US & World Daily Markets Financial Briefing 20-02-2006

There is no trading in the US markets today, owing to the Presidents' Day holiday.

Europe at a Glance

The European Markets at 12.00 GMT

London - Shares remained in positive territory at midday, with a raft of M&A speculation dominating newsflow, while Wall Street is closed for the Presidents' Day holiday, dealers said.
   
At 12.07 pm, the FTSE 100 was up 4.3 points at 5,850.5, with the broader
indices mixed.

   
Frankfurt - Shares were slightly lower in midday trade following modest losses on Wall Street on Friday and as oil prices rose, with little direction coming from the US as markets are closed for a public holiday, dealers said.
   
At 11.58 am, the DAX 30 index was 6.52 points or 0.11 pct lower at 5,788.96, having moved between 5,766.99-5,797.03 so far this session.

   
Paris - Shares were slightly down at midday, as the market consolidated in the absence of Wall Street trading today, while Sanofi-Aventis stock weighed on a flat market after the US Food and and Drink Administration refused to approve weight-loss drug, Rimonabant.
   
At 12.09 pm, the CAC-40 was down 0.48 pct or 23.76 points at 4,976.92, on
volume of 1.13 bln eur.

   
Stockholm - Shares were slightly higher in midday trade after Ericsson pared earlier losses, and Trelleborg headed higher as the market continued to absorb its results of last week, brokers said.
   
At 12.35 pm, the OMX Stockholm index was up 0.32 pct at 315.65 and the OMX Stockholm 30 up 0.28 pct at 985.69. Turnover was 6.956 bln skr.

   
Milan - Share prices were higher at midday trading, led by gains among asset
managers following a recent underperformance, banks on continued M&A speculation, and Saipem on rising crude oil prices, dealers said.
   
At 12.34 pm, the Mibtel index added 0.46 pct to 28,620 points, and the S&P/Mib was up 0.34 pct at 37,528.

   
Madrid - Share prices were slightly higher in light midday trade with selected small caps leading the gainers and TelePizza surging on bid news, dealers said.
   
At 12.43 pm, the IBEX-35 index added 8.5 points to 11,499.8, after trading in a range of 11,456-11,511, on thin turnover of 879 mln eur.

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Amsterdam - Share prices were mainly flat in midday trade as little company news came in and with little direction coming in from Wall Street, closed for the Presidents' Day public holiday, dealers said.
   
At 1.02 pm, the AEX was up 0.40 point or 0.09 pct at 464.00, after opening at 43.66 and trading in a narrow range of 463.13-464.65.

   
Brussels - Shares ratcheted higher in midday trade, with metal and specialist materials group Umicore building on gains chalked up last week on news that it is studying the possibility of carving out its zinc smelting and alloying activities into a wholly-owned subsidiary.
  
At 12.55 pm the Bel-20 index was up 6.11 points or 0.16 pct to 3,800.68.

   
Helsinki - Shares were slightly higher in quiet midday trade, recovering from opening declines as Neste Oil rose on higher oil prices and amid modest uplifts in forestries and industrials, while Nokia fell, dealers said.
   
At 12.02 pm, the OMX Helsinki index was 0.39 pct higher at 8,832.17 points.

Asia at a Glance

Asian shares close mixed, Tokyo slides to one-month low

       
HONG KONG - Shares prices across the Asia-Pacific region ended mixed with Japan's blue-chip Nikkei 225 index finishing at a four-week low, as market sentiment was dampened by continued selling from foreign investors, dealers
said.
   
Offshore investors have been unloading stock for the past nine days on concerns that a potential rise in interest rates in Japan would cause an upward spike in funding costs for equities purchases.
   
Investors were also hesitant to take fresh positions as US markets are closed for President's Day on Monday, dealers said.
   
The blue-chip Nikkei 225 Stock Average closed down 275.52 points or 1.75 pct at 15,437.93, after touching a low of 15,389.58. It was the lowest finish since Jan 23 when it closed at 15,360.65.
   
The broader TOPIX index of all first-section shares fell 33.22 points or 2.1 pct to 1,572.11, off a low of 1,568.50.
   
Foreigners are nervous about the possibility of an increase in their funding costs because recent economic data have suggested that the Bank of Japan will soon end its ultra-loose monetary policy, clearing the way for an expected rise in interest rates.
   
"Some investors want to see what impact the (expected) policy change will have on the market, while some are hedging funds before the change," said Hideyuki Suzuki, a strategist at SBI Securities.
   
Share prices in Australia closed higher as investors returned as buyers following last week's extended sell-off, attracted to resource stocks as metals prices rebound and companies make positive earnings reports, dealers said.
   
They said index leading resources BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto led the resources sector high, tracking their London-listed shares which rose on Friday.
   
However, dealers said the market's gains were reduced by Australia's largest
telco, 51-pct government owned, Telstra, dropping after going ex-dividend.
   
The S&P/ASX 200 rose 35.6 points or 0.74 pct to close at 4,835.5, reversing a slide from the record close of 4,956.7 set on Feb 1.

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In Hong Kong share prices were trading higher in the afternoon, led by property stocks, following strong sales last week of apartments in the secondary market and amid speculation that more banks including Bank of East Asia might cut their mortgage loan rates, dealers said.
   
Institutional fund inflows into Hong Kong supported buying interest further, they said.
   
At 3:46 pm, the Hang Seng Index was up 128.69 points or 0.83 pct at 15,604.38.
   
In mainland China, A-shares in Shanghai and Shenzhen closed mixed amid a continued correction with strong gains in heavyweight petrochemical issues offset by weak power listings, dealers said.
   
The Shanghai A-share Index rose 0.18 points to 1,329.56 on turnover of 10.26 bln yuan and the Shenzhen A-share Index was down 0.05 point at 318.85 on turnover of 7.42 bln yuan.
   
Share prices in Seoul finished higher on strong institutional investor interest, rising for a third trading session, with Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor and securities leading the advance, dealers said.
   
Heavy program buying, amounting to 351 bln won, led the index to a more than one pct gain.
   
Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics rebounded after a lackluster performance in morning trade triggered by a sharp decline in Dell Inc and Intel Corp.
   
Hyundai Motor posted solid gains after a recent correction.
   
Securities firms surged on investor expectations that they will benefit from the government's planned deregulation.
   
The KOSPI index closed up 15.52 points or 1.16 pct at 1,348.25.

Asian Bourse Round-up

For a full list of closing prices, click here

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