins' attempts to rebuild the bank's image, which has been tarnished by Libor and mis-selling scandals. [The Independent] Europe's leaders are poised this morning to cut the European Union's budget for the first time in its 56 year history following a major victory for David Cameron. Proposals tabled early on Friday morning for Brussels budgets for the period 2014 to 2020 would slash the EU's spending by £30 billion between 2014 and 2020 compared to current levels of spending. The historic cuts package tabled by Herman Van Rompuy, the EU president, after a bitter battle between the Prime Minister and Francois Hollande, the French President, could save the British taxpayer up to £500 million a year. [The Telegraph] Chinese exports and imports rose strongly in January, pointing towards solid growth both in China and abroad at the start of 2013. Exports increased 25 per cent from a year earlier, the fastest pace since April 2011 and up from 14.1 per cent in December. Imports increased 28.8 per cent, more than four-times December’s 6 per cent rise. The boom in imports trimmed China’s trade surplus to $29.2bn in January from $31.6bn a month earlier. Analysts called for caution in interpreting the figures because next week’s Chinese New Year holiday will have caused significant distortions, with companies trying to push as much business as possible into January before work is halted. [Financial Times] The era of the Tesco or Sainsbury Post Office could be upon us. The state-owned Post Office yesterday announced plans to close dozens of main branches and instead move their operation into a local high street supermarket or newsagent. After already moving hundreds of its smaller local branches into outlets run by the likes of WH Smith or the Co-op, the Post Office wants to repeat the process with 70 so-called Crown post offices, which are now in search of a “retail partner”. The plan was immediately criticised by postal workers. Their union, the CWU, said that 700 jobs were under threat and feared the move was the thin end of the wedge of a radically different post office service in the future. [The Times] The US's top transportation safety investigator has questioned the "assumptions" regulators used before clearing Boeing's use of controversial lithium-ion batteries on its grounded 787 Dreamliner. The national transportation safety board (NTSB) has been investigating the battery of a Japan Airlines 787 that caught fire at Boston's Logan airport in January. NTSB chairwoman Deborah Hersman told reporters on Thursday that tests showed a failure in a single cell of the battery spread to the rest of the battery in a way unanticipated by Boeing. Before the Dreamliner's approval for flight the company had discounted such an event, Hersman said. [The Guardian] HMV's administrator Deloitte is set to axe more than 900 jobs by closing 66 stores over the coming two months. The shops identified for closure include those in Wood Green, Wandsworth and Bayswater in London, and Burton-upon-Trent, Edinburgh, Wakefield, Wigan, Falkirk, Huddersfield and Chesterfield. HMV went into administration last month, putting more than 4,000 jobs at risk, although it continues to trade all its 220 stores. The coming closures will see 930 jobs cut. [The Independent]