| From UK-Analyst.com: Tuesday 9th July 2013 IMPORTANT: Are your UK-Analyst emails being delayed? Add UK-Analyst@news.t1ps.com to your safe senders/contact list to help resolve the problem The Markets In a development largely at odds with a series of recent upbeat economic updates, it has emerged that the UK manufacturing sector contracted in May. According to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), manufacturing output shrank by 0.8% in the month, much worse than the average analyst estimate for 0.3% growth. A deeper look at the figures reveals that relatively large contractions in pharmaceuticals and metals more than countered smaller gains in the production of electrical equipment and materials for the transport industry. Lee Hopley of the EEF manufacturers' organisation was not too disappointed with the data and said, "While the ONS data suggest industry's contribution to growth in the second quarter is likely to be limited, there are signs that confidence is returning and growth should start to resume as we move into the second half of the year." The fall in manufacturing was one factor behind the widening of the UK's goods trade deficit in May. In a busy day for the ONS, its figures confirmed that the goods trade deficit grew from 8.43 billion pounds In April, to a seasonally adjusted 8.49 billion pounds in May. The news was broadly in line with analyst predictions for an increase to around 8.47 billion pounds. The ONS also revealed that UK industrial output - which accounts for around 15% of the region's economy - remained flat in May. David Kern, Chief Economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, commented "The overall trade deficit is slightly up, but the April figure was revised down, which paints a mixed picture. Worryingly, the volume of exports in goods fell while imports increased." Staying in the UK, retail sales were up by 2.9% in June according to numbers from the British Retail Consortium. A breakdown of the figures shows that, contrary to trends announced by Marks & Spencer today, growth has been driven by non-food items. Fashion items in particular increased in June, consistent with a general improvement in weather and consumer confidence. David McCorquodale, KPMG's Head of Retail, commented, "This is another respectable performance by UK retailers. Sales are moving in the right direction, albeit hard-earned and promotion driven." ADVERTISEMENT Get free trading guides from Evil Knievil (How to successfully short stocks), Zak Mir (Top AIM market picks for 2013) and other top financial commentators by CLICKING HERE 
At the London close the Dow Jones was up by 69.83 points at 15,294.52 and the Nasdaq increased by 17.59 points to 2,983.72. In London the FTSE 100 increased by 63.01 points to 6,513.08 and the FTSE 250 surged by 147.36 points to 14,620.58. The FTSE All-Share jumped by 33.51 points to 3,451.35, while the FTSE AIM Index inched up by 4.8 points to 707.64.  Broker Notes Panmure Gordon retained its "buy" recommendation on pharmaceutical company ImmuPharma (IMM) with a target price of 150p. The broker notes that an impressive list of eminent scientists has been signed up to advise the company on its upcoming phase III trial of lead candidate Lupuzor, a treatment which combats Lupus - an autoimmune condition which predominately effects women. Panmure sees Lupuzor as a significant greenfield opportunity for ImmuPharma investors and looks forward to the start of the phase III trial with much anticipation. The shares edged upwards by 0.13p to 39.5p. N+1 Singer maintained its "buy" recommendation on newspaper and magazine wholesaler Smith's News (NWS) with a target price of 185p. The broker notes today's IMS update which confirmed that the group is currently trading in-line with expectations and outlined certain contract extensions. N+1 Singer sees this as a re-assuring update, especially as the new contract renewals should maintain the group's market share through to 2020/21. The shares increased by 12p to 168p. Shore Capital stuck with its "sell" stance on safety testing group Intertek (ITRK) after the group announced it has acquired Melbourn Scientific, a specialist tester of pharmaceutical products. The broker reminds investors of the forecast slowdown in revenue growth and the expected margin contraction in commodities which was flagged at the company's May Q1 update. Furthermore, Shore Capital is wary that its H2 margin objective may be subject to a downgrade post the interim results. The shares climbed by 47p to 3,100p. 
