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DAILY STOCKMARKET REPORT 10 September 2010

Dominic Key — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 08:46:59 +0000

Markets London - UK stocks rose sharply on Thursday, posting a four month closing high, as US weekly jobless claims fell more than expected and further eased concerns of the United States falling back into recession. Banks were among the top gainers, aided by expectations that the new Basel III capital rules, expected to be detailed on Sunday, will not be as tough as feared. Barclays rose 5 percent, recovering from the previous two session’s losses following the appointment of Bob Diamond, the head of its investment and wealth management business, as its new group chief executive, while RBS closed 5.1 percent higher. Lloyds Banking Group added 3.3 percent after agreeing to sell its stake in Crest Nicholson to US investment company Varde. It was also boosted by an upgrade by Barclays Capital. The FTSE100 closed 64.42 points higher at 5494.16.

DAILY STOCKMARKET REPORT 9 September 2010

Dominic Key — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 08:47:34 +0000

Markets London - UK stocks closed higher on Wednesday, driven by energy stocks and outpacing falls in banks which were weighed down by European recovery concerns. The FTSE100 closed 21.92 points higher at 5429.74. BP rose 1.3 percent after a company report shifted much of the blame for the Gulf of Mexico rig blast on to its contractors Transocean and Halliburton. Rio Tinto added 0.7 percent as a newspaper reported the company is in Russia seeking a possible stake in potash producer Uralklali as competition for the company increases.

DAILY STOCKMARKET REPORT 8 September 2010

Dominic Key — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 08:55:34 +0000

Markets London - The FTSE 100 fell 31.37 points to 5,407.82 yesterday. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto both dragged on the blue chip index after Prime Minister Julia Gillard clinched a deal to keep power. The miners expect to pay higher taxes as a result, sending shares 1.4% and 1.8% lower. The shares were also weakened by a 2.3 percent decline in copper traded on the London Metal Exchange. Barclays was also among the biggest weights after naming Robert Diamond as its new CEO, succeeding John Varley. On the upside, British Airways Plc gained 2.8% following reports that Chief Executive Officer Willie Walsh said he would resume merger talks with Qantas Airways Ltd., if the Australian company was interested. Invensys Plc climbed 7.4% after the Daily Telegraph reported that the British maker of control panels for Whirlpool washing machines is a takeover target for potential acquirers including ABB Ltd., General Electric Co. and Emerson Electric Co.

DAILY STOCKMARKET REPORT 7 September 2010

Dominic Key — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 09:15:55 +0000

Markets London - The FTSE 100 rose 11.04 points to 5,439.19 this morning. BT, the U.K.’s largest phone company, increased 2.2% after The Independent on Sunday reported that Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. is considering a bid for rival C&W Worldwide. C&W, which separated from its parent company in March, slipped 0.3% after earlier surging as much as 7.6%. Last week, the stock jumped 10% as investors speculated that AT&T Inc., the largest U.S. phone company, or one of its rivals may bid for the company. BP gained 1.2%, extending last week’s 5.8% advance after the Sunday Times reported that the oil producer has increased the target for its asset sales to $40 billion from $30 billion to cover the rising cost of cleaning up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. GlaxoSmithKline Plc declined the most in the FTSE 100, falling 1.5 % after the British Medical Journal’s Editor-in-Chief Fiona Godlee said Glaxo should withdraw its Avandia diabetes treatment from the market. The European Medicines Agency meets on Sept. 8 to review the drug’s safety. The Commission on Human Medicines advised the U.K. drug regulator in July to withdraw Avandia because its risks outweigh its benefits, the journal said today as part of an investigation into the drug.

DAILY STOCKMARKET REPORT 6 September 2010

Dominic Key — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 09:02:41 +0000

Markets London - The FTSE 100 closed 57.11 points higher at 5,428.15 on Friday. Barclays Plc led banks higher after the U.S. jobs release, advancing 4.2%. Aggreko jumped 5.5% after internet rumours that the company may be the subject of bid interest from Swiss engineering group ABB. Autonomy rose 3.45 continuing from Thursdays 5.2% rise on the belief that it may also be a bid target. On the downside, Soco International Plc plunged after the discovery of water- bearing sands forced the oil explorer to abandon its first well in a new block in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

DAILY STOCKMARKET REPORT 3 September 2010

Dominic Key — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 09:00:34 +0000

Markets London - The FTSE 100 edged 4.63 points higher to 5,371.04 yesterday. BAE Systems jumped 3.7% after Europe’s largest defence company said it won a $629 million contract from the U.S. Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Joint Program Office to upgrade 1,700 Caiman MRAP vehicles. Man Group rallied 5.8%, extending yesterday’s 4% advance. Numis raised its recommendation for the biggest publicly traded hedge-fund firm to “buy” from “reduce.” On the downside, ARM Holdings dropped 3.8 percent to 360 pence, falling for the first time in ten days. The shares climbed to an eight-year high yesterday following Intel Corp.’s purchase of Infineon Technologies AG’s wireless operations earlier this week.

