FTSE 100	4869.35, -21.23	Dow	9580.63, +37.11
FTSE 250	8701.33, -81.88	Nasdaq	2027.73, +3.3
FTSE All Share	2498.40, -12.89	S&P 500	1030.98, +2.86
Nikkei	10534.14, +60.17	Hang Seng	20049.42, -193.33
Oil (Crude)	$72.49	Gold	$951.80
Base Rate	0.5%	10 Yr Gilt	3.58%
£/$	1.628	£/€	1.1364
1 month LIBOR	0.535	3 month LIBOR	0.687

 

Markets

London - The FTSE 100 is currently 28.53 points higher at 4,897.88. Kazakhmys tops the risers’ board, up 4.4%, following an upgrade from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. In the newspapers this morning, shareholders in Lloyds Banking Group are demanding that the board of the bank be streamlined, in return for backing a fundraising from Lloyds aimed at reducing its exposure to the government’s Asset Protection Scheme. British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh was in talks with union leaders on Thursday over pay and conditions for the airline’s cabin crew. BA intends to cut 2,000 full-time cabin crew from a workforce of 14,000. Main shareholders in the British bus and rail operator National Express have indicated that they will continue to back a rights issue plan instead of a revised takeover offer.

New York - US stocks made steady progress yesterday with the price of oil boosting energy stocks and positive data from a number of companies pushing the broader market higher. The Dow Jones gained 37.11 points to close at 9,580.63 while the S&P 500 added 2.86 points to end at 1,030.98. The Nasdaq rose 3.3 points to finish at 2,027.73.

Boeing led the Dow to its eighth consecutive gain, after announcing that its long delayed 787 Dreamliner would make its first flight by the end of the year. As a result, the US aircraft manufacturer soared 8.4% higher to $51.82. AIG was another stand out performer, rallying 27%, after the company’s new CEO made some bullish comments about the troubled insurer. He says he does not favour a fire sale of assets and predicted that in a year people will say the company is performing well. The stock has surged 247% higher since August alone. Just before the close of trade, Dell reported earnings and sales that beat expectations, pushing shares 6.5% higher in extended hours trading.

US light crude oil for October delivery rose $1.06 to $72.49 a barrel. COMEX gold for December delivery climbed $6 to $951.80 an ounce. Treasury prices fell, raising the yield on the 10 year note to 3.47% from 3.43%.

Tokyo - The Nikkei rose 60.17 points to close at 10,534.14 this morning on the last trading day before an election that newspaper polls suggest will oust the current ruling party. Japan’s largest oil explorer, Inpex Corp, jumped following the first increase in US oil prices in three days.

Hong Kong - The Hang Seng is currently 193.33 points lower at 20,049.42. China Cosco, Asia’s biggest shipping company by market value, leads the index lower after posting a second straight loss on slumping world trade.

Economics

UK: GfK consumer confidence (Aug) 00:01 BST

An improvement in the housing market and broader economic prospects are expected to lead to a further improvement in consumer confidence in August.

UK GDP (Q2, 2nd release) 09:30 BST

There is a significant chance that Q2 GDP is revised up from its initial estimate. In this release, we get the breakdown by type of expenditure. Analysts expect the decline to have been driven by further de-stocking, which would have positive implications for GDP growth in the second half of the year, and a decline in investment spending. Consumer demand is expected to have contracted by 0.4%, a much smaller contraction than in the first quarter. Government spending is expected to be flat on the quarter, while a small positive contribution to growth is likely to have come from net trade.

US Personal income & spending (Jul) 13:30 BST/ 08:30 EDT

Aggregate weekly payrolls rose 0.2% in July, up for the first time since August 2008, aided by smaller job cuts, a rise in the average workweek, and a small increase in hourly earnings. Compensation growth remains tepid, but analysts look for July personal income to rise by 0.1%. Meanwhile, personal spending should get a sizeable boost from higher auto sales, as the cash-for-clunkers program pushed unit sales up 15% to 11.2mn SAAR. Even with disappointing ex-autos retail sales in July, analysts think both nominal and real PCE could rise around 0.5%. Analysts expect the core PCE deflator to rise 0.15%, with the year-on-year rate slowing to 1.4% from 1.5%. Although July’s core CPI only rose 0.09%, there should be less of an impact from flat rental inflation in the core PCE deflator due to its smaller weighting.

US University of Michigan confidence (Aug, final) 14:55 BST/ 09:55 EDT

Analysts look for the final reading of August Michigan sentiment to be revised up slightly to 64, from the preliminary estimate of 63.2. The latest weekly ABC News consumer comfort index rose to -46, up from -49 at the beginning of the month. The preliminary Michigan survey showed 5-year and 1-year median inflation expectations at 2.9% and 2.8% respectively.

Corporate

Transport operator Stagecoach Group PLC (SGC.LN) Friday said profitability in the three months from April 30 had remained in line with expectations but trading conditions remained challenging, particularly at its rail businesses. The Scotland-based company said in a brief trading update that like-for-like revenue growth at its U.K. rail unit in the 12-week period ended July 26 had inched up 0.9% year-on-year. Like-for-like revenue growth at Virgin Rail Group rose 1.7% year-on-year. Its U.K. bus operations proved more resilient. Like-for-like revenue growth climbed 4.4% year-on-year. Stagecoach’s North American operations showed a 5.8% contraction in like-for-like revenue growth year-on-year.

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The above details are provided for information only and are not intended to be construed a solicitation for the sale or purchase of any particular investment nor as specific investment advice.

 

Posted: August 28th, 2009 under Asset Management.
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