The Dow closed down 1.2 points having been above the gain line for most of the session – disappointment at earnings from Boeing, Amazon and Black & Decker countered positive influence of&
The Dow closed down 1.2 points having been above the gain line for most of the session – disappointment at earnings from Boeing, Amazon and Black & Decker countered positive influence of the Feds "Beige Book" economic survey.
However Asian markets have taken up the baton for the bulls and posted decent gains overnight with the Nikkei up almost 300 points, the Hang Seng up 230 & Aussie markets up 70 points. London closed yesterday up 25.9 points and the early call for the FTSE 100 this morning is up a further 35 points.
We have had a busy morning as far as corporate news flow is concerned and this could well be a pivotal session for FTSE as the predicted opening rally would take us beyond 5900 and on to test the next key resistances in the Sept FTSE futures.
Press Market Talk Early Indications
Vivendi sales rise after strong music & gaming performance.
Sony Ups income outlook by 30%
Alcatel Q2 profit declines.
Centrica profits slips will raise residential prices.
Rolls Royce Profits & revenues climb.
BT Q1 revenue up 3% to £4.86 bln – Q1 "new wave" revenue £ up 18% to £1.64b – EPS 5.6p vs 4.4p – has 8.7 mln broad band users.
Reed Elsevier revenue £ 2.36bln vs £2.37 bln – nety profit £218 mln vs £135 mln.
Legal & General H1 operating pft +12% at £ 334 Mlns – dividend up 5% to 1.74p
Carphone Warehouse Q1 retail sales up 29.7% to £ 394 mln – Q1 total connections up 34.8% to 1.96 mln – mobile revenue up 12.4% to £ 117.1 mlns.
Broker Upgrade/Downgrades
LEHMAN
Downgrade Underweight from overweight CSR, cuts target to 1,200 pence from
1,550 — Reiterate Overweight Syngenta, target 187 sfr, cuts estimates —
Overweight Saipem, target 23 eur, ups estimates – Overweight Air Liquide,
target 172 eur — Equal-weight Autoliv, target 50 usd — Overweight
Reuters, target 585 pence — Equal-weight Merck KGgA, cuts target to 80 eur
from 90 — Overweight BBVA, target 17.5 eur — Overweight GlaxoSmithkline,
target 1,770 pence — Equal-weight Great Portland Estates, ups target to
559 pence from 514 — Overweight Alfa Laval, ups target to 250 skr from 240
— Equal-weight Snam Rete Gas, target 3.65 eur — Oil & Gas: Retain
Positive sector stance
NUMIS SECURITIES
Construction sector: Downgrade Add from buy Balfour Beatty; Downgrade Add
from buy Galliford Try; Downgrade Reduce from hold Kier Group; Rok
preferrred sector pick — Reiterate Buy MFI, ups target to 134 pence from
110
SG SECURITIES
Reiterate Buy Air Liquide, fair value 164 eur — Buy STMicro, fair value 25
usd — Hold Peugeot, cuts fair value to 46 eur from 52 — Buy Unicredito
Italiano, ups fair value to 7.5 eur, raises estimates, preview — Buy
Prudential, fair value 760 pence, preview — Buy MTU, fair value 35 eur,
ups estimates — Buy Imerys, fair value, 82 eur, ups estimates
CREDIT SUISSE – update
Reiterate Neutral Kingfisher — Outperform Carphone Warehouse —
Underperform Lonza, target 62 sfr — Neutral Serono — Neutral Saipem,
target 21.5 eur — Neutral Stora Enso, target 14.3 eur, cuts estimates —
Underperform Valeo, target 30 eur, cuts estimates — Neutral Northern Rock,
ups target to 1,230 pence from 1,025 — Neutral Temenos, ups target to 14
sfr from 12
MERRILL LYNCH
Downgrade Neutral from buy Endemol — Reiterate Buy Business Objects — Buy
Northern Rock — Neutral Reuters — Buy Serono — Neutral Hermes — Neutral
Saipem — Buy GlaxoSmithKline — Neutral Peugeot — Sell Autoliv — Neutral
Alliance & Leicester — Buy Neste Oil, preview — Buy Wolseley
GOLDMAN SACHS
Upgrade Neutral from sell Heineken, ups target to 36 eur — Reiterate Buy
Acambis — Neutral Northern Rock, ups target to 1,167 pence — Sell
Acerinox, ups target to 13.1 eur from 12.3 — Neutral Outokumpu, ups target
to 22.5 eur from 18 — Neutral Stroa Enso — Buy Reuters — Neutral JC
Decaux — Neutral Tele Atlas — Neutral Veolia Environment — Sell Saipem,
ups target to 19 eur — Neutral Business Objects
JP MORGAN
Reiterate Overweight Autoliv — Neutral Business Objects — Oveweight BBVA
— Overweight Akbank — Underweight Peugot — Neutral Stora Enso —
Overweight Reuters — Neutral Northern Rock — Overweight ABB
MORGAN STANLEY
Resume Overweight Mittal Steeel, price target 41 eur — Reiterate
Overweight Saipem — Underweight Merck KGaA, cuts price target to 73 eur
from 75 — Equal-weight Snam Rete Gas — Beverage preview: Reiterate
Overweight SABMiller, Equal-weight Carlsberg, Underweight Scottish &
Newscastle: — Overweight GlaxoSmithKline —
DEUTSCHE BANK
Upgrade Buy from hold MPC Capital — Upgrade Buy from hold Wolford —
Initiate Buy SSAB, target 165 skr — Reiterate Hold GlaxoSmithKline — Buy
Cintra Concesiones — Hold Serono — Buy MTU — Hold STMicroElectronics,
cuts price target to 15 eur from 17 — Buy Merck KGaA — Buy BHP Billiton
CITIGROUP
Reiterate Hold Societe Fonciere Lyonnaise — Buy GlaxoSmithKline
UBS
Reiterate Buy KGHM — Neutral EDP, ups target to 3.33 eur from 3.00 — Buy
Merck — Neutral Remgro — Buy Sasol — Buy Stora Enso — Neutral
GlaxoSmithKline — Neutral Mittal Steel — Buy Rautaruukki — Buy MTU —
Neutral Sanm Rete Gas — Buy Imerya — Buy Praktiker — Buy Saipem —
Neutral Aggreko — Neutral Rightmove — Buy BSkyB — Buy Temenos — Neutral
Reuters — Neutral BBVA — Neutral Serono — Buy Microgen — UK miners: Top
picks Xstrata, Lonmin, ups commodity price assumptions — Neutral Dassault
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