DAILY STOCKMARKET REPORT 2 September 2010

Dominic Key — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:33:33 +0000

Markets London - The FTSE 100 rallied 141.19 points to 5,366.41, its biggest gain in almost two months, following the upbeat US and Chinese manufacturing data. Rio Tinto Plc and Antofagasta Plc gained more than 6% as copper climbed to four-month high while Fresnillo Plc surged 2.7% as gold gained. In deal news, Cable & Wireless Worldwide surged 7.7%, the biggest gain since March, as investors speculated that AT&T or one its competitors may bid for the British company. AT&T spokesman Niall Hickey said the company doesn’t comment on market speculation while Cable & Wireless spokespeople couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. Furthermore, TUI Travel soared 9.2%, the largest gain in more than five months, after Financial Times Deutschland reported that majority owner TUI AG is deciding whether to acquire the shares that it doesn’t already own.

DAILY STOCKMARKET REPORT 1 September 2010

Dominic Key — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:17:11 +0000

Markets London - The FTSE 100 added 23.66 points to close at 5,225.22 yesterday led by miners and ARM Holdings. Fresnillo Plc and Randgold Resources Ltd. jumped more than 2% after the greater than forecast US consumer confidence boosted the sector. ARM Holdings soared 8.6%, the highest close since January 2002 after Intel, the world’s largest chipmaker, agreed to buy Infineon’s wireless unit for about $1.4 billion, gaining a foothold in the mobile-phone business. Analysts at RBS said this news was “neutral to positive” for ARM – a designer of semiconductors used in Apple Inc.’s iPhone. RBS cited Intel’s intention

DAILY STOCKMARKET REPORT 31 August 2010

Dominic Key — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:57:54 +0000

Markets London - The FTSE 100 rose 45.72 points to 5,201.56 on Friday. Cable & Wireless gained 5.7% to 66.2p, Vodafone Group Plc advanced 2.8% to 153.6p and BT Group Plc rose 2.8% to 134.2p as telecommunication stocks rallied across Europe. A gauge of the industry climbed 2%. BP Plc retreated 1.5% to 379.7p, paring yesterday’s gain. Company executives told U.S. investigators they didn’t know who was in charge of the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico or who made key decisions before the vessel exploded in April, killing 11 workers, sinking and spewing millions of barrels of crude oil into the sea.

DAILY STOCKMARKET REPORT 25 August 2010

Dominic Key — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 08:52:37 +0000

Markets London - The FTSE 100 dropped 78.89 points yesterday to 5,155.95. Again, hit by the US housing data, losses were broad with miners weighing heavily. Rio Tinto Group and BHP Billiton Plc fell 4.3% and 1.5% respectively as metals prices retreated in London. WPP’s shares retreated 4% to 644.5p after posting first-half net income that missed the £163.5 million average estimate of analysts, even though profit jumped 39% from a year earlier to £150.8 million and sales rose 3.5 percent to 4.44 billion pounds.

DAILY STOCKMARKET REPORT 25 August 2010

Dominic Key — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 08:31:38 +0000

DAILY STOCKMARKET REPORT 24 August 2010

Dominic Key — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 10:08:41 +0000

Markets London - The FTSE 100 rose 39.56 points to 5,234.84 yesterday. Insurers led the market higher after Old Mutual said it may sell a controlling stake in its Nedbank Group unit to HSBC. Old Mutual, the biggest insurer in Africa, rallied 3.2% to 124.9p. HSBC shares advanced 0.8% to 639.2p. Nedbank, South Africa’s fourth-largest lender by market value accounted for more than 12% of Old Mutual’s revenue in 2009 and was the biggest money maker for the group outside of Old Mutual’s insurance business. The two U.K. companies are in exclusive talks and have eight weeks to reach an agreement. Elsewhere, Petrofac Ltd. surged 3.5% to 1410p, a record high. The oilfield services and engineering company posted first-half earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $321.3 million, topping the $283 million average estimate of analysts.