Friday, March 18, 2016

FINANCIAL MARKETS UPDATE 18/3/16



The FTSE 100 is called to open 3 points higher at 6204.
UK Gilt 10 Year Yield 1.4551%, Spot Gold $1264.15 +5.75 Brent Crude $41.92 -0.24
$ per £ 1.4453
$ per € 1.1295
€ per £ 1.2797
 
The Dow Jones Industrial Average erased its 2016 losses, as a weaker dollar spurred a rally in commodity producers and industrial shares that spread to the broader U.S. stock market.Equities pushed to the highest levels since the end of last year as a gamut of companies that benefit from a lower U.S.currency, from General Electric Co. to Coca-Cola Co., surged. A scaled-back pace of interest-rate increases from the Federal Reserve sent the dollar spiraling lower, helping the Dow extend a rebound of more than 11 percent from a two-year low reached last month. The S&P’s 500 Index rose 0.7 percent to 2,040.59, near its break-even level for the year. The Dow added 155.73 points, or 0.9 percent, to 17,481.49, wiping out a 2016 loss that reached as much as 10 percent. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.2 percent, with an increase capped by the slide in biotechnology companies. About 8.2 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 6 percent below the 2016 average.
PRESS COMMENTARY
The new administrator of Libor, Intercontinental Exchange, is overhauling the way it is calculated, reducing its reliance on banker estimates in an attempt to restore faith in the scandal-hit rate, FT.
Oil prices rose to their highest this year, breaking through the $40 barrier, as investors bet that markets were starting to rebalance after a production freeze led by Russia and Saudi Arabia, Times.
Twenty-one of the 23 analysts who cover Valeant were telling investors to buy or hold the drug group’s shares before Tuesday’s massive sell-off, fuelling new doubts over whether investment banks’ research is too bullish about the companies they cover.

COMPANY NEWS  
South Africa's Illovo Sugar Ltd. (ILV.JO) said it has received no formal offer from Associated British Foods PLC for the shares the British firm doesn't already own in Illovo, with talks still at a preliminary stage.
Generali 4Q Net Misses Estimates; Dividend Beats BDVD Est.
Berkeley Group Holdings PLC (BKG.LN) said results for its fiscal year ending April 30 will be at the top end of expectations, adding that housing market has remained stable between November to February and that it is seeing good underlying demand for its properties.
Santander to Improve 2016 Div/Shr by 5%: Expansion Link
BT Group PLC (BT.A.LN) has named Simon Lowth as its new finance chief to replace Tony Chanmugam who is stepping down from the role later this year.
M&C Saatchi PLC (SAA.LN) Friday raised its dividend payment by 15%, as full year pretax profit more than doubled.
Glencore Said to Receive Two Bids for Lomas Bayas in Chile
UBS Group AG raised its bonus pool by 14 percent in 2015, with Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti receiving a 28 percent increase, as other lenders slashed compensation.

EDF plans to make the final decision to go ahead with an 18 billion-pound ($26 billion) nuclear power plant in the U.K. before its annual general meeting in May,
Telecom Italia Posts 2015 Loss
Bang & Olufsen A/S (BO.KO) announced a technology partnership deal with South Korea's LG Electronics that will focus on developing the next generation of Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED) televisions.
HICL Infrastructure Co. Ltd. (HICL.LN) said it intends to raise 25 million pounds ($35.33 million) through an issue of ordinary shares in the capital of the company by way of tap issuance. Source Quilter Cheviot

 



 

No comments:

Post a Comment