ADVFN III Morning Euro Markets Bulletin
Daily world financial news from Thomson Financial News Supplied by advfn.com
06 May 2008 09:54:44
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London
London shares edge up early on, despite NY slide; record prices aid oil stocks
At 9:01 a.m., the FTSE 100 index was up 6.9 points at 6,222.4, while the FTSE 250 index added 100.0 points at 10,390.8.
In the US, Wall Street pulled back Monday following Microsoft Corp.'s decision to withdraw its bid for Yahoo Inc.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 88.66, or 0.68 percent, to 12,969.54. Broader stock indicators also declined. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 6.41, or 0.45 percent, to 1,407.49, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 12.87, or 0.52 percent, to 2,464.12.
Today in Asia, the Nikkei 225 index was closed, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended the morning up 10.76 points at 26,194.71.
Elsewhere, World oil reached a new record price above $120 a barrel on Tuesday as concerns over the United States economy eased, spurring demand for the commodity.
New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, reached an all-time high in electronic trade of $120.23 a barrel, breaking the last record of $120.20 reached during intraday trade on Monday.
Brent North Sea crude for June delivery jumped 26 cents to $118.25 a barrel.
These record prices naturally aided oil stocks, with Tullow Oil the top FTSE 100 riser, up 120 at 880, boosted further by news Tuesday it has a "significant" intersected a column of light oil at the Mahogany-2 well.
Sector peers also rose, with BG Group up 22 at 1,283 and Cairn Energy 57 higher at 3,130.
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Meanwhile, the mining sector had a strong start after Copper prices briefly surged to a new record Monday on supply concerns.
The sector was also supported by Xstrata, which said first-quarter copper, semi-soft coking coal, platinum, ferrochrome, mined zinc and lead production rose from the year-earlier period.
Xstrata added 39 to 4,230, Vedanta Resources rose 80 at 2,435 and Rio Tinto was up 194 to 6,300.
On the downside, banking stocks had a weak start to the day, after investors overlooked Lloyds TSB in-line trading update and instead focused on news of write-downs in the first quarter.
Lloyds shares lost 4-1/2 to 448, while HBOS fell 1-1/2 to 494 and Alliance & Leicester was down 8 at 532.
Meanwhile, a bearish note from Morgan Stanley knocked the property sector early on, as British Land fell 19-1/2 at 709 after a double downgrade to 'underweight' from 'overweight', while Land Securities dropped off 35 to 1,533 after being cut to 'underweight' from 'equal-weight'.
Midcap peer Brixton fell 3-1/2 pence to 301-1/2 after also being downgraded to 'underweight' from 'overweight'.
Negative broker comment also sent International Power lower, down 9-1/2 at 434-3/4, after Goldman Sachs cut its recommendation to 'sell' from 'neutral', on valuation grounds.
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Elsewhere, a bearish note from Deutsche Bank and the impact of higher oil prices hit the airlines, with British Airways the top FTSE 100 faller, down 8 to 240-3/4, while midcap peer EasyJet lost 12-3/4 to 311-1/2 after being downgraded to 'hold' from 'buy' at Deutsche.
Continuing on the second line, the top midcap riser was Taylor Nelson Sofres, up over 11 percent, or 24-3/4 to 239-3/4, after news it has rejected an unsolicited bid proposal from WPP Group.
in further M&A talk, most of the housebuilders were higher on sector consolidation hopes, as press reports suggest Bellway has approached rival Redrow with plans for a 1.3 billion pounds merger.
Redrow added 12-3/4 at 276, while Bellway added 20-1/2 to 737, however Bovis Homes dropped 15-1/2 to 455-1/2 after a disappointing trading statement.
Among the fallers, Aberdeen Asset Management lost 1-1/2 to 147-3/4 after uninspiring first half results.
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Paris
Paris shares TFN market data 10.40 am; shares track U.S. lower; Veolia tumbles
Major indices:
CAC-40 down 25.07 points or 0.50 percent at 5,038.29
SBF-80 down 24.34 or 0.42 percent at 5,768.35
SBF-120 down 17.53 or 0.48 percent at 3,650.01
9 CAC-40 stocks up
31 CAC-40 stocks down
Major gainers:
ArcelorMittal, up 1.62 euros or 2.79 percent at 59.70 Orpea, up 1.25 or 3.54 percent at 36.56. The nursing home operator announced a 31.6 percent jump in first-quarter sales to 160.1 million euros, with 11.7 percent organic growth
Technip, 0.80 or 1.39 percent ahead at 58.56; Total, up 0.11 or 0.19 percent at 54.58. Oil prices surged to a new record above $120 per barrel on Tuesday
NYSE Euronext, up 0.36 or 0.82 percent at 44.14. The bourse operator unveiled a 53 percent jump in first-quarter pro forma net profit to $241 million or 91 cents per share
Major losers:
Nicox, down 3.56 or 24.48 percent at 10.98. The French pharmaceuticals company said on Tuesday Pfizer Inc. has decided not to launch a phase III study for the PF-03187207 drug under the companies' joint research programme
Veolia Environnement, 2.04 or 4.44 percent lower at 43.86, after the group missed consensus estimates for first-quarter operating profit
Alstom, down 3.35 or 2.23 percent at 146.94, following a report in the Wall Street Journal claiming the engineering group is being investigated for alleged bribes to win contracts Nexity, down 1.60 or 5.28 percent at 28.72. Morgan Stanley cut the pan-European property sector to 'cautious' in a note on Tuesday
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Frankfurt
German shares TFN market data at 10:25 a.m.
