UK/Euro Financial Market Daily Morning Briefing 10-10-2006

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London shares open higher as M&A talk adds to solid Wall St

Leading shares were higher in opening deals, edging towards a five-month high, as a flurry of M&A talk added to a positive session on Wall Street.
   
At 9.12 am, the FTSE 100 was 10.1 points firmer at 6,041.0, mirroring the positive wider market sentiment.
   
Wall Street closed higher, with the Nasdaq hitting a five-month high, after the flurry of M&A deals offset firmer oil prices and jitters over North Korea's nuclear tests. Sentiment in tech stocks was lifted by confirmation that internet giant Google is set to buy online video-sharing site YouTube for 1.65 bln usd.
   
The DJIA rose 7.6 points to 11,857.81, the S&P 500 took on 1.08 points to 1,350.66, and The Nasdaq firmed 11.78 points to 2,311.77.
   
And the upbeat mood spilled into Asia overnight, with the Nikkei closing  up 41.19 points at 16,477.25 and the Hang Seng index ended the morning session 166.15 points better at 17,841.39.
   
Still in Asia, oil prices were little changed amid market skepticism over talk of a possible Opec production cut and as initial fears over North Korea's  nuclear test eased.
   
Earlier this morning, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November, was 5 cents higher at 60.01 usd, having fallen back from above 61 usd yesterday.
   
Back in London, M&A hopes dominated the start of the day's trading with Brambles the standout beneficiary -- up 10-1/2 pence at 400, mirroring strong gains in Australia overnight.

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The Anglo-Australian support services group has been buoyed by persistent talk of a 15 aud per share bid from private equity with US conglomerate General Electric also mooted as a potential suitor.
   
Man Group was also courted after The Independent highlighted talk the hedge fund is being stalked by US investment bank Goldman Sachs. According to the paper's market report, traders say Goldman would have to pay at least 650 pence per to seal the deal, sending shares up 8-1/4 pence to 450.
   
In pharmas, GlaxoSmithkline added 8 pence at 1,462 amid ongoing rumours the drug giant is in merger discussions with peer Novartis.
   
Vodafone was also in demand, 2-1/2 pence firmer at 128-1/2 on growing expectations Swisscom will reach a deal to buy Vodafone's 25 pct stake in its mobile division. Sentiment in the stock was further boosted by a good showing by telecom stocks in the US overnight.
   
And PartyGaming edged 1/2 pence higher to 39 amid rumours Putera Sampoerna, one of Indonesia's richest men, has been sounding out shareholders about the possibility of his making a move for the online gaming group.
   
Elsewhere, 3i Group rose 8 pence to 953 after the venture capital group was upgraded to 'overweight' from 'neutral' by Lehman Brothers, with a revised target of 1,090 pence from 930.
   
The broker said although its does not feel uniformly positive about the medium-term prospects for private equity, it thinks 3i is well positioned in the more attractive segments of the industry.
   
Miners were also in focus, with Vedanta 1 pence higher at 1,266 after the miner's "in-line" first-half production report.
   
Vedanta, which is based in India, said production volumes for aluminium, zinc and copper during the six months to Sept 30 were higher than in the same period a year earlier.
   
In reaction, JP Morgan maintained its 'overweight' stance said the update showed a general continuation of the company's growth trend. The news helped to lift other miners, but gains were capped by mixed commodity prices.

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BHP took on 11 pence at 948, Rio Tinto firmed 17 pence at 2,619, boosted by target increases at JP Morgan, but Kazakhmys fell 6 pence at 1,113 as copper prices in Asian trade.
   
Corus, however, was the top faller, down 14-1/4 pence at 479-3/4 as investors grew impatient that no bid has been forthcoming for the Anglo-Dutch steel maker from Indian peer Tata Steel.
   
M&A disappointment also hit ITV, off 1/2 pence at 99-3/4, after Roger Parry, chairman of Johnson Press, told The Telegraph that he has ruled out any new bid for the broadcaster, until the company finds a new CEO.
   
In advertising, WPP was under the cosh after the Wall Street Journal said Martin Sorrell may be considering acquisitions, with Aegis or Taylor Nelson Sofres potentially on his radar. Shares in WPP fell 3 pence to 656.
   
Carnival was another loser, down 37 pence at 2,561, as the cruise operator was cut to 'neutral' from 'overweight' by JP Morgan on valuation grounds.
   
The broker foresees limited upside for the shares in the near-term, with the stock 16 times its full-year 2007 EPS at present.
   
