UK/Euro Financial Market Daily Morning Briefing 15-03-2006

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London shares higher in early deals after NY gains; Hanson up on bid talk

UK blue chips pushed higher in early deals this morning, recovering after yesterday's modest decline in tandem with strong gains overnight on Wall Street as interest rate worries eased, with Hanson seeing strong demand on vague Lafarge bid talk, dealers said.
   
At 9.17 GMT, the FTSE 100 index was 15.5 points higher at 5,966.1, having slipped back from an early peak of 5,975.1. All the broader FTSE indices were higher aside from the FTSE Small Caps.
   
Early volume was solid, with 424 mln shares changing hands in 49,698 deals.
   
Overnight on Wall Street, US stocks rallied from early falls to close sharply higher reflecting a significant decline in long-term interest rates following a weak US retail sales report.
   
The DJIA closed 75.30 points higher at 11,151.30, its highest close since June 2001, while the Nasdaq composite ended 28.87 points stronger at 2,295.90.
   
Asian markets were also strong today, with the Nikkei 225 index ending 80.68 points higher at 16,319.04 supported by the New York gains overnight.
   
And the Hang Seng closed 200.60 points at 15,720.36 led by property stocks as interest-rate worries eased to some extent following a decline in yields on long-term US government bonds overnight.
   
In London, once again bid talk excited blue chips issue this morning, with construction materials firm Hanson today's main attraction after a report in the Daily Express suggested an overseas predator was eyeing the UK firm.

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Traders suggested France's Lafarge was a possible bidder, and although they noted the story was not new, some highlighted as well a report in the Independent suggesting Hanson is close to demerging its US business could make the UK group easier to swallow.
   
Dealers also spotlighted good news overnight from Vulcan, one of Hanson's US peers, which raised its guidance.
   
Hanson shares leapt 12 pct higher in opening deals but halved that advance as trading moved on, still adding 42-1/2 pence at 783-1/2.
   
Also on the bid front, Smith & Nephew shares found support, adding 20-1/2 pence at 548-1/2 after the Guardian's Market Forces column noted that Bristol Myers Squibb could be interested in expanding its healthcare business which could see it making a break-up bid to obtain the UK firm's woundcare business.
   
Away from M&A, mining issues saw strong support today, rallying after yesterday's falls in reaction to rebounding commodity prices and some positive broker comment on expectations for sector consolidation.
   
Xstrata shares took on 44 pence at 1,760, BHP Billiton added 18-1/2 pence at 962, Rio Tinto gained 37 pence at 2,698, and Antofagasta firmed 25 pence at 1,989 rallying after yesterday's results.
   
Heavyweight oil issues also moved higher in spite of an easing in crude prices, with BP shares standing out, up 14 pence at 65, supported by a bullish note this morning from Cazenove which has revived talk of a possible Exxon bid for the UK oil giant.
   
On the downside with blue chips, ex-dividend factors accounted for some of the biggest fallers, knocking just over 5 points of the FTSE 100's rise, with Gallaher, HBOS, Royal & Sun Alliance, and Reuters all among those losing dividend attractions today.
   
On the earnings front, shares in Smiths Group shed 14-1/2 pence 972 on profit-taking after in-line first half results.
   
The aerospace and defence firm saw its H1 pretax profits before exceptionals increase by 18 pct to 183 mln stg, up from 155 mln stg previously, in line with market expectations.

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And shares in Daily Mail & General lost 5 pence at 692 after an uninspiring trading update, with the newspaper publisher reporting a sharp fall in advertising revenues in the first five months of its fiscal year although it insisted that trading would improve later in the year.  
   
On the second line, shares in Soco International stood out on the upside, taking on 58 pence at 1,051 following a bullish drilling update on its Vietnam operations.
   
Meanwhile further comment on bid interest saw Mitchells & Butler shares gain 13-1/2 pence at 494, Body Shop add 5-1/4 pence at 272-1/4, and Kesa Electricals firm 7 pence at 332 helped by news of an upgrade to 'neutral' at JP Morgan after yesterday's private equity bid approach rejection.
   
But on the downside, shares in the London Stock Exchange lost 30 pence at 1,160 amid press reports CEO Clara Furse is refusing to meet her counterpart from Nasdaq when he is London this week after rejecting the US firm's bid approach last Friday.
   
And on the earnings front, post-results declines saw BRIT Insurance shares shed 2 pence at 100, and AMEC lose 4-1/2 pence at 396.      
   
On the macro front, the main focus will be the latest UK labour market data, due at 9.30 am, which is expected to show unemployment rising in February as cost pressures and weak demand encourage companies to cut costs.
   
