| CATEGORY: MARKET REPORT - AFTERNOON SECTOR: FINANCIAL SERVICES |
London afternoon: ICAP rallies on Goldman upgrade |
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Wed 10 Feb 2010
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Market Movers
techMARK 1,532.04 -0.13%
FTSE 100 5,150.28 +0.75%
FTSE 250 9,107.18 +0.97%
LONDON (SHARECAST) - Leading shares saw their gains pared over the lunch time session, with the FTSE 100’s gain on the day roughly halved.
Financial stocks are still in favour with inter-dealer broker ICAP emerging from a long spell under the cosh to lead the pack after Goldman Sachs tipped the shares.
Insurers are wanted on rumours of the first move in what could be a round of sector consolidation. Market gossip is that Prudential and Resolution might gang tackle Aviva. Even without the bid speculation, insurers are buoyed by reports of a bail-out package in the works for Greece, which would have a claming effect on bond markets.
Lower commodity prices and a weak US dollar had underlying earnings at BHP Billiton down 28.5% in the last six months of 2009, although the miner called it a ‘sound’ financial performance.
Cillit Bang maker Reckitt Benckiser had a strong finish to the year with fourth quarter sales and pre-tax profit coming in ahead of expectations. Fourth quarter revenue rose 13% to £2,063m from £1,825m the year before, while pre-tax profit improved 17% to £607m from £520m.
Data search software giant Autonomy has displeased the market with its plans to raise £500m through convertible bonds to build a war chest for potential acquisitions. The cash could also be used for possible early repayment of the outstanding bank debt taken out in connection with the Interwoven acquisition.
Energy supplier Centrica is in demand after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock and bumped up its target price. Centrica is now rated ‘overweight’ by Morgan Stanley, having previously been rated ‘equal weight’. In contrast Scottish and Southern Energy is cut to ‘underweight’ from ‘equal weight’ by the US bank,
Daily Mail and General Trust trading was better than expected over the last three months of 2009, but the newspaper publisher is still wary, especially in the UK. Revenue for the quarter to end December was £482m, down 15% on last year and 8% lower on an underlying basis. Improved margins meant operating profit near to last year's first quarter, it added.
Elsewhere in publishing, magazine publisher Future said revenue in its first quarter fell 12%. The company expects trading conditions to remain challenging throughout 2010 but investors were heartened by robust performances from its titles focused on music, sport, crafts and digital creative.
Residential property group Grainger said the housing market continues to improve and it is still selling properties at above book price. In the four months to 31 January 2010 the group sold 321 units at an aggregate price of £54.5m. The estimated margin on sales of vacant properties was 42.4%.
Data centre operator Telecity expects to meet market expectations of revenue growth in 2010 after bumping up turnover by more than a quarter in 2009. Demand for its data centres in 2009 remained firm across all of the group’s markets, with the growth in Internet usage showing no sign of abating.
IT services firm Morse said adjusted pre-tax profit for the half year almost doubled as business picks up. Profit before tax and exceptional items rose to £4.1m in the six months ended 31 December 2009 from £2.2m the year before. Revenue was little changed at £107.6m from £107.5m.
Microchip maker CSR reported a fourth quarter profit compared to a $15m loss before as demand for its products increased. CSR said it is confident for 2010 as its new wireless products 'gain traction'.
Dana Petroleum has made a second gas discovery in the West El Burullus concession, offshore Nile Delta, Egypt. The company, which owns the concession 50:50 with French operator GDF Suez, has drilled two wells there and made two discoveries. It says the area contains ‘numerous’ additional prospects at both shallow and deeper horizons.
Disappointing fourth quarter figures from European solar energy giant REC Group have had a knock on effect on UK solar panel silicon wafer maker PV Crystalox Solar (PVCS). REC’s average selling price in its wafer division fell again in the fourth quarter to €0.80 per watt from €0.84 per watt in the third quarter, and broker KBC Peel Hunt believes this bodes ill for PVCS. KBC has cut its price target for the stock from 52p to 42p and now rates the shares a ‘sell’, having previously rated it a ‘hold’.
ViaLogy, the signal detection technology developer servicing the oil and gas sector, said its track record of successful well location continued with the Permian Basin well, a well owned by Texan oil firm Vecta.
Finnish food company Raisio, the company behind the Benecol cholesterol-lowering product range, is backing a management buy-out of snack foods firm Glisten. Glisten shareholders are being offered 140p in cash for each of their shares, a chunky premium to the 86.5p mid-market price of the shares the day before the agreed bid was announced.
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| IAP - ICAP |
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| Latest Prices |
| Name |
Price |
% |
| ICAP |
428.90p |
+0.80% |
| Aviva |
395.30p |
+1.80% |
| Prudential |
584.00p |
+0.69% |
| Legal & General Group |
95.20p |
+0.90% |
| Centrica |
325.40p |
-1.81% |
| Reckitt Benckiser Group |
3,307.00p |
-0.33% |
| Autonomy Corporation |
1,717.00p |
+5.27% |
| CSR |
299.60p |
+0.88% |
| Grainger |
113.50p |
+3.18% |
| Daily Mail and General Trust |
475.90p |
+3.08% |
| Morse |
0.000p |
0.00% |
| ViaLogy |
4.62p |
-5.13% |
| Glisten |
0.000p |
0.00% |
| Future |
18.00p |
-2.70% |
| Telecity Group |
484.40p |
+0.50% |
| Scottish & Southern Energy |
1,155.00p |
-0.52% |
| PV Crystalox Solar |
55.25p |
+0.45% |
| |
| FTSE 100 |
5,371 |
+0.09% |
| FTSE 250 |
10,141 |
+0.80% |
| FTSE 350 |
2,835 |
+0.18% |
| FTSE AIM All-Share |
702 |
+0.72% |
| FTSE All-Share |
2,773 |
+0.20% |
| FTSE Fledgling |
4,104 |
+0.22% |
| FTSE Small Cap |
2,840 |
+0.87% |
| FTSEurofirst 300 |
1,055 |
-0.06% |
| techMARK |
1,673 |
+0.31% |
| techMARK 100 |
1,840 |
+0.64% |
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