* U.S. equity indexes dip
* U.S. initial jobless claims 730k vs 838k estimate
* Euro STOXX 600 up ~1%
* Dollar slips; gold slides, crude down
* U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield ~1.45%
Feb 25 - Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of
markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your
thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com
FTSE 100: WILL DR MARTENS GET ITS BOOTS ON THE GROUND? (0938
EST/1458 GM
Will Dr Martens put its famous black boots on the
ground of the FTSE 100 in March?
It's too close to call at this point but it's looks like a
possibility.
The iconic British shoe maker which made its stock market
debut at the end of January has seen its share price rocket from
370 pence to a high of 521 pence and is now hovering around the
500 line.
Its market cap has been moving up and down the 5 billion
pound mark, which is well higher than the laggards of the FTSE
100, utility group Pennon and WM Morrison Supermarkets
.
Relegation seems certain for the former with a market cap
well below 4 billion.
On Tuesday, index provider FTSE Russell said its indicative
review had Pennon replaced by mining group Weir,
currently at the top of the FTSE 250.
In the same statement, FTSE Russell said Dr Martens made it
to the FTSE 250 but not to the Premier League.
Standing in its way is Morrison, currently struggling to
stay above the 111th position which would boot it out of the
FTSE 100.
"It's on the fringes", commented AJ Bell investment director
Russ Mould, who stressed that with still three sessions to go,
it would be premature to make a call on the outcome.
The review of the FTSE indexes will be based on Tuesday's
market close and the results announced on Wednesday evening.
Anyhow, if Morrison is to be kicked out of the FTSE 100, who
is better equipped than Dr Martens to oblige?
Well to cite other big names, travel group TUI
and Electrocomponents are also in kissing range of a 5
billion market cap.
Here you can see how the market caps of outsiders Weir and
Dr Martens outplay current FTSE 100 members WM Morrison and
Pennon.
(Julien Ponthus)
*****
NASDAQ FUTURES: SHAKEN, AND STILL STIRRED (0858 EST/1358
GMT)
After recovering to close just modestly lower on Tuesday,
CME e-mini Nasdaq 100 futures have so far mounted a
2-day bounce. That said, the rally does not appear
sufficient on the charts to suggest recent damage has been
repaired:
Indeed, futures hit an overnight high of 13,353.75 early
Thursday. However, upside is hindered by a broken channel
resistance line from October, as well as what was a shorter-term
channel support line from November, now acting as resistance, in
the 13,400/13,440 area.
So far, the futures are backing away, and near the day's
lows.
That said, in terms of the developing structure down from
the February peak, the key level appears to be 13,468. This can
be considered to be the low of the first wave down of a
developing 5-wave decline on an Elliott Wave basis.
A failure to overwhelm this barrier can suggest that bear
forces are still in control, which will ultimately lead to a
fresh lows below Tuesday's 12,757.25 trough.
A recovery above 13,468, however, can suggest that the
5-day, more than 8%, slide into Tuesday's low, amid rising bond
yields, was corrective in nature (or a 3-wave a-b-c
decline). In that event, the futures would then be biased for
new highs.
(Terence Gabriel)
*****
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(Terence Gabriel is a Reuters market analyst. The views
expressed are his own)
