FINANCIAL MARKET UPDATE 23/05/2016

The FTSE 100 is called to open 9 points higher at 6165

UK Gilt 10 Year Yield 1.4515 Spot Gold $1250.95 -1.55 Brent Crude $48.81 -0.27

$ per £ 1.4517

$ per € 1.1229

€ per £ 1.2928

U.S. stocks rose, with the S&P 500 rebounding from a seven-week low, led by a rally in technology shares amid ebbing anxiety over the potential for higher interest rates as early as next month. Applied Materials Inc. surged 14 percent after forecasting sales that may beat analysts’ estimates, spurring gains among tech companies. Chipmakers jumped the most since January, with Intel Corp. rising 1.8 percent. Apple Inc. increased 1.1 percent to its first weekly advance in five. Equities trimmed gains in afternoon trading as banks lost momentum after Treasuries erased losses, sending yields lower for a second day. The S&P 500 added 0.6 percent to 2,052.32, halting a weekly losing streak at three and regaining its advance for the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 65.54 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,500.94. It wasn’t enough to save the index from a fourth weekly loss, the longest stretch since October 2014. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.2 percent. About 6.7 billion shares traded hands on U.S exchanges, 9 percent below the three-month average.

PRESS COMMENTARY

Axa is to ditch its tobacco investments, arguing that owning them clashes with its position as a health insurer, FT.

Britain will be plunged into a year-long recession if it votes to leave the EU, according to a bleak analysis of the short-term economic shock of a Brexit vote to be published on Monday by the Treasury, FT.

US IPOs: spluttering, FT (LEX).

COMPANY NEWS

Bayer AG made an unsolicited $62 billion all-cash offer to acquire Monsanto Co. to create the world’s biggest supplier of farm chemicals and genetically modified seeds, a proposed acquisition that would be the biggest corporate deal by a German company.

Axa SA, France’s largest insurer, said it will stop investing in tobacco and will divest 1.8 billion euros ($2 billion) of assets in the industry.

Legal & General Group PLC said it has acquired a 3 billion pounds ($4.35 billion) U.K. annuity portfolio from Aegon NV (AGN.AE).

Ryanair Holdings PLC posted a 43% rise in full-year net income but warned profit growth would slow and that concerns over terrorist attacks could weigh on ticket prices.

General Electric Co. signed an agreement with Vietnam's government to develop renewable energy in the country.

Boeing Wins $11.3B order for 100 737 MAX 200 airplanes from VietJet, the largest single commercial airplane purchase in Vietnam's aviation history.

De La Rue PLC (DLAR.LN) said that it has sold its cash processing business to a unit of private equity firm Privet Capital.

Toshiba Corp. said it would reduce its capital to offset losses on its balance sheet, the latest effort by the scandal-hit company to recover from its financial troubles. Source Quilter Cheviot.

www.finance-spain.com

MARKET UPDATE 17/05/2016

The FTSE 100 is called to open 27 points higher at 6178
UK Gilt 10 Year Yield 1.3947 Spot Gold $1275.50 +1.20 Brent Crude $49.55 +0.32
$ per £ 1.4480
$ per € 1.1317
€ per £ 1.2796
U.S. equities climbed as Warren Buffett’s bet on Apple Inc. sent the iPhone maker’s shares rallying, while crude oil’s surge to a six-month high amid speculation a supply glut has eased boosted commodity-producer shares around the world. The S&P 500 Index rebounded after three weeks of losses, with Apple jumping the most in 10 weeks after Berkshire Hathaway Inc. disclosed a stake. Oil extended last week’s gains past $47 a barrel as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its price forecast, saying the market had moved into a supply deficit earlier than expected. Precious metals rallied with aluminum and materials producers climbed, boosting stocks in developing nations. The pickup in commodity prices supported global equities after about $1.8 trillion in value was wiped out in the first two weeks of May amid weaker economic data and disappointing earnings reports. Buffett’s bet on Apple lifted its shares from their lowest level since 2014, after they’d slumped on concern over sales growth. Data Friday showing a jump in American retail sales bolstered the case for the Federal Reserveto raise interest rates as other central banks struggle to fuel price growth via stimulus efforts. The S&P 500 rose 1 percent to 2,066.66 as of 4 p.m. in New York, rebounding from a third weekly decline, its longest sliding streak since January. The gauge topped its average price during the past 50 days after closing Friday below that level for the first time in two months.

