Tuesday 6 November 2012
QUOTE OF THE DAY
(The Weakest Link) is fascinating program. They ask a bunch of people questions and they keep getting rid of the dumbest person, so just the smartest person is left. It is kind of the opposite way we elect a president
- US chat show host Jay Leno
THIS MORNING IN LONDON
FTSE 100
5,877.26
38.20 0.65%
FTSE 250
12,052.68
22.22 0.18%
FTSE 350
3,136.23
18.43 0.59%
FTSE All Share
3,070.16
17.74 0.58%
AIM 100
3,144.36
8.69 0.28%
AIM All Share
700.80
0.91 0.13%
11:56 am
Stocks extend gains as US heads to polls
- Stocks gain as eyes turn to US elections
- UK industrial production disappoints
- Investors digest results from Babcock, M&S, InterContinental...
UK stocks rebounded on Tuesday morning following, paring losses from the day before, as markets get ready for the climax of the US presidential race. Stock futures across the Pond are pointing to a positive start when the opening bell rings in a few hours.
The latest polls suggest that incumbent President Barack Obama holds a narrow lead over Republican challenger Mitt Romney but it is said that the final result could still go either way.
"Even if Barack Obama manages to hold on to his presidency without a majority in the Senate and Congress it will be hard to pass any new laws without having to compromise with the Republican party, making major reforms rather unlikely which in turn might continue to hamper the economy and job growth," said Markus Huber, the head of German HNW trading at ETX Capital.
"It might be the case that overall it matters less who will be elected as president of the US tonight instead the question will be, will the new president have the support and power to turn the economy around and bring down high unemployment or will we have a similar situation as we had in the past two years when Republican retook Congress in 2010 making it very difficult for President Obama to pass new laws."
While all eyes will likely be on the US today, investors had plenty to distract them this morning in London, with a barrage of trading updates and results from a number of heavyweight stocks to digest, as well as economic data from home and away.
UK industrial production registered a contraction of 1.7% month-on-month in September (-2.6% year-on-year), according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The consensus estimate had been for a fall of just 0.6%m/m (-1.6% y/y).
Meanwhile, UK retail sales rose by 1.5% m/m in October, but fell by 0.1% y/y, in value and like-for-like terms, according to the latest data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
In the Eurozone today, the latest data on service-sector activity showed that the economic slowdown in the single-currency region continued last month. The service PMI compiled by Markit fell from 46.2 to 46.0 in October, below expectations of a flat reading. Meanwhile, the composite PMI which measures services and manufacturing combined fell from 45.8 to 45.7.
FTSE 100: Babcock's up with events, say analysts
Babcock's share price took a hit this morning despite the engineering support services group reporting a solid set of broadly 'in-line' first-half numbers. With shares performing extremely well in the year-to-date, analysts believe that the stock is now up with events. Investec nalyst John Lawson said: "Babcock has been one of the best performers in the sector for some time and, whilst today's figures were good, we move from 'buy' to 'hold', mostly a valuation call after a strong run up."
Chip designer ARM jumped after saying that it is leading a consortium which is to acquire the patent portfolio of MIPS Technologies, the US semiconductor design company, in order to reduce the risk of expensive patent infringement suits in the chip design industry.
High Street bellwether Marks & Spencer rose this morning after announcing that second-quarter revenue gained 2.5%, driven by a strong performance from food sales and a handy contribution from the group's international stores.
Water and waste group Pennon edged higher after signing a 25-year South London Waste Treatment Services Public Private Partnership (PPP) contract for the London Boroughs of Croydon, Kingston, Merton and Sutton.
Security group G4S was in demand after saying its financial position continues to be strong and it "remains on track to meet its cash conversion target of 85% of PBITA [profit before interest, tax and amortisation] for the full year."
Property group Capital Shopping Centres rose after outperforming the market as the number of shoppers visiting its shopping centres rose for the second quarter in a row.
Primark and foods group Associated British Foods was wanted after profits and revenues edged higher in the year to September 15th.
Emerging markets bank Standard Chartered was a heavy faller after Credit Suisse downgraded the stock from 'neutral' to 'underperform' and cut its target price from 1,460p to 1,340p.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 234.60p +6.06%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 719.50p +3.53%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 44.22p +3.20%
G4S (GFS) 266.30p +2.11%
Evraz (EVR) 247.20p +2.02%
ITV (ITV) 89.10p +2.00%
Aviva (AV.) 339.70p +1.83%
Standard Life (SL.) 303.30p +1.78%
Barclays (BARC) 241.70p +1.77%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,550.00p +1.71%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Babcock International Group (BAB) 954.00p -3.54%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,100.00p -0.90%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,058.00p -0.84%
Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 318.70p -0.81%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,471.50p -0.78%
Experian (EXPN) 1,055.00p -0.47%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,361.00p -0.37%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,434.00p -0.35%
Centrica (CNA) 325.50p -0.18%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,829.00p -0.11%
FTSE 250 - Risers
New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 264.80p +2.76%
Homeserve (HSV) 232.80p +2.46%
Phoenix Group Holdings (DI) (PHNX) 500.00p +2.46%
Yule Catto & Co (YULC) 152.00p +2.43%
Ladbrokes (LAD) 190.00p +1.99%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 219.90p +1.90%
Invensys (ISYS) 238.60p +1.79%
Michael Page International (MPI) 368.40p +1.74%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 2,900.00p +1.72%
Hansteen Holdings (HSTN) 76.95p +1.52%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 125.40p -3.32%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 209.10p -2.65%
London & Stamford Property (LSP) 114.00p -2.56%
Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 111.00p -2.29%
African Barrick Gold (ABG) 418.50p -1.94%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 141.40p -1.74%
WH Smith (SMWH) 615.00p -1.68%
Lonmin (LMI) 492.00p -1.50%
Ruspetro (RPO) 101.50p -1.46%
COLT Group SA (COLT) 103.10p -1.43%
WHAT THE BROKERS SAY
AB Foods: Jefferies keeps hold rating and 1,365p target; Panmure Gordon ups target from 1,300p to 1,450p, hold rating kept; Investec keeps hold rating and 1,300p target.
Talvivaara: Seymour Pierce keeps hold rating.
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THE LATEST ON THE CRAZY BOARD
The top 5 hot company threads on the Bulletin Board:
Goldplat
Falkland Oil & Gas
Wolfson Microelectronics
Nexus
The Running Trading Thread
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BOOK OF THE WEEK
By Nassim Taleb
A book review by Ross Jones
The majority of us want to push for more in our lives and it is my belief that without the drive and ambition to succeed in your job, and your everyday life, things would be pretty boring. But that then sparks the question; what makes some people more successful than others? The typical answer would be skill, talent, effort and dedication, but Nassim Taleb suggests it is something altogether more unpredictable. The author of the fantastic The Black Swan argues that success, and even life, is all about luck. Taleb proposes that it is only because we fail to truly grasp the role of probability in our lives that we continue to put our respective successes down to skill and talent, as opposed to chance.
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