Market News:
FTSE 100 6808.81 -82.62 -1.20%
FTSE 250 17129.17 -78.93 -0.46%
FTSE AIM All-Share 715.78 -3.95 -0.55%
Heavyweight oil producers slammed U.K. stocks lower on Tuesday,
but the benchmark index was still on track for its best quarter
since December 2013.
For the month, the FTSE was eyeing a 1.7% decline,
underperforming the other major European benchmarks. Fund managers
and investment banks say they are cautious about buying into the
U.K. stock market ahead of the May 7 general election.
Oil companies added the most pressure on the FTSE 100 on
Tuesday, tracking a more-than 2% decline in crude prices. Oil
prices have been sliding in recent days, as investors wait for the
outcome of the Iranian nuclear talks, which could pave the way for
more Iranian crude flooding an already oversupplied global
market.
Shares of Tullow Oil fell 1.9%, BG lost 1.4%, BP gave up 1.4%
and Royal Dutch Shell dropped 1.1%.
Tobacco firms were also among major decliners due to what Tony
Cross, market analyst at Trustnet Direct, described as waning
consumer demand in China.
"And it's the aspirational or luxury brands that will be left
most exposed," he said.
Shares of Imperial Tobacco dropped 2.5% and British American
Tobacco fell 2.1%. Luxury-goods maker Burberry erased 1.1%.
Top Stories:
U.K. Raises 2014 Growth Figure
The British economy grew at a faster pace than previously
thought in 2014, official data revealed Tuesday, confirming that
the U.K. was the top performing major western nation during the
year.
Companies News:
Eckoh Hails Strong Trading in Fourth Quarter --
Eckoh PLC (ECK.LN), a payments services provider, performed
strongly in the fourth quarter with trading boosted by several
contract wins, it said Tuesday.
Kingfisher FY Net Profit Falls, Will Close Stores
European home improvement retailer Kingfisher PLC (KGF.LN)
Tuesday reported a fall in full year net profit amid difficult
trading in France and said it will close stores in the U.K. and
mainland Europe as part of an efficiency plan.
Teck Resources Denies It Is in Merger Talks With Antofagasta
Teck Resources Ltd. said Monday that it isn't in talks with
Chile's Antofagasta PLC regarding a possible merger of the two
miners.
Thomas Cook Sees Improvement in Europe, Pricing Pressures
Continue
Travel group Thomas Cook Group PLC (TCG.LN) Tuesday said trading
in Continental and Northern Europe is improving, but added that
conditions in many of its markets remain tough, with pricing
pressures caused by excess airline capacity and intense
competition.
Gulf Keystone Petroleum Chairman Simon Murray to Retire
Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. (GKP.LN) said Tuesday Non-Executive
Chairman Simon Murray is to retire from the board and be replaced
by senior independent director Andrew Simon on an interim basis
while it searches for a permanent replacement.
Gulf Keystone Petroleum Raises $40.7M in Placing
Oil group Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd (GKP.LN) Tuesday said it
has raised $40.7 million in a placing of 85.9 million shares at 32
pence each, to strengthen its financial position.
Shanks Sees FY Broadly in Line, Reorganizes Group Structure
Shanks Group PLC (SKS.LN), a waste-to-product business, on
Tuesday said it expects trading for the year ended March 31 to be
broadly in line with expectations and announced a reorganization of
its group structure.
Mitie Sees FY Headline Operating Profit Slightly Below Views
Outsourced service provider Mitie Group PLC (MTO.LN) Tuesday
said it expects its full year headline operating profit to be
slightly below current market expectations due to the effects of
government spending cuts on its homecare and social housing
businesses.
John Wood Secures Engineering Contract from Total
Energy services company John Wood Group PLC (WG.LN) said Tuesday
that it has been awarded a multi-million dollar engineering
contract by French oil and gas company Total SA (FP.FR).
Pinewood to Raise GBP30M Via Placing
Pinewood Group PLC (PWS.LN), a provider of services to the film
and television industry, on Tuesday announced a placing of 8
million new shares at a price of 375 pence per share to raise 30
million pounds ($44.2 million).
Amec Foster to Manage EDF Energy's UK Nuclear Power Stations
Engineering and project management company Amec Foster Wheeler
PLC (AMFW.LN) said Tuesday that it has secured a nine-year contract
from EDF Energy to provide project management services to all of
EDF's U.K. nuclear power stations and technical offices.
