UK/Euro Financial Market Daily Morning Briefing 20-07-2006

London shares climb in early deals as Wall St receives Bernanke boost

Leading shares pushed higher in early deals, boosted by last night's strong gains on Wall Street, as dovish comments by Fed chairman Ben Bernanke and sliding oil prices allowed investors to put the crisis in the Middle East to one side, dealers said.
   
By 9.15 am, the FTSE 100 index was 24.8 points higher at 5,792.8, while the broader indices were also firmer.
   
Volume was moderate, with 281.1 mln shares changing hands in 38,518 deals.
   
US stocks surged higher on Wall Street last night after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reassured the market with his view that economic growth seems to be moderating and inflation remains contained, traders noted.
   
Investors interpreted Bernanke's testimony to Congress as a sign the Fed is close to ending its streak of interest rate hikes, dealers added.
   
The DJIA closed 212.19 points higher at 11,011.42, its best performance of 2006, while the Nasdaq ended up 37.49 points at 2,080.71.
   
Across Asia overnight, the Nikkei 225 index closed 446.58 points higher at 14,946.84, while the Hang Seng ended 375.08 points higher at 16,472.62.
   
Oil prices fell sharply in the US last night before recovering slightly in Asian trade as relief at yesterday's surprise jump in US inventories gave way once again to caution over the escalating crisis in the Middle East.
   
After falling as low as 71.65 usd a barrel in New York last night, crude prices rallied to 73.03 usd in electronic dealings this morning.
   
In the UK today, Capita jumped 7.2 pct, or 34-1/4 pence to 509, after the support services group reported a 24 pct rise in half-year profit and said it expected the strong growth to continue in the second half and 2007.
   
In response, Panmure Gordon upgraded its rating to 'buy' from 'hold', with a 500 pence target.

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Deutsche Bank was also bullish, upping its price target on the group, which runs London's traffic Congestion Charge, to 550 pence from 510 as it reiterated its 'buy' advice.
   
Elsewhere, FTSE 100 debutant Vedanta Resources was also in demand, adding 27 pence to 1,343 after an upbeat first quarter production update.
   
In the first quarter to June, the group's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and goodwill amortisation rose 280 pct to 589.1 mln usd from 155 mln.
   
However, Xstrata was the mining sector's star performer this morning.
   
The stock added 80 pence to 2,085 on the increased likelihood that it will win the battle with Inco for Falconbridge following yesterday's raised offer of 62.5 cad per share for the Canadian nickel miner.
   
Inco announced last night that the "best and final" offer it lodged on July 16, of 18.50 cad in cash plus 0.55676 Inco common shares, would beat Xstrata's by 1.67 cad per share, assuming all current bid conditions are met.
   
Phelps Dodge, the US copper producer which has backed a rival bid for Falconbridge, also said late last night that Inco's offer "is the best and final proposal that we will support".
   
ABN Amro reiterated its 'buy' recommendation on Xstrata with a 2,440 pence target.
   
Elsewhere, BHP Billiton added 22 pence to 1,063, Anglo American gained 43 pence to 2,230 and Lonmin gained 43 pence to 2,843.
   
British Airways meanwhile, rose 13-1/2 pence to 370-3/4 as vague rumours of a takeover by Emirates resurfaced.
   
On the downside, PartyGaming looked like suffering another volatile session, losing 3-1/2 pence to 90-3/4, as investors continued to fret over the US Department of Justice indictment of BETonSPORTS and tomorrow's Q2 KPIs. 

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In a note published yesterday Goldman Sachs calculated that stripping out all of PartyGaming's US facing businesses would imply a share price of just 38 pence.
   
BP fell 1-1/2 pence to 629-1/2, hit by a weaker oil price and a downgrade to 'neutral' from 'overweight' by JP Morgan.
   
The US broker said it still sees BP as a good long-term investment, but sees near-term risks.
   
On the second line, CSR recovered another 70 pence to 1,140, bouncing back from its recent mauling thanks to strength in US tech stocks last night.
   
Fellow semiconductor group Wolfson Microelectronics was also higher, lifted by upbeat results from Apple last night, with strong sales of its iconic iPod music player, for which Wolfson makes chips.
   
Wolfson added 13 pence to 422, helped by an Altium 'buy' recommendation.
   
On the downside, Colt Telecom fell 16 pence to 149 after announcing a disappointing set of second quarter results and a cautious outlook.
   
Colt said second-quarter pretax loss, after 9.3 mln eur of exceptionals, narrowed to 18.3 mln eur from 36 mln a year earlier, reflecting improved data revenue mix and lower costs and warned that it continues to face tough conditions in Germany and in the UK voice markets.
   
Morgan Stanley repeated its 'underweight' recommendation.
   
On the economic front, UK June retail sales and M4 lending figures should be closely eyed. In the US, initial jobless claims are due before the opening bell this afternoon, while June Leading Indicators and July Philadelphia Fed data is also scheduled for release.

UK Diary of Events

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

US Summary

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

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PARIS - Market data at 9.48 am:

Major indices:
   
CAC-40 up 34.15 points or 0.70 pct at 4,880.69
SBF-80 up 91.99 points or 1.72 pct at 5,455.77
SBF-120 up 29.33 points or 0.84 pct at 3,527.68

Volume: 424 mln eur
33 CAC-40 stocks up
6 CAC-40 stocks down
(Arcelor temporarily suspended from CAC-40)

Major gainers:
   
Remy Cointreau, up 1.25 eur or 3.46 pct at 37.40. It said first-quarter sales rose 3.8 pct and maintained its full-year operating profit guidance.
   
Essilor, up 1.60 eur or 2.12 pct at 77.20, as analysts welcomed first-half sales as confirming its product mix has good prospects in a buoyant market.
   
Capgemini, up 0.80 eur or 2.07 pct at 39.51

Major losers:
   
Renault, down 0.65 eur or 0.78 pct at 82.50, after a downgrade to 'underweight' from 'equalweight' by Morgan Stanley
   
Peugeot, down 0.17 eur or 0.36 pct at 47.40
   
France Telecom, down 0.08 eur or 0.48 pct at 16.55. Morgan Stanley said it expects the company to issue a profit warning. 

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FRANKFURT - Market data at 10.21 am

Major indices:
   
DAX 30 - 5,572.54, up 33.25 points or 0.60 pct
MDAX - 7,723.27, up 84.41 points or 1.11 pct
TecDAX - 609.59, up 12.83 points or 2.15 pct
DAX future - 5,597.50, up 7.00 points or 0.13 pct

Major gainers:
   
Continental AG, up 1.42 eur or 1.94 pct at 74.77, recovering from recent sharp losses, having been one of the worst performers on the DAX since the beginning of July, dealers said.
   
Lufthansa, up 0.26 eur or 1.81 pct at 14.60, as oil prices fell sharply in the US overnight, after the latest fuel stocks figures showed ample supplies of gasoline
   
MAN, up 0.88 eur or 1.62 pct at 55.31
   
Bayer, up 0.55 eur or 1.48 pct at 37.60
   
Deutsche Boerse, up 1.51 eur or 1.40 pct at 109.42

Major losers:
   
Linde, down 0.49 eur or 0.77 pct at 63.14
   
BMW, down 0.20 eur or 0.52 pct at 38.21
   
Deutsche Post, down 0.08 eur or 0.40 pct at 19.79
   
Altana, down 0.11 eur or 0.26 pct at 43.01
   
Schering, down 0.22 eur or 0.24 pct at 91.61

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