DAX - down 20.80 points, or 0.29 percent, at 7,031.28
DAX - down 38.71 points, or 0.41 percent, at 9,517.63
TecDAX - up 1.42 points, or 0.17 percent, at 845.49
DAX futures - down 9.00 points, or 0.13 percent, at 7,075.00
Major Decliners:
Hypo Real Estate, down 0.62 euros, or 2.62 percent, at 23.66, after the commercial financier released first-quarter figures analysts and traders said were slightly worse than expected.
Lufthansa, down 0.26 euros, or 1.50 percent, at 17.11, as oil prices rose significantly overnight. Munich Re, down 1.33 euros, or 1.05 percent at 125.91, under pressure after reinsurance peer Swiss Re reported disappointing first-quarter numbers.
Commerzbank, down 0.25 euros, or 1.06 percent, at 23.3 Deutsche Boerse, down 1.07 euros, or 1.04 percent, at 102.03, under continued pressure after posting disappointing April numbers on Friday for its Eurex derivatives exchange and Xetra cash equities platform.
Major Gainers:
Adidas, up 1.77 euros, or 4.38 percent, at 42.17, after the sport equipment manufacturer released surprisingly strong first-quarter bottom-line figures that trounced expectations. Infineon, up 0.28 euros, or 4.43 percent, at 6.60, as dealers pointed to a boost for the chipmaker, saying there were indications that chip prices would increase in May.
RWE, up 1.29 euros, or 1.72 percent, at 76.22
MAN, up 1.64 euros, or 1.77 percent, at 94.47
Henkel, up 0.29 euros, or 1.02 percent, at 28.66, ahead of first-quarter numbers on Wednesday.
Other Stocks in the News:
MDAX-listed Hannover Re, up 1.12 euros, or 3.13 percent, at 36.91, after releasing strong first-quarter figures.
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Milan
Milan shares TFN market data at 9:52 a.m. - Fastweb, STMicro lead rebound
Main indices:
Mibtel at 26,215 points, up 0.20 percent
S&P/Mib at 34,553 points, up 0.17 percent
Main S&P/Mib gainers
Fastweb up 2.27 percent at 21.20 euros ahead of the release of first-quarter results, due out before the market opens on Wednesday
STMicroelectronics up 2.15 percent at 7.925 euros Lottomatica up 1.61 percent at 20.88 euros ahead of first-quarter results, due out later Tuesday, which are expected to show the group's Italian operations
offsetting weakness in its GTECH unit in the United States
Unipol up 1.56 percent at 2.1775 euros, with results due out Thursday Tenaris up 1.30 percent at 17.70 euros ahead of the release of first-quarter results due out Wednesday
Main S&P/Mib losers
Fiat down 0.57 percent at 14.90 euros Telecom Italia down 0.37 percent at 1.364 euros Generali down 0.31 percent at 28.59 euros. First-quarter results are due out Thursday
Geox down 0.20 percent at 9.505 euros
Mediobanca down 0.26 percent 13.33 euros
Other stocks in the news
Buzzi Unicem up 0.57 percent at 17.04 euros. Lehman Brothers initiated the stock with an 'equal-weight' stance and a 20.0 euros target which already reflects the muted outlook for 2008
Eni up 0.28 percent at 25.34 euros. According to Beglian media reports, Distrigas shares are suspended pending an announcement from its parent company Suez. Eni is in the short-list and is said to be offering the best price to buy Suez's 57.25 percent in Distrigas
Safilo up 1.78 percent at 1.89 euros ahead of the release of first-quarter results later Tuesday that are expected to be hit by the dollar's slide against the euro, a softer economy and challenging comparatives from the previous year
Forex - Pound falls sharply on weak UK services PMI data
LONDON - The pound fell sharply after news of a unexpectedly sharp drop in UK services sector activity during April.
The latest CIPS services PMI index slumped to 50.4 from 52.1 in March, taking it close to the 50 mark, below which would mark contraction in the sector. The reading is the lowest since March 2003, when the war in Iraq began.
At 9.36 a.m., the pound was trading at 1.9656 against the U.S. dollar, down from $1.9688 just prior to the release, while the euro rose to 0.7876 against the UK currency from 0.7855 previously.
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