PRESS COMMENTARY
Financial Times: The oil price moved closer to the $50-a-barrel mark for the first time since November, on growing supply disruptions in Nigeria and a more positive assessment of the market from Goldman Sachs, the most bearish of the leading commodity banks.
COMPANY NEWS
Wireless carrier Vodafone Group Plc reported quarterly sales growth on its network that beat estimates, helped by improved results in several key European markets. Organic service revenue, which includes customer fees but excludes handset sales, rose 2.5 percent in the three months through March 31.
DCC PLC (DCC.LN) said it expects another year of profit growth as it raised its dividend by 15% after recording a rise in fiscal 2016 profit. The sales, marketing, distribution and business support services group said pretax profit rose 47% to 216.3 million pounds ($310.5 million) for the year ended March 31 compared with GBP147.1 million a year earlier as revenue notched GBP10.60 billion versus GBP10.61 million. DCC raised its dividend a share to 97.22 pence versus 84.54 pence.
Land Securities (LAND.LN) on Tuesday reported an 81% fall in pretax profit for its fiscal 2016 and added that a vote to leave the European Union would lead to business uncertainty.
BTG PLC (BTG.LN), a healthcare company, reported a rise in full-year profit and said it expects revenue for fiscal 2017 to be in the range of 485 million pounds to 515 million pounds ($697 million - $740 million).
Enterprise Inns 1H Ebitda before exceptional items GBP142m vs GBP144m y/y, in line with expectations and reflecting the impact of planned disposals
Greencore says performed well in H1 16; says U.K. backdrop expected to remain uncertain given “changing nature of the grocery industry and other potential economic headwinds.”
Speedy Hire PLC (SDY.LN), a tools, equipment and plant hire services company, on Tuesday said its full-year results are disappointing, but added that the business is starting to respond to its recent restructuring.
Iliad SA, the low-cost mobile-phone company founded by French billionaire Xavier Niel, reported a 6.6 percent increase in sales for the first quarter after promotions helped it win customers.
Schroders has reached an agreement with Brookfield Investment Management Inc. to acquire its securitized products investment management team with more than $4 billion in assets under management.
AstraZeneca Says Benralizumab Studies Achieved Primary Endpoint. Source Quilter Cheviot
www.finance-spain.com

MARKET UPDATE 03/05/2016

The FTSE 100 is called to open 29 points higher at 6270
UK Gilt 10 Year Yield 1.5964 Spot Gold $1292.10 +0.45 Brent Crude $46.10 +0.29
$ per £ 1.4726
$ per € 1.1562
€ per £ 1.2738
U.S. stocks rallied to begin May, with the S&P 500 rising the most in more than two weeks, as banks rebounded and Amazon. Inc. jumped for a second day to boost consumer shares.
Amazon increased 3.7 percent to a four-month high, after its biggest one-day gain in nine months on Friday followed better-than-estimated earnings. Wells Fargo & Co. and Bank of America Corp. climbed at least 1.2 percent. Halliburton Co. added 1.8 percent and Baker Hughes Inc. fell 2 percent after ditching their $28 billion merger. Energy producers edged higher despite lower oil prices, and Apple Inc. extended its longest losing streak since 1998.
The S&P 500 rose 0.8 percent to 2,081.43 at 4 p.m. in New York, recovering more than half of its biggest weekly retreat since February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 117.52 points, or 0.7 percent, to 17,891.16. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.9 percent. About 7 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, 10 percent below the three-month average.
PRESS COMMENTARY
The Times: The City is poised for a brace of listings that could add more than £2 billion to the value of companies traded on the stock market and boost investment banks hit by a worldwide fees drought.
Financial Times: Halliburton’s failed $28 billion bid for rival Baker Hughes, which was abandoned by the two companies on Sunday, faced insurmountable objections from competition regulators, the US Department of Justice has said.
COMPANY NEWS
HSBC Holdings Plc reported a bigger first- quarter profit than analysts forecast, weathering turbulence in global markets, as Chief Executive Officer Stuart Gulliverpared back costs. Pretax profit fell to $6.1 billion from $7.1 billion a year earlier.
Aberdeen Asset Management PLC (ADN.LN) said it is continuing to face weakness in emerging markets as it reported a fall in interim revenue and net profit.
UBS Group AG said first-quarter profit plunged 64 percent, missing analyst estimates, as market turbulence eroded earnings at the wealth-management and securities units. Net income declined to 707 million Swiss francs ($741 million) from 1.98 billion francs a year earlier.
BNP Paribas SA, France’s largest bank, posted a surprise increase in first-quarter profit as a decline in provisions for bad loans helped outweigh a slump in trading revenue. Net income rose to 1.81 billion euros ($2.1 billion) from 1.65 billion euros a year earlier.
BMW AG’s profit declined 2.5 percent in the first quarter on investment in new technologies like self- driving cars to defend its status as the world’s biggest maker of luxury vehicles. Earnings before interest and taxes slipped to 2.46 billion euros ($2.84 billion) from 2.52 billion euros a year earlier.
Royal Philips NV says it is spinning off its iconic lighting division in an initial public offering so it can focus on its future as a health technology provider.
Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s reduced its loss for the seasonally weak first quarter by more than two-thirds after benefiting from lower fuel prices and cutting costs through the streamlining of its short-haul network. The adjusted loss before interest and tax narrowed to 53 million euros ($61 million) from 167 million euros a year earlier. Source Quilter Cheviot
www.finance-spain.com