Wall street sold off to finish down just over 2 points on the session at 11100.43 having traded as high as 11245.  The NASDAQ composite finished lower by some 15 points with the S&P off 5.2 points. 

Asian markets have taken all this in their stride with the Nikkei and Hang Seng up 163 & 113 respectively - Australian markets have sold off slightly however. The Early call for London is down 20 points.

Market talk Press & early Indications

BSKYB  Q4 subscribers up 77k at  8.18 mlm - revenues up 8% to £ 4.15bln - net debt up to £ 761 mln.

Prudential first half net profit rose 48% to £450 mln raises costs savings target to £150 mln from £110 mln company confident on outlook.

Alliance & Leicester h1 pretax profit  £257mln vs £272 mln  underlying Eps 41.9p vs 43.2p

Hays Group says has visit from OFT as part of competition probe into construction recruitment.

RAB Capital assets under management up 77% to $4bln pretax profit up 193% to £ 14.2 mln eps up 171% to 1.87p

DSGI sells link stores to O2 for GBP 30 millions.

BSY + 1%   HAS -1%   PRU -1.5%   AL U/C    DSGI U/C 

Broker Upgrades Downgrades

DRESDNER KLEINWORT

Upgrade Hold from sell Alcatel

ABN AMRO

Initiate Buy Vedanta, target 1,850 pence; Initiate Buy Antofagasta, target 470 pence

LEHMAN

Reiterate Underweight Bradford & Bingley, target 430 pence -- Equal-weight Carphone Warehouse, target 360 pence, ups estimates -- Equal-weight Groupe Metropole TV, target 27.5 eur, ups estimates -- Equal-weight Liberty international, target 1,237 pence -- Overweight Reed Elsevier, targets 600 pence/13.5 eur -- Overweight Repsol, target 26 eur -- Overweight Royal Dutch Shell, targets 2,030 pence/30 eur, sees better value in ENI and Total

Equal-weight Santander, target 12.0 eur, prefer BBVA -- Underweight Teleconco, target 19 eur -- Underweight Telefonica, target 14 eur -- Overweight UCB, ups target to 49 eur from 45

UBS

Reiterate Neutral France Telecom, cuts target to 17.60 from 18.7 -- Neutral DaimlerChrysler, cuts target to 43 eur from 47 -- Buy Pernod Ricard, ups target to 188 eur from 180 -- Buy Alcatel, cuts target to 12.5 eur from 14.0 -- Neutral ACS, ups target to 35.8 eur from 35.1 -- Buy Capgemini, ups target to 52 eur from 50 -- Buy Bradford & Bingley, cuts target to 550 pence from 570 -- Neutral Vedior, cuts target to 17.5 eur from 18.5 -- Neutral Chemring, ups target to 1,300 pence from 1,200 -- Buy M-Real, cuts target to 5.0 eur from 5.5 -- Buy Acambis, cuts target to 254 pence from 300

ING

Upgrade Hold from sell Kingfisher, ups target to 220 pence from 180 -- Reiterate Buy Allianz, target 150 eur -- Buy Pernod Ricard, cuts target to 180 eur from 173 -- Buy PPR, target 112 eur -- Buy Reed Elsevier, targets 615 pence/13.75 eur -- Buy Smith & Nephew, target 540 pence -- Buy Capgemini, target 52 eur -- Hold BT Group, target 230 pence -- Hold Legal & General, target 146 pence - Hold Cofinimmo, target 135 eur -- Hold Dassault Systemes, target 45 eur -- Hold Deceuninck, ups target to 22.5 eur from 22.5 -- Buy DSM, target 47 eur -- Hold Exact, cuts target to 24.5 from 28.0 Buy ICOS Vision System, cuts target to 38 eur from 44 -- Hold Stork, target 40 eur, cuts estimates -- Hold UCB, target 44 eur -- Buy Vedior, cuts target to 19 eur from 22

SG SECURITIES

Reiterate Buy DaimlerChrysler, fair value 53 eur, ups estimates -- Hold Volkswagen, fair value 54 eur, cuts estimates -- Buy Sanofi-aventis, fair value 95 eur -- Hold france Telecom, fair value 20 eur, cuts estimates -- Buy Dassault Systemes, fair value 52 eur, ups estimates