Blue-Chips Retailer Marks & Spencer (MKS) reported a 1.8% increase in like-for-like food sales for the UK in the second quarter of the year, while its general merchandise arm suffered from a 1.6% fall in sales. The firm highlighted the intensification of promotional activity in the market as one reason for the continued contraction of its General Merchandise division, which includes its clothing business. Conversely, the Food division continued to grow ahead of the market but now faces tough comparators against last year's Jubilee period. On the back of the mixed update, M&S warned that it has a cautious outlook given the continuing "challenging trading conditions". The shares slid by 6.5p to 453.2p. Mining giant Rio Tinto (RIO) has been given the nod by the Mongolian government to start shipping copper concentrate to customers from its Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine. The news will be especially welcomed by investors as exports from the mine have twice been delayed since the originally penned-in date of 14th June. The update follows a host of positive recommendations on the group by last week, with investment banks such as Investec, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse all positive on the future prospects of the group. The shares swelled by 67p to 2,736.5p. Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) has appointed current downstream director Ben Van Beurden as its new CEO, replacing current boss Peter Voser who wanted to spend more time with his family. Mr Van Beurden has been at Shell since 1983 and has held numerous roles in both the technical and commercial sectors of the business. The announcement comes a day after Exane BNP Paribas retained its "neutral" recommendation and 2,350p target price on the shares. The shares jumped by 32.5p to 2,161.5p. Mid Caps Asset management firm Henderson Group (HGG) revealed that underlying profit for the first half of the year will come in at around in 100 million pounds, boosted by generating around 57 million pounds in fees. The group re-iterated the fact that the level of performance fees generated in the second half of 2013 will, in all likeliness, be substantially lower than the level generated in first half of 2013. Henderson will be announcing its half year results for the period to 30th June 2013 on 8th August 2013. The shares were up by 12.1p to 173.1p. Building materials provider SIG (SHI) warned that first half profits will be lower than last year, citing general weak market conditions and the extended wintery weather. As a result, SIG now expects first half pre-tax profits to come in between the range of 29 million pounds and 31 million pounds, down from the originally planned 35 million pounds. Looking ahead, SIG acknowledges that trading conditions in mainland Europe are likely to remain weak but feels that it could have better luck in the UK on the back of an improving construction market. The shares inched upwards by 1.2p to 172.5p. Aveva (AVV), the provider of engineering data and IT systems, claimed that it has had a good start to the financial year, characterised by good demand for its services in the EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions. Aveva went on to argue that momentum is truly beginning to gather within its Americas operations, especially in Brazil where it has recently won a number of offshore and onshore contracts. The update was enough to prompt analysts at Investec to re-iterate their "buy" recommendation on the group, with a target price of 2,500p. The shares surged by 310p to 2,578p. Small Caps Asset financier 1PM (OPM) reported a record financial performance for the year ended 31st May, with revenues up by 34.5% to 3.1 million pounds, while pre-tax profits increased by 77.8% to 775,000 pounds. The improvement was driven by a 26.5% uplift in new customers which helped to grow the loan book by 34.5% to 14.8 million pounds. Richard Gill, analyst at t1ps.com, suggested to investors in January this year that the shares could double in value by summer 2014. Only six months on and they have gained 92% on his original tip price. 1pm shares ticked upwards by 0.008p to 0.23p. Software provider to the recruitment industry Dillistone Group (DSG) announced that it has completed the acquisition of FCP Internet Holdings Limited, supplier of the popular Evolve recruitment software package. Dillistone will initially pay 750,000 pounds, while a payment of 1.2 million pounds will be payable dependant on the acquired group achieving certain revenue targets. The transaction, according to Dillistone, will help to penetrate a market which is still very much susceptible to new and worthy offerings. The shares remained unchanged at 79.5p. Dual listed copper outfit Metminco (MNC) stressed that it is unaware as to why its share price jumped by as much as 67% at the back end of last week. Metminco did however confirm that it remains in discussions with suitable partners for its Los Calatos copper-molybdenum project in southern Peru where recent studies have validated have the viability of the project. Broker Liberum Capital sees value in the shares and maintained its "buy" recommendation late last month. The shares soared by 0.25p to 1.2p. Online services exchange Blur Group (BLUR) revealed a 125% hike in the number of new projects added to its side over the second quarter of the year, while the overall value of the new projects has more than trebled to $9.41 million (6.3 milion pounds) . Separately, the firm has managed to sign an advertising deal worth in the region of $3.6 million pounds (2.4 million pounds) with an unnamed US transportation group - Blur's largest contract to date. The shares were up by 40p at 242.5p. 
Medical group Scancell Holdings (SCLP) plans to raise 6.5 million pounds by issuing new shares at 22.5p, a 54.3% discount to yesterday's closing price of 49.25p. Scancell explained that it intends to use the proceeds to commence work on the pre-clinical development of the first Moditope immunotherapy product. Separately, Scancell announced that it made a total loss of 1.9 million pounds for the year ended 30th April after making a profit of 557,000 pounds in the previous year. This deterioration in performance was blamed on additional costs incurred in the preparation for clinical trials. The shares plummeted by 21.5p to 28p. Wireless technology firm Telit Communications (TCM) expects revenues for the first six months of the year to come in at around $108.1 million (72.9 million pounds), up 10% on last year and slightly above market expectations. This improvement was partly attributed to the inclusion of its m2mAIR business in the results for the first time. According to Telit, this unit has so far secured over 600 customers and is currently conducting over 570 pilots with potential customers worldwide. The shares were up by 1p to 78.25p. Digital marketing group Jaywing (JWNG) posted pre-tax profits of 1.03 million pounds for the year to March - down from 1.27 million pounds in 2012. Management admitted that its decision to restructure the business had negatively affected its ability to seek out new clients and opportunities. However, the group remains adamant that these restructuring efforts leave the company in a good position to succeed. The shares were unmoved at 10.25p. | 
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