On the second-line, Northern Foods was the biggest casualty, down 3 pence at 86-1/4 as the maker of Goodfellas pizzas said underlying revenue for the first half fell by 1.1 pct from the year before.
   
In response, Evolution Securities reiterated its 'reduce' rating and price target of 85 pence, while UBS stuck to its 'neutral' stance.
   
SSL International fell back 3-1/2 pence at 334-3/4 after a broadly in-line trading update from the maker of Durex condoms and Scholl footcare products failed to inspire.
   
The stock had enjoyed a good run ahead of the results, partly buoyed by bid hopes.

UK Diary of Events

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US Summary

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PARIS - Market data at 9.55 am:

Major indices:
   
CAC-40 up 26.21 or 0.50 pct at 5,311.04
SBF-80 up 18.20 or 0.30 pct at 6,031.03
SBF-120 up 17.99 or 0.47 pct at 3,842.67

Volume: 1 bln eur
33 CAC-40 stocks up
4 CAC-40 stocks down
3 CAC-40 stocks unchanged  

Major gainers:
   
EADS up 0.64 or 3.17 pct at 20.80 after Airbus CEO change, rebounding from losses
   
Alcatel up 0.12 or 1.29 pct at 9.41
   
PPR up 1.50 or 1.27 pct at 119.30

Major losers:
   
Publicis down 0.38 or 1.21 pct at 31.01
  
Renault down 0.40 or 0.44 pct at 89.55

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FRANKFURT - Market data at 10.10 am   

Major indices:
   
DAX 30 - up 26.27 points or 0.43 pct at 6,110.67
MDAX - up 72.10 points or 0.84 pct at 8,623.89
TecDAX - up 6.42 points or 0.97 pct at 671.08
DAX future - up 27.00 points or 0.44 pct at 6,148.00

Major gainers:
   
Allianz, up 2.10 eur or 1.49 pct at 142.60
   
RWE, up 0.64 eur or 0.83 pct at 77.94, after Merrill Lynch raised its price target on the stock to 85 eur from 80, according to dealers
   
Munich Re, up 0.97 eur or 0.78 pct at 126.00
   
Deutsche Bank, up 0.70 eur or 0.72 pct at 98.50
   
Altana, up 0.26 eur or 0.60 pct at 43.44

Major losers:
   
Henkel, down 1.26 eur or 1.16 pct at 107.68 after HSBC downgraded shares in the company to 'neutral' from 'overweight' on valuation grounds
   
MAN, down 0.39 eur or 0.57 pct to 68.06, following gains yesterday
   
BMW, down 0.20 eur or 0.48 pct at 41.77
   
Deutsche Postbank, down 0.26 eur or 0.43 pct at 60.29
   
DaimlerChrysler, down 0.14 eur or 0.35 pct at 39.74

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AMSTERDAM - Market data at 10.39 am:

Major indices
   
AEX                 489.12, up 1.90 point
AMX Midcap          612.60, down 3.40 points
Government bonds    unchanged to slightly lower

Major gainers:
   
KPN rose 1.17 pct at 10.34, Heineken added 1.13 pct at 36.61
   
Hagemeyer advanced 0.74 pct at 4.06, Buhrmann climbed 1.15 pct at 12.31
   
Vedior put on 1.1 pct at 15.62 after favourable French staffing market data. Randstad gained 1.11 pct at 46.50 while USG People advanced 0.99 pct at 25.62
   
Stork was up 0.5 pct at 39.98 after a Dutch newspaper reported the company is in talks to take over Canada's Heroux-Devtek
   
Ten Cate firmed 3.47 pct at 20.59 after saying it received a 6.8 mln eur subsidy from the European Commission for its Digitex project which relates to the technological development of digital textile finishing

Major losers:
   
TomTom fell 1.54 pct at 32.0 after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to 'equal-weight' from 'overweight' with a 34 eur price target. The broker also downgraded TeleAtlas to 'underweight' from 'equal-weight' with a lowered price target of 10 eur from 21, sending the shares down 4.38 pct to 12.67 
   
Philips was off 0.14 pct at 27.70 after its LG Philips LCD joint venture reported a widening third-quarter operating loss due to price declines
   
Laurus slipped 0.5 pct at 2.0 eur, giving up opening gains after the retailer reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter sales
   
Van der Moolen, down 5.34 pct at 4.61, extended yesterday's slide following the market maker's profit warning. ING cut its price target to 4.40 eur from 5.0

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