NOMURA

Reiterate Buy Renault

EVOLUTION

Reiterate Buy Redstone, target 8 pence -- Add VASTox, target 193 pence

DEUTSCHE BANK

Downgrade Hold from buy DSM, cuts target to 35 eur from 40 -- Downgrade Hold from buy PPR, ups target to 112 eur from 107 -- Reiterate Hold ACS, ups target to 34.5 eur from 33.5 -- Buy Amvescap, ups target to 630 pence from 580 -- Buy BAT, ups target to 1,500 pence from 1,450 -- Buy Buhrmann, ups target to 12.0 eur from 14.7 -- Buy Bank of Cyprus -- Hold Bradford & Bingley, cuts target to 430 pence from 450 -- Buy Banco Santander, ups target to 13.9 eur from 13.5 -- Hold EADS, cuts target to 24.5 eur from 26.0 -- Hold Legal & General, ups target to 135 pence from 134 -- Hold Reed Elsevier, ups target to 550 pence from 545 -- Buy Fresenius, target 158 eur

Buy St Gobain, target 65 eur -- Buy AstraZeneca, target 68 usd, prefer to GlaxoSmithKline (Hold, target 1,560 pence) Upgrade Buy from sell Aixtron, ups target to 3.5 eur from 2.0 -- Initiate Buy EGL, price target 1,300 sfr -- Reiterate Buy Banca Popolare di Milano, ups target to 12 eur from 11.70 -- Buy Ubisoft -- Buy Alten -- Buy Suss Microtec, preview -- Buy Vinci -- Buy DaimlerChrysler, target 55 eur -- Hold Thomson -- Buy Lagardere

MERRILL LYNCH

Downgrade Neutral from Buy Technip -- Reiterate Buy Lagardere -- Neutral Clarins -- Neutral Pernod Ricard -- Neutral Reed Elsevier -- Buy Big Yellow, ups price target to 480p from 430 -- Neutral Bradford & Bingley -- Neutral Amvescap -- Buy Renault -- Neutral Astrazeneca -- Buy Mitchells & Butler -- Neutral HSBC, preview -- Neutral Flamel Technologies

JP MORGAN

Upgrade Overweight from neutral AXA -- Reiterate Neutral Siemens -- Overweight Telefonica -- Overweight DaimlerChrysler -- Neutral UCB -- Overweight Volkswagen -- Overweight Vinci -- Neutral Renault -- Overweight Royal Dutch Shell -- Neutral Reed Elsevier -- Neutral EADS -- Neutral Pernod Ricard -- Overweight Cap Gemini -- Overweight Dassault Systèmes -- Overweight Saint-Gobain -- Overweight Centrica -- Overweight EDP -- Underweight Bradford & Bingley

GOLDMAN SACHS

Upgrade Buy from neutral Michells & Butlers -- Reiterate Neutral Amvescap, ups target to 21.45 usd from 21.11 -- Buy Publicis -- Neutral Renault -- Hold Alcatel -- Buy Lagardere -- Sell TF1 -- Neutral M6, ups target to 25.70 eur from 25.50 -- Neutral Technip -- Sell Bradford & Bingley -- Neutral Elisa Corp -- Sell BT Group

HSBC

Initiate Neutral London Clubs International, target 107pence -- Reiterate underweight Clarins

MORGAN STANLEY

Reiterate Underweight Renault -- Overweight Option NV, ups price target to 23 eur from 22 -- Equal-weight DaimlerChrysler -- Equal-weight Inmarsat, cuts target to 350 pence from 370 -- Overweight Siemens, cuts target to 76 eur from 80 -- Equal-weight Reed Elsevier -- Overweight Sanofi-Aventis -- Underweight Centrica, ups target to 265 pence from 240 -- Overweight Royal Caribbean

CITIGROUP

Reiterate Buy Publicis -- Buy Santander -- Buy Alcatel -- Hold France Telecom -- Hold Royal Dutch Shell

CREDIT SUISSE

Reiterate Outperform Ericsson

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