FTSE Rebounds

Ivaylo
30 Nov, 2006
New York City

Wolverhampton & Dudley picked up today as the market digested yet more rumours of bid activity among the mid-caps. Defence and security group QinetiQ was the best performing mid-cap stocks today after its first half results came in better than expected. Energy stocks were also in demand as crude futures rose to a two-month high. Kingfisher, unsettled by the costs of its store refurbishment programme, led the decliners. The FTSE 100 in London was up 16.2 points, or 0.3%.

[R]9:30AM London benchmark index bounced back Thursday on bid speculation.[/R]
The FTSE 100 in London was 16.2 points, or 0.3%, higher at 6,101.4.

Advancers

Wolverhampton & Dudley was the main talking point in London market on Thursday. Shares in the pub company, which also owns Marston brewery, rose 4.3% to a record high on speculation of a 20-pound-a-share private equity bid approach.

QinetiQ Group, the defence and security group, led the advancers. Its shares climbed 7.6% after half-year numbers met expectations and the company said it was confident of meeting full-year earnings forecasts.

Hanson, the building materials group, advanced 1.8% on fresh bid rumours. Traders said a leading broker house was pushing a story that Cemex, the Mexican company that owns RMC, could turn attention to Hanson.

Energy stocks were also in demand as crude futures rose to a two-month high of $63.49 a barrel. Cairn Energy firmed 2.2% and BG Group gained 2.2%. Despite the rising oil price British Airways also climbed 1.9% on consolidation hopes.

Decliners

Kingfisher, the parent company of DIY retailer B&Q, was the biggest FTSE 100 decliner. Its shares dropped 3.2% unsettled by the costs of its store refurbishment programme.

Northern Rock, off 1.5%, was also under pressure, after Credit Suisse downgraded the bank to underperform from neutral, citing increased competition and concerns that the mortgage market will sink in 2007.

Car dealership Pendragon slipped 2.6%, as Citigroup cut earnings forecasts in the wake of this week cautious comments on current trading.

[R]7:30AM Asian markets gain on Thursday, tracking strong US close overnnight.[/R]
Asian markets finished higher on Thursday. The Nikkei 225 Average finished the day 1.2% higher at 16274.33. Among banking stocks, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rose 2.1%, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group climbed 3.4% and Mizuho Financial Group ended 1.4% higher. In the auto sector, Toyota gained 1.3% and Honda advanced 2.2%.

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong rose 1% to close at 18960.48. Advancers included Yue Yuen Industrial Holdings, which rose on news that it agreed to raise its stakes in two units for $6 million. Shares of the world largest sports shoe maker closed 7% higher.

South Korean Kospi Index gained 0.7% to 1432.21. Samsung Electronics gained 1.4% and Hynix Semiconductor rose 0.7%. Brokerage shares rose on a foreign and institutional buying spree on expectations for the broader market next year. Samsung Securities advanced 1.5% and Daewoo Securities jumped 3.4%.

Shanghai Composite Index soared 2.2% to finish at 2099.29. Baoshan Iron finished 5.9% higher. Australian S&P/ASX 200 increased 0.5% to 5482.10. BHP Billiton saw a solid rise of 1.5% and Woodside Petroleum rose 2.9%, both stocks benefiting from higher oil prices.

[R]6:30AM European shares rise in early trading Thursday as oil prices advance.[/R]
European markets were higher on Thursday. The U.K. FTSE 100 index advanced 0.3% at 6,100.50, the German DAX Xetra 30 index climbed 0.2% at 6,375.28, and the French CAC-40 index rose 0.1% at 5,388.28.

Advancers

BHP, the biggest mining company in the world, added 2.1%. BHP said yesterday that demand for metals is strong and it may look for takeover targets. Rio Tinto, the third largest, gained 2.3%. Aluminum and zinc prices rose in London today and gold headed for a second straight monthly gain.
Oil companies Royal Dutch Shell and BP rose more than 1%, and shares in mining companies Xstrata and Antofagasta also traded more than 1% higher.

Sportingbet shares rose 4.3% on Thursday, as the online gambling company recovers from an 88% year-to-date share price decline on a ban in taking payments from the United States. Also, Prudential shares rose 1.2% after it was upgraded to buy from hold at Citigroup, saying that by 2010 it is free cash yield will be well above its U.K. peers, at 7.1% compared to 5.5%.

Decliners

Danone shares traded down 1.1% in Paris after a strong recent run. U.K.-headquartered home improvement retailer Kingfisher lost 2.1% after producing sales figures that showed continued weakness in U.K. operations.

Oil and gold

Crude oil for January delivery was at $62.40 a barrel, down 6 cents, in after-hours electronic trading on the NYME. Gold for immediate delivery in London rose as much as $1.73, or 0.3%, to $638.38 an ounce and in early trading was at $637.90.

Currencies

The U.S. dollar fell against other major currencies in European trading Thursday morning, dropping to its lowest level in 14 years against the British pound. The euro was quoted at $1.3190, up from $1.3156 late Wednesday. The British pound traded at $1.9558, up from $1.9462. The dollar bought 116.26 Japanese yen, down from 116.31.

[R]5:00AM Gold and silver prices fell Wednesday due to profit-taking.[/R]
February gold declined $1.90 to $641.80 a troy ounce on the NYME. March silver lost 5.2 cents to end at $13.76 an ounce. January platinum advanced $1.80 to finish at $1,152.40 an ounce while March palladium fell $1.15 to $327.50 an ounce. Most active March copper shed 1.50 cents to close at $3.1550 per pound.

The January crude oil contract rallied $1.58 as high as $62.57 a barrel, a two-week high.. The contract advaanced $1.47 to end at $62.46 a barrel. December heating oil settled up 6.70 cents at $1.7953 a gallon. December unleaded gasoline advanced 4.40 cents to close at $1.6706 a gallon. December natural gas added 31.2 cents to finish at $8.871 a million British thermal units.

On the New York Board of Trade, December Arabica coffee futures closed 1.80 cents lower at $1.1855 a pound, with most-active March down 1.65 cents at $1.2330. Futures on raw sugar in foreign ports for March settled up 0.37 cent at 12.36 cents a pound, with May up 0.26 cent at 12.27 cents.