Other News:
Nielsen to Merge Into U.K. Unit as Part of Planned
Relocation
Nielsen NV outlined more details of its plan to change its
corporate structure as it moves its headquarters to the U.K. from
the Netherlands.
Market Talk:
Eckoh Update Looks Strong
1058 GMT Eckoh's update shows a strong finish to the year, says
Singer analyst Jens Lindqvist. Mr. Lindqvist says the company has
good momentum both in the U.K. and the U.S. The analyst adds the
sales pipeline remains at an excellent level. "The renewal of
existing contracts maintains the high recurring revenue base, which
has been increased through the new contract wins." Shares are up 4%
at 39.3p.
An Antofagasta, Teck Merger Makes No Sense to Citi
1032 GMT A merger between Chilean copper producer Antofagasta
and Canada-listed Teck Resources would make "no apparent sense,"
says Citigroup analyst Alex Hacking. The two miners have denied an
earlier report that they have held preliminary merger talks. "Our
initial reaction to any potential deal is puzzlement, seeing no
obvious benefits to Antofagasta," Mr. Hacking says. Operating
synergies from such a merger would be relatively small and
diversification into coal and zinc for Antofagasta would risk the
company's premium share value based on the fact that its a
pure-play copper miner. A merged company would create the world's
fifth largest copper producer with 738,000 of copper production
last year, according to Citi. Antofagasta shares down 0.3% at
737p.
Burberry Group Shares Tumble After RBC Downgrade
1018 GMT Burberry Group shares tumble 1.1% after RBC cuts its
rating on the British luxury retailer to sector perform from
outperform, pointing to "downside risks to Burberry's consensus
forecasts if luxury prices are cut in China." Luxury retailers like
Chanel have moved to cut prices in China following the slide in the
euro to nip a flourishing grey market in which shoppers were buying
in Europe and selling in China. "We see larger price gaps between
Europe and China for Burberry when compared to Louis Vuitton and
Cartier," notes RBC, adding that Burberry also has lower FX
tailwinds than its continental peers. RBC cuts its price target to
1900p from 2000p. Shares are currently at 1751p.
Northern Petroleum Shares Fall After Oil Restart
1012 GMT [Dow Jones]--Northern Petroleum shares fall after the
Canada- and Italy-focused oil company said it is aiming to restart
half its oil production capacity in the second quarter of this year
with the remaining to follow if wells can be run viably in a
lower-oil price market. One of the wells, which accounts for a
fifth of the field's capacity, needs to dispose of large quantities
of water from the reservoir to extract oil, making it tricky to
operate viably given the low price of oil, Northern Petroleum said.
Northern Petroleum shares are down 13% at 11.25p.
Rose Petroleum Shares Dive; Conventional Target Abandoned
1012 GMT Shares in Rose Petroleum slid Tuesday after the
U.K.-listed natural resources company said the Mancos shale
prospect remains its key exploration target after failing to find
commercially viable amounts of conventional hydrocarbons at deeper
levels within the same region of the Uinta Basin in Utah, U.S.
"While we hoped the conventional target could have delivered us
quick, albeit small, production, it was always seen as a bonus
opportunity," said Matthew Idiens, Rose Petroleum's CEO. "It is
important to emphasize that the outcome of the conventional well in
no way takes anything away from the potential of our core focus,
the Mancos shale," he said, adding that the unconventional Mancos
shale play has always been the company's prime target. Shares down
24% at 1.4p.
Churchill Mining Takes LSE Fine Provision; Shares Drop
1007 GMT Churchill Mining shares fall after the U.K.-listed
miner reported a wider loss in the first half of its financial year
and took a $140,000 provision on a potential fine from the London
Stock Exchange for breaching listing rules more than four years
ago. Churchill intends to appeal the claim but decided to record a
provision in case it loses the appeal. The company adds it suffered
a fire at the Jakarta office of its Indonesian subsidiary on March
9 and said it is currently pushing ahead with arbitration
proceedings to seek $1.32 billion in damages from the Indonesian
government for the 2010 revocation of its Indonesian mining
licenses. Churchill's shares are down 14% at 11.5 pence a
share.(
Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires;
+44-20-7842-9319