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London mid-morning: Economic data lifts stocks
Tue, 07 Feb, 2012
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London mid-morning: Economic data lifts stocks
Mon, 4 Jan 2010, 10:58:00
A cheery set of economic indicators has given the market renewed impetus after a moderately firm start. Continued signs of life in the UK housing market were confirmed by the number of UK mortgage approvals in November, which rose for their fifth month in succession to their highest level since March 2008, according to figures from the Bank of England. UK manufacturing activity was a lot healthier than expected in December, with the CIPS/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index hitting a 25 month high of 54.1, up from 51.8 in November and higher than the 51.5 reading economists had been predicting. <b>Cairn Energy</b> is this morning's best performer on news that the oil explorer has secured a second drilling rig to assist its exploration programme in the Disko West area offshore Greenland in the second half of 2010. The rig, the Stena Don, will work alongside the Stena Forth, and help increase Cairn's operational flexibility and capability in its exploration activities. The sale of <b>Royal Bank of Scotland's</b> Pakistan unit has fallen through after the deal failed to get the necessary regulatory approvals and complete before the 31 December deadline. Government-owned RBS agreed in August to sell its 99.4% stake in the business to Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB) for $87m. The part-nationalised lender's shares are in demand, however, after Exane BNP Paribas suggested that 'fundamental (rather than purely speculative) investor interest' will return in 2010. The French bank has cranked up its rating from 'neutral' to 'outperform'. Broker tips also give a boost to DIY retailers <b>Home Retail</b> and <b>Kingfisher</b>. Societe Generale reckons sales trends at Home Retail's Homebase chain are on an upward curve, while Credit Suisse has turned more bullish on a number of non-food retailers, with Kingfisher among them, On the downside, property groups are out of favour with <b>Hammerson</b>, <b>Land Securities</b> and <b>British Land</b> the three biggest fallers among FTSE 100 stocks, with <b>Liberty International</b> not far behind. Among second-liners mortgage lender <b>Paragon</b> gets a boost from the latest mortgage lending figures from the Bank of England., but the news has done nothing for housebuilders <b>Bellway</b> and <b>Bovis</b>, both of which fall, as does estate agent <b>Savills</b>. UBS has developed an appetite for <b>The Restaurant Group</b>, owner of the Frankie & Bennie's and Chiquito brands. The Swiss bank has raised its rating for the stock from neutral to buy and upped its price target from 205p to 218p, Irish low-cost airline <b>Ryanair</b> has been accused of being 'puerile' and 'childish' over its payment policy by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). John Fingleton, the business watchdog's chief executive, criticised the carrier for adding fees when customers use a specific type of bank card to pay online. He said Ryanair operates within 'the narrow letter of the law.' Blue-collar recruitment and training specialist<b> Staffline</b> said earnings for the full year will be in line with upwardly revised market expectations. The group announced in November that it anticipates earnings to be ahead of forecasts. Medical technology group <b>Lifeline Scientific</b> expects results for calendar year 2009 to be ahead of forecasts after strong trading during the second half of the year. Aim-listed <b>Radicle Projects</b>, set up to buy Australian agribusinesses, said pre-tax losses widened sharply in 2009. Diagnostics testing kit firm <b>Immunodiagnostic Systems (IDH)</b> hopes to benefit from a new 5-year distribution agreement signed by Technogenetics to which IDH supplies its products. In other news, finance directors at some of Britain's biggest companies are more positive than they have been for over two years, a new report has found. In its quarterly CFO survey of 128 finance chiefs, accountancy firm Deloitte said number crunchers were optimistic about prospects for their businesses.
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