UK/Euro Financial Market Daily Morning Briefing 06-04-2006

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London shares stay firm in early trade helped by strong mining sector

UK blue chips remained firm in early deals, mirroring gains across the Atlantic as US indices finished the session higher lifted by a strong technology sector. In London the miners were once again out in force helping leading shares continue an upward trend, dealers said.
   
At 9.05 am the FTSE 100 index was up 25.0 points at 6,069.1 with the wider market following suit.
   
Overnight on Wall Street the DJIA ended higher amid optimism over the upcoming first-quarter earnings season, and as strength in the technology sector lifted the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite to their best levels in about five years.
   
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 35.70 points to 11,239.55. The benchmark index has now risen for three straight sessions.
   
The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 14.39 points to 2,359.75, taking the tech-rich index to a new five-year high.
   
Over in Asia, the Nikkei closed up 245.35 points at 17,489.33 while the Hang Seng finished the morning up 163.45 at 16,263.54.
   
In London, the miners took control in early trade as BHP Billiton put on 15-1/2 pence at 1,162-1/2, Rio Tinto was up 12 at 3,147, Xstrata gained 24 at 2,012 while Anglo American rose 23 at 2,397.
   
Kazakhmys and Antofagasta were also on the up, better by 16 at 1,247 and positive by 4 pence at 2,307 respectively.

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The mining sector has been assisted with recent gains in metal prices, with gold recently hitting a five-year high.
   
Shares in PartyGaming took the top spot, shooting over 7 pct higher, up 10 pence at 139-3/4, amid market talk that the latest attempt to ban online gaming in the US has met with some resistance from Congress.
   
Republican Robert Goodlatte's anti-Internet gambling bill was said to have faced criticism from a number of the House subcommittee in a debate last night.
   
The news also helped lift second tier 888 Holdings 8-1/2 pence higher to 229-1/2.
   
Elsewhere, Corus was in favour, up 1 at 88, after being upgraded to 'buy' from 'hold' at Deutsche Bank this morning on improving margins and returns
   
Deutsche Bank said that Corus's near-term results were expected to be weak, but the group retained high operational gearing to the ongoing strength in the steel cycle.
   
Buyers were still keen on BP, up 4 at 679, even though US environmental regulators are conducting a criminal investigation into the oil giants management of pipelines in Alaska's North Slope, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
   
Prudential found investor favour, up 4-1/2 at 656, as news that its asset management joint venture with CITIC in China, CITIC Prudential Fund Management Co, has launched its first fund product.

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On the downside, Scottish & Newcastle slipped 7 pence to 537, as yesterday's bid rumour speculation seemed to fade from the market arena.
   
Buyers failed to bank on Alliance and Leicester as fading bid hopes and proposed Office of Fair Trading legislation clipping late payment fees pushed the stock lower by 16 pence to 1,179.
   
The sector was dented by the planned legislation with HBOS down 2-1/2 at 965 and Lloyds TSB lighter by 1 pence at 543.
   
Among FTSE 250 stocks, Michael Page traded higher, better by 13-1/4 at 369-1/4, as Bridgewell Securities reiterated its 'overweight' stance and Merrill Lynch held onto its 'neutral' recommendation on the stock following a fine first-quarter trading update.
   
Among the losers, shares in Whitbread shed 30 pence to 1,130, having been downgraded to 'underweight' from 'inline' with a revised objective price of 1,000 pence by Morgan Stanley.
   
The broker said that the stock has risen by 46 pct from 2005 lows and that Whitbread is trading "well above" its sector peers.
   
Finally, investors were also turning their noses up at Halfords, down 5-1/2 at 329, as an in-line trading update from the car parts and cycle retailer was offset by margin worries.
   
In response, Merrill Lynch reiterated its 'neutral' stance and said Halfords confirmed it will meet the broker's flagged 77 mln despite better than expected like-for-like.

US Summary

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Diary of Events

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FRANKFURT - market data at 09.34 GMT

Major indices:
   
DAX 30 - 6,032.85, up 3.65 points or 0.06 pct
MDAX - 8,721.79, up 10.85 points or 0.12 pct
TecDAX - 730.89, up 2.49 points or 0.34 pct
DAX future - 6,067.00, down 2.00 points or 0.03 pct

Major gainers:
   
SAP, up 4.90 eur or 2.76 pct at 182.70, as ABN Amro upgraded its stance on the stock to 'buy' from 'hold' and hiked its price target to 280 eur versus 160, arguing that it expects SAP's market share to grow to 24 pct by 2010 from 10 pct currently
   
Deutsche Boerse, up 1.23 eur or 1.07 pct at 115.98, recovering from recent losses
   
Hypo Real Estate, up 0.45 eur or 0.80 pct at 56.95
   
ThyssenKrupp, up 0.13 eur or 0.55 pct at 23.78
   
Infineon, up 0.05 eur or 0.58 pct at 8.71

Major losers:
   
Altana, down 0.66 eur or 1.29 pct at 50.36, as UBS downgraded its rating on the issue to 'neutral' from 'buy', arguing that it sees limited upside potential for the shares
  
MAN, down 0.64 eur or 1.07 pct at 59.33
   
DaimlerChrysler, down 0.49 eur or 1.00 pct at 48.43, as the euro continued to strengthen against the dollar and as Credit Suisse downgraded its recommendation on the stock to 'underperform' from 'neutral' in a note on the
European auto sector, which it cut to 'marketweight' from 'overweight'   

BMW, down 0.45 eur or 0.98 pct at 45.35,
   
TUI, down 0.14 eur or 0.86 pct at 16.23, as Morgan Stanley cut its price target on the stock to 14 eur from 15, reiterating its 'underperform' recommendation

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PARIS - Market data at 10.15 GMT

Major indices:
   
CAC-40 up 17.23 points at 5,238.26
SBF-80 down 2.90 at 6,121.34
SBF-120 up 10.88 at 3,808.91

Volume: 800 mln eur
25 CAC-40 stocks up
15 CAC-40 stocks down

Major gainers:
   
Michelin up 1.95 or 3.67 pct at 55.05, added to French 'selected list' at Cheuvreux
   
Air Liquide up 3.40 or 1.94 pct at 178.30
   
Veolia Environnement up 0.86 or 1.85 pct at 47.38
   
Thales up 0.43 or 1.18 pct at 36.79 after yesterday's losses

Major losers:
   
EADS down 0.30 or 0.92 pct at 32.45 as bookbuilding price of shares previously held by DaimlerChrysler, Lagardere disappoints
   
Accor down 0.35 or 0..74 pct at 46.65
   
Lagardere down 0.45 or 0.68 pct at 66.15 after yesterday's gains
   
Eiffage down 7.70 or 5.30 pct at 137.50 Sacyr Vallehermoso becomes largest shareholder, Eiffage refuses to grant it board seats

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