Market overview: Stocks bounce on short-covering
1630:Close Shares bounced back as investors took some chips off the table and moved to the side-lines as a precautionary measure ahead of the result of the US FOMC’s two-day policy meeting, on Wednesday. RSA led gains on the top flight index after Zurich Insurance said it was mulling a possible takeover in what for now appears to be a hostile approach. Large upside moves, partly the result of the lower trading volumes typical of the summer, were the defining characteristic of the price action out on the FTSE 250. Stock in Virgin Money performed best after the challenger bank declared it maiden dividend, helping it recover some of the ground lost in the wake of the Summer Budget. FTSE 100 up 50.15 points to end at 6,555.28.
FTSE 100
8,078.86
17:14 25/04/24
FTSE 250
19,601.98
17:09 25/04/24
FTSE 350
4,434.34
17:09 25/04/24
FTSE All-Share
4,387.94
16:49 25/04/24
FTSE Small Cap
6,412.53
17:14 25/04/24
General Retailers
3,915.52
17:09 25/04/24
Hays
91.25p
17:05 25/04/24
Hikma Pharmaceuticals
1,854.00p
16:40 25/04/24
Industrial Engineering
13,392.61
17:09 25/04/24
Insurance (non-life)
3,614.78
17:09 25/04/24
Kingfisher
247.10p
17:05 25/04/24
Melrose Industries
625.20p
17:14 25/04/24
Mobile Telecommunications
1,814.05
16:59 24/01/22
Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology
22,750.48
17:09 25/04/24
RSA Insurance Group Limited
684.20p
16:54 28/05/21
SThree
425.00p
16:45 25/04/24
Support Services
10,523.75
17:09 25/04/24
Vodafone Group
69.00p
16:40 25/04/24
1403: Various reports on Tuesday afternoon indicated the European Central Bank had granted permission for the Athens Stock Exchange to re-open on Thursday, albeit with restrictions.
1400: House prices for the 20 largest US cities slipped by 0.18% over the month in May after a downwardly revised reading of -0.03% for June.
1341: With a potential bid now on the cards, Canaccord Genuity raised its rating on RSA Insurance to ‘buy’ from ‘sell’ and upped the target price to 500p from 385p, which is a 10% discount to the offer price that’s been talked about.
1330: Three-month copper futures are higher by 1.1% to $5,254.50 per metric tonne on the LME.
1247: "For now, we stick to our average 2016 forecast of $62 for Brent and $57/bbl for WTI, as lower non-OPEC output offsets the increased volumes out of Iran. But if cyclical conditions worsen or China experiences a hard landing, oil could head a lot lower," analysts at Bank of America-Merril Lynch said in a research report dated 24 July.
1246: RSA noted the announcement by rival Zurich Insurance Group that it was studying launching a bid but left clear that it had maintained no talks with its Swiss rival.
1100: "We think interest rates could rise more than expected in the medium term (1.6% is priced in for end 2017) due to the fact that the UK consumer is now less rate sensitive than in the past (half of mortgages are now fixed-rate, up from 30%), and there is a high chance of fiscal policy slippage. [...] The dilemma for us is Euro/Sterling, where sterling appears to be more overvalued against PPP than at any time in the last 20 years (combined with a record trade deficit with Europe). Thus, we still want to buy the European recovery plays (e.g., Kingfisher, Vodafone, SThree, Hays)," Credit Suisse says in a research note e-mailed to clients.
0930: The UK economy accelerated significantly in the second quarter of the year, led by growth in industrial production. Gross domestic product expanded at a 0.7% quarter-on-quarter clip in the three months to June, as expected by economists.
0911: Stocks started the morning with a bounce led higher by RSA after Zurich Insurance confirmed it was eyeing a possible bid. Together with advances in the likes of Hikma Pharmaceuticals and Melrose Industries the three were pacing gains on the Stoxx 600 in the early going. Front month Brent crude futures dropped 2.04% to reach $52.40 per barrel on the ICE. That came ahead of the start of a two day US Federal Reserve policy meeting and as some analysts warned of the impact that US rate rises might have on emerging markets. For its part, Credit Suisse lowered its year-end target on the top flight index to 7,000 from 7,450. FTSE 100 up 28.44 points to 6,533.46.