The UK claimant count is forecast to show a rise of 1,000 in February after January's 2,000 fall, with the claimant count rate staying unchanged at 2.9 pct.
   
Average earnings including bonuses are forecast to have risen by 3.9 pct in the three months to January from the same period a year earlier, up from 3.6 pct the previous month.
   
Across the Atlantic, the March Empire State confidence index should attract the most attention, with the reading expected to dip to 18.3, down from 20.3 in February.
   
The February US import price index will also be released today.

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Diary of Events

For a diary of key UK financial and corporate events today, click here

US Summary

For a summary of US stocks at the close of trade, click here

Paris

PARIS - Market data at 09.15 GMT

Major indices:
   
CAC-40 up 6.35 points or 0.12 pct at 5,123.51
SBF-80 up 28.44 points or 0.49 pct at 5,873.74
SBF-120 up 7.76 points or 0.21 pct at 3,715.89

Volume: 1.10 bln eur
23 CAC-40 stocks up
17 CAC-40 stocks down

Major gainers:
   
BNP Paribas, up 1.65 eur or 2.20 pct at 76.75, buoyed by positive sentiment surrounding the sector following Goldman Sachs's impressive FY earnings report yesterday.
   
AGF, up 1.60 eur or 1.78 pct at 91.65, after upgrade to 'buy' from 'hold' at SG Securities and ING after a better than expected FY earnings report yesterday.
   
Alcatel up 0.09 eur or 0.76 pct at 12.00, after saying it wants a share of upcoming telecoms infrastructure orders in Iraq and is "ready to go".
   
Lafarge, up 0.20 eur or 0.23 pct at 89.05. Lafarge said it has no immediate comment to make on market rumours it is mulling a bid for Hanson PLC
   
Euronext, up 2.10 eur or 3.45 pct at 63.05, after Deutsche Boerse AG said it is interested in a merger of equals.
   
Iliad, up 4.20 eur or 7.28 pct at 61.90, after reporting a 69.2 pct jump in net profit to 68.9 mln eur and a surge in EBITA of 98.8 pct to 224.3 mln eur
   
JC Decaux, up 1.37 eur or 6.41 pct at 22.75 after reporting FY EBIT up 4.1 pct and forecasting 2006 organic sales growth to rise 
    
Major losers:
   
EDF, down 0.57 eur or 1.36 pct at 41.31
   
Sanofi-Aventis  down 0.70 eur or 0.93 pct at 74.30, after German lab Schering rejected a takeover bid from rival Merck
   
Arcelor down 0.09 eur or 0.29 pct at 31.00, after the Daily Telegraph reported that Luxembourg's Chamber of Commerce has tabled changes to the country's takeover law in an apparent move to sabotage Mittal Steel's 18.6 bln eur bid for Arcelor.
   
Areva, down 23.00 eur or 4.14 pct at 532.00 after a report in Les Echos that its hopes of winning an order from China for four nuclear power reactors are fading

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FRANKFURT - Market data at 09.30 GMT

Major indices:
   
DAX 30 - 5,883.64, up 12.76 points or 0.22 pct
MDAX - 8,485.26, up 49.28 points or 0.58 pct
TecDAX - 732.18, up 3.60 points or 0.49 pct
DAX future - 5,883.50, down 4.50 points or 0.08 pct

Major gainers:
   
Infineon, up 0.18 eur or 2.24 pct at 8.20, on the back of market talk it found a buyer for its DRAM division, though Infineon said it would still prefer to sell the loss-making memory chip unit via an IPO
   
BMW, up 0.86 eur or 2.05 pct at 42.73, as the market cheered its 2006 outlook, which included aiming to achieve a pretax profit of 4 bln eur for 2006 compared with 3.287 bln last year
   
E.ON, up 1.82 eur or 1.97 pct at 94.40, as Deutsche Bank raised its price target on the issue to 105 eur from 102 and reiterated its 'buy' rating, arguing that the stock is the cheapest in the European utility sector
   
Altana, up 0.69 eur or 1.46 pct at 47.96
   
SAP, up 1.52 eur or 0.88 pct at 175.10

Major losers:
   
Schering, down 0.80 eur or 0.96 pct at 82.95, on profit-taking, having jumped some 27 pct on Monday on expectations of a counterbid or a higher bid following Merck KGaA's 77 eur per share takeover bid
   
Linde, down 0.66 eur or 0.93 pct at 70.56
   
Hypo Real Estate, down 0.45 eur or 0.84 pct at 53.40
   
Siemens, down 0.60 eur or 0.79 pct at 75.70
   
Deutsche Telekom, down 0.11 eur or 0.78 pct at 14.02

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