Mid-Caps, Miners Boost UK

Ivaylo
18 Jan, 2007
New York City

London rallied towards its best levels of the day as positive broker comment and rising US futures, supported by strong gains across the mining sector, had cheered investors. ICAP gained on an update, while Vedanta Resources led miners north on higher commodity prices, with Xstrata and Antofagasta also pushing ahead. London Stock Exchange has announced an increase in its share buyback program. By mid-day, the FTSE 100 advanced 26.2 points, or 0.4%, to 6,237.5.

[R]9:30AM NY-2:30PM London The FTSE gains on updates and upbeat miners.[/R]
By mid-day, the FTSE 100 was up 26.2 points, or 0.4%, to 6,237.5.

Advancers

Resources stocks were the big gainers in London, with Vedanta Resources up 2.7% and Xstrata up 2.1%. ICAP, the inter-dealer broker, firmed 2.7% as Citigroup reiterated a buy rating on the stock and upped its price target. Pearson rose 1.9% on reports of bid interest from private equity group KKR.

In the mid-caps, shares in London Stock Exchange rose 0.7% after the the group has announced an increase of up to 250 million pounds in its existing share buyback programme today as the group looks to fight off a hostile bid from US rival Nasdaq.

Misys, the health sector and insurance software specialist, jumped 5.6% as it announced far-reaching changes in its boardroom. Kesa Electricals, rose 2.6% after the company behind the Comet retail chain reported a 7.3% increase in sales over Christmas. Weir Group, the mid-cap engineer, was 4.3% stronger after it said annual profits would reach the top of consensus forecasts.

Decliners

Security specialist ArmorGroup has blamed the continued weakness in Middle East training for its full year performance that is expected to see results marginally below market expectations. ArmorGroup plunged 10.23%.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals dropped 2.8% despite forecasting full-year revenue growth of 20%. The pharmaceutical group cautioned that margins will be lower than 2006. Broadcaster ITV declined 0.68% as the investors took profits in the group.

[R]7:30 AM Asian markets rose on Thursday as BOJ voted to leave rates unchanged.[/R]
Asian markets were mostly higher on Thursday. Japan''s Nikkei Index finished the day 0.6% higher at 17,371. Sumitomo Realty & Development moved 2.3% higher. Exporters also advanced on the rate decision. Honda Motor gained 1.9% and Nikon advanced 2.5%. Toyota Motor was up 0.8%. Shares of Mitsubishi Estate Co rose 1.2%.

The Hong Kong Hang Seng Index gained 1.1% to 20,278. China Mobile led the benchmark index higher, while Chinese banks declined on profit-taking and mainland property developers slipped. China Mobile ended 2.8% higher and HSBC rose 0.9%. The Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.8% to 2, 757. ICBC fell 3.5% and Bank of China was off 2.5%. China Merchants Property Development dropped 4.6% and Poly Real Estate Group plunged 6.9%.

Oil and gas shares gained after several days of losses, tracing gains in energy prices. Japanese Inpex Holdings rose 3.4% and Australian Woodside Petroleum gained 2.4%. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp advanced 0.2% after reporting Thursday it processed 4.6% more crude oil last year than in 2005.

Elsewhere around the region, South Korean Kospi Index advanced 0.3% to 1,383, Taipei ended 0.8% higher at 7,895 and Australian S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5% to close at 5,672. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, an index of mainland-incorporated shares listed in Hong Kong, declined 1.2% to 9,803.75.

[R]6:30 AM European markets gains on strength in oil shares, upbeat earnings.[/R]
European markets were higher on Thursday. By mid-morning, the U.K. FTSE 100 index rose 37 points, or 0.5% at 6,237.10, while the German Xetra Dax added 28 points, or 0.4%, at 6,729.78 and the French CAC 40 gained 34.8 points or 0.6% at 5,96.59.

Advancers

Dexia led advaners with a gain of 2.9% after the Franco-Belgian bank was upgraded from neutral to outperform by Exane BNP Paribas.

Alsthom added 2.4% after the French industrial group reported encouraging growth in new orders along with third quarter sales in-line with market expectations.

Merck was 0.6% higher after the German drugs and chemicals company beat analysts expectations with a 58 % increase in fourth-quarter operating profits, helped by a recovery in the sales of liquid crystals used in televisions and mobile phones.

Oil stocks gained, helped by a modest recovery in crude prices with Statoil of Norway 2.1% higher while Neste Oil of Finland added 1.3 %.

Decliners

Novartis dipped 0.4% after the Swiss drugs giant posted record full-year year of sales and profits but warned growth would slow in 2007 before picking up again from 2008.

Belgium supermarket group Delhaize declined 2.6% after it said that its fourth-quarter sales dipped 1% to 4.8 billion euros, mainly due to the U.S. dollar weakening against the euro. At constant exchange rates, sales would have risen by 4.6%

Oil and commodities

Crude oil for February delivery fell as much as 39 cents, or 0.8%, to $51.85 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $52.97 in early trade in London. Brent crude for March settlement dropped 12 cents at $52.67 on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

Gold for immediate delivery climbed $2.60, or 0.4%, to $634.40 an ounce in London. Silver rose 10.6 cents to $12.91 an ounce, palladium gained 50 cents to $339.50 an ounce and platinum advanced $8.50 to $1,156 an ounce.

Currencies

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies in European trading Thursday morning. The euro traded at $1.2940, up from $1.2932 late Wednesday. The British pound traded at $1.9724, up from $1.9691. The dollar was at 121.37 Japanese yen, up from 120.67.

[R]5:00 AM Gold gains Wednesday as crude oil strengthen and the dollar slips.[/R]
At settlement, the most-active February gold gained $7.40 to end at $633.30 a troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. March silver futures advanced with gold and finished 26.5 cents higher at $12.89 an ounce. April platinum finished $8.80 stronger at $1,154.60 an ounce, and March palladium settled $7.10 higher at $342.95 an ounce. March copper futures were on the defensive for most of the session and shed 0.80 cents to settle at $2.5695 a pound.

Crude oil futures staged a late recovery and rose above $52 a barrel. The February crude contract gained $1.03 to close at $52.24 a barrel. February heating oil added 1.95 cents to finish at $1.4998 a gallon Wednesday. February gasoline settled at $1.3786 a gallon. February natural gas futures dipped 40.4 cents and ended at $6.234 a million British thermal units.

On the Chicago Board of Trade, soybean futures closed sharply higher. March soybeans ended 13.5 cents higher at $7.22 a bushel. In corn futures trading, the March contracts finished 5 cents higher to $4.08 per bushel. Arabica coffee futures finished slightly lower on the New York Board of Trade Wednesday, as March coffee closed 0.05 cent lower at $1.2160 a pound. Futures on raw sugar in foreign ports declined, but they pared losses after trade house buying blunted a selloff. March sugar settled 0.15 cent lower at 10.76 cents a pound.