UK GDP Expands 0.2%; Carnival Up

Mayank Mehta
23 Apr, 2010
New York City

U.K. stocks traded higher after declines of last tow days. GDP rose 0.2% in the first quarter from the previous quarter and fell 0.3% from the quarter a year ago. Carnival declared 10 cents a share quarterly dividend. Wolseley rose 2.5%. Balfour Beatty awarded

[R]4:00 PM London, 11:00 AM New York – U.K. stocks traded higher after declines of last tow days. GDP rose 0.2% in the first quarter from the previous quarter and fell 0.3% from the quarter a year ago. Carnival declared 10 cents a share quarterly dividend. Wolseley rose 2.5%. Balfour Beatty awarded £65 million estate regeneration project in Kensington.[/R]

U.K. stocks rose for the first time in three days and led the indexes in the region. The U.K. economy shrank 0.3% in the quarter ending March from a year ago and increased 0.2% from the previous quarter.

Industrial production rose 0.7%, services increased 0.2% and construction slumped 0.7% in the quarter according to the Office for National Statistics data released.

U.K. GDP Rises

U.K. GDP rose 0.2% in the first quarter from the last quarter in 2009. This was the second consecutive quarterly economic expansion since the first quarter of 2008.

Fourth quarter 2009 unemployment rate was 7.8%.

U.K. Service Index Increases

Overall service sector index increased 0.1% in February from a year ago. The largest contribution to the increase was the gain of 3.7% in the distribution sector.

Greece Seeks Activation of Aid Package

The Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou in a televised address urged the activation of the EU-IMF rescue plan. The Prime Minister requested that this was necessary for the country to return to “the regular course of the economy.”

Greece needs to raise around €10 billion in May to cover redemptions, coupon payments and its primary government deficit.

Talks in Athens between the European Commission, the European Central Bank to finalize the terms of the aid package triggered the Athens composite share index to gain almost 4%.

Meanwhile, Moody''s Investors Service downgraded the sovereign bond ratings of Greece to A3 from A2.

In London FTSE 100 Index closed higher 47.89 or 0.85% to 5,713.22 and the pound edged lower to close at $1.534 and to close at €1.153.

Carnival Plc increased 4.4% to 2,809 pence. The world’s largest cruise line operator issued a quarterly dividend of 10 cents a share for shareholders of record as of May 21.

Wolseley Plc, the heating and plumbing supplies distributor rose 2.5% to 1,612 pence.

Gainers & Losers

Balfour Beatty plc rose 0.7% to 290.50 pence after the international infrastructure group announced that Mansell has been awarded a £65 million design and build contract to redevelop Wornington Green Estate, London.

BP Plc fell 0.02% to 636.10 pence after the oil company today activated an extensive oil spill response in the US Gulf of Mexico following the fire and subsequent sinking of the Transocean Deepwater Horizon drilling rig 130 miles south-east of New Orleans.

Faroe Petroleum PLC added 2.8% to 144.00 pence after the oil and gas company announced a gas and condensate discovery on the Fogelberg prospect (Faroe 15%), located in PL433 in the Norwegian Sea.

Findel plc closed unchanged at 23.50 after the home shopping firm achieved sales from continuing operations of approximately £582 million, an increase of 1% from the prior year.

Hornby Plc surged 16.3% to 137.25 pence.

The Morgan Crucible Company plc fell 1.1% to 215.50 pence.

NCC Group plc closed unchanged at 380.00 pence after the testing software specialist has acquired SDLC Solutions Limited.

SDL Plc, the information management solutions provider closed unchanged at 469.30 pence.

Ultra Electronics Holdings plc added 1.1% to 1,527.00.