FTSE 100 Steady on Upbeat Earnings

Ivaylo
31 Oct, 2006
New York City

Cairn Energy and BG fell as US crude for delivery in December dipped again, BP declined after preliminary findings by investigators at the US Chemical Safety Board showed a history of serious accidents. However, the FTSE 100 index was little changed at midday on Tuesday, erasing earlier losses as companies announced upbeat third-quarter earnings, but the market remained cautious ahead of U.S. economic data. The FTSE 100 is 0.26% higher at 6,143 in the afternoon on Tuesday.

[R]9;30AM The FTSE 100 in London is steady Tuesday afternoon on earnings.[/R]
The FTSE 100 in London is 0.26% higher at 6,143 in the afternoon on Tuesday.

Advancers

Friends Provident rose as much as 6%, leading advancers in the index after it topped forecasts with a 40% rise in third-quarter life insurance and pensions sales. The insurer said it aimed to triple the value of sales by 2008.

Insurer Aviva ticked up 0.4% after Deutsche Bank lifted its target price on the stock. Pharmaceuticals were in demand, with Shire bouncing from losses on Monday to gain 3.5%. Brokerages upgraded the drug maker and it announced the start of a new drug trial.

Miners were mixed, with Antofagasta adding 0.8% and Kazakhmys rising 0.5% on higher third-quarter production levels, but others lower as base metal prices broadly softened.

Housebuilder Persimmon announced trading continues to match company expectations, but warned the market remained competitive. Persimmon gained 0.53%.

Decliners

The tobacco sector declined, with Imperial Tobacco down 0.4% after saying it was seeking acquisitions but there was not much on the horizon as it posted an in-line rise in annual earnings.

British American Tobacco fell 0.7% but Gallaher Group bucked the downtrend, rising 2% as analysts saw it as the most likely takeover target in the sector.

Cairn Energy led the decliners in the FTSE 100, down 2% after a sharp drop in crude oil prices and as analysts continued to pick over the details of its Indian IPO. Cairn Energy and BG are both lower as US crude for delivery in December declined. BG is 1.42% lower.

Cadbury Schweppes lost 0.9% after brokerages lowered their target prices in the wake of cut in its annual profit goal on Monday, which it had admitted last week it would not meet for 2006.

Other news

The Financial Services Authority hopes it can shrink its workforce in the next few years as Britain financial watchdog attempts to shift to regulation based on broad principles rather than enforcing thousands of rules.

A group of 11 leading trade associations has launched a bold move to influence the interpretation of imminent European Union financial markets legislation amid fears UK regulators could take an overly-stringent approach.

[R]7:30AM South Korea leads Asia higher Tuesday, Japan advances on large-caps.[/R]
Asian markets finished mostly higher on Tuesday. The Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.3% to finish at 16399.39. Machinery stocks led the advance, with Fanuc gaining 6.2% and Toshiba Machine jumping 2.8%. Sony ended the session 0.2% higher. Shares of Softbank fell 2.9% after the Internet-services company is reportedly now under investigation by Japan antimonopoly body over possible advertising law violations.

In Seoul, South Korea market advanced, led higher by strong gains from Lotte Shopping and other retail stocks. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, rose 0.6% to 1364.55. Lotte Shopping, operator of largest department-store chain in South Korea, rose 2% on news it will open a department store in Beijing in the first half of 2008 in a 50:50 joint venture with Yintai Group of China. Retailer Shinsegae surged 3.8% and Hyundai Department Store gained 2.5%.

Other markets in the region also advanced. Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong rose 0.2% to 18324.35, while Taiwan Weighted Price Index gained 0.4% to 7021.32 and New Zealand NZSX-50 rose 0.8% to 3784.49. Sydney S&P/ASX 200 bucked the trend and closed down 0.3% at 5384.40.

[R]6:30AM European shares advance on Tuesday on strong carmakers rally.[/R]
European markets were higher on Tuesday by mid morning. The FTSE 100 in London rose 0.3% to 6,145.9, Frankfurt Xetra Dax added 0.4% to 6,284.89, the CAC 40 in Paris climbed 0.1% to 5,368.77.

Advancers

DaimlerChrysler shares were up 3.4%, while Renault of France gained 2%, and Fiat of Italy added 1.4%. UBS shares fell 4.6%. Rival Swiss bank Credit Suisse shed 0.9%.

Insurers gained supported strong third-quarter revenues from Friends Provident of Britain, which gained 5.3%. European life groups ING and CNP Assurances advanced 1.1% and 1.1% respectively. Among the non-life groups, Generali jumped 1.3% and Munich Re moved up 1.1%.

Telenor, the Norwegian mobile operator, gained 1%. It reported better-than-expected numbers last week, prompting several broker upgrades.

Decliners

Sanofi-Aventis, the French drugmaker, fell 3.9% after reporting an 11.6% fall in third-quarter profit. Swedish paper products maker SCA fell 3.8% after reporting third-quarter pre-tax profits that fell shy of expectations.

KPN, the Dutch fixed-line telecoms group, declined after its 4.4% rise in third-quarter earnings fell just short of market forecasts, despite a strong performance at E-Plus, its German mobile division.

Dexia downgraded the group from “add to neutral, disappointed by dividend outlook and performance of KPN at its fixed-line business. The shares fell 1%.

Oil and gold

Oil prices edged higher Tuesday, recouping some of their losses after plunging more than $2 a barrel the previous day as traders looked to U.S. supply data due out this week that is expected to show rising inventories of crude. Light, sweet crude oil for December delivery climbed 2 cents to $58.38 a barrel in electronic trading on the NYME, after slipping $2.39 Monday to settle at $58.36 a barrel. Brent crude rose 6 cents to $58.74 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Gold traded at $600.70 an ounce on Tuesday, up $6.80 an ounce from Friday close of $593.90.

In morning European trading, the euro fell to $1.2685, compared with $1.2729 in New York late Monday. The British pound declined to $1.9001 from $1.9020. The dollar rose to 117.75 Japanese yen from 117.41 yen on Monday after the Bank of Japan suggested it would not rush into another rate increase.

[R]5:00AM Gold and silver futures soared Monday on buying from funds.[/R]
December gold surged to end at $613.20, its strongest level since Sept. 11. December silver jumped to finish at $12.295 an ounce, and January platinum climbed $13.50 to $1,093.20 an ounce. December palladium gained $5.75 to $328.75 an ounce. The most active December copper contract settled down 4.65 cents at $3.3585 per pound.

The front-month December crude oil contract on declined $2.39 to close at $58.36 a barrel. November heating oil settled down 9.29 cents to $1.6015 a gallon amid forecasts for warm fall weather. November unleaded gasoline lost 10.44 cents to end at $1.4555 a gallon. November natural gas dropped 41.1 cents to close at $7.416 a million British thermal units.

On the New York Board of Trade, December Arabica coffee futures closed unchanged at $1.08 a pound. March futures on raw sugar in foreign ports settled 0.34 cent lower at 11.45 cents a pound.