HSBC Holdings Share News (HSBA)

LONDON (Alliance News) - UK shares have opened lower Friday on heightened concerns about the standoff in Ukraine.

William Hill said it will close 109 gaming shops in response to the UK government's hike to machine gaming duty, putting 420 employees at risk. William Hill also reported an increase in first quarter revenue, and its shares are leading the FTSE 100, up 1.0%.

Here is what you need to know at the UK market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: down 0.5% at 6,671.73
FTSE 250: down 0.7% at 15,884.44
AIM ALL-SHARE: down 0.2% at 822.84
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Hang Seng: down 1.4% at 22,238.85
Nikkei 225: closed up 0.2% at 14,429.26
DJIA: closed flat at 16,501.65
S&P 500: closed up 0.2% at 1,878.61
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GBP-USD: flat at USD1.6804
EUR-USD: flat at USD1.3834

GOLD: up at USD1,292.00 per ounce
OIL (Brent): down at USD110.06 a barrel

(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Friday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times British Summer Time)

09:30 UK BBA Mortgage Approvals
09:30 UK Retail Sales
14:45 US Markit Services PMI Preliminary
14:55 US Reuters/Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index
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Ratings agency Standard & Poor's cut Russia's credit rating to 'BBB-' from 'BBB' on Friday, citing the risk of marked deterioration in external financing. The downgrade comes amid the continued escalation in the Ukraine crisis. S&P last lowered Russia's rating in December 2008. The agency said the outlook on the country's ratings remains negative.
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Overall inflation for the Tokyo region, considered a leading indicator for the nationwide trend, spiked 2.9% on year in April, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. That was slightly below expectations for 3.0% but up sharply from 1.3% in March - perhaps finally signalling an end to the deflation that has hampered the nation for more than 15 years, although the recently implemented consumption tax hike also is likely a factor.
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Japan and the US were not able to reach agreement on a Pacific trade accord before visiting US President Barack Obama's departure from the country, Japanese media reported. Akira Amari, minister in charge of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade negotiations, told reporters Friday morning that the talks between the two countries have been stalled over agriculture and automobile tariffs, which remained the biggest sticking points, the Kyodo News agency reported.
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US President Barack Obama arrived in South Korea Friday, to meet his counterpart Park Geun Hye and discuss their countries' security alliance and concerns over the North's nuclear weapons programme. South Korea said this week that activity spotted across the border could indicate Pyongyang was preparing a fourth nuclear test explosion some time soon. North Korea in March threatened a "new type" of atomic test. Speaking in Japan Thursday, Obama called for increased international pressure on isolated, communist North Korea. The US president was also due to visit Malaysia and the Philippines.
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The death toll in the sinking of a South Korean ferry rose to 181, a media report said. Another 120 people were still missing, the Yonhap News Agency reported. An emergency task force has sent the largest number of navy, coast guard and civilian divers so far to look for bodies. The ship capsized and sank on April 16 off South Korea's south-west coast on a journey between Incheon near Seoul and the resort island of Jeju.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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BARCLAYS CUTS UNILEVER PLC TO 'EQUAL WEIGHT' ('OVERWEIGHT')- PRICE TARGET 2600 PENCE
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HSBC CUTS HAMMERSON TO 'NEUTRAL' ('OVERWEIGHT') - TARGET 630 (600) PENCE
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TRADERS: JEFFERIES INITIATES BP WITH 'BUY'
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TRADERS: MORGAN STANLEY CUTS HSBC TO 'UNDERWEIGHT' ('OVERWEIGHT')
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UBS RAISES OPHIR ENERGY TO 'BUY' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 285 PENCE
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SOCGEN CUTS PREMIER FOODS PRICE TARGET TO 70 (150) PENCE - 'HOLD'
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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The US Federal Housing Finance Agency or FHFA, as conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Thursday announced a settlement with Barclays PLC, related companies and some individuals for USD280 million. The settlement resolves claims, in two lawsuits, alleging violations of federal and state securities laws in connection with private-label mortgage-backed securities purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac between 2005 and 2007.
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The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC warned of commercial risk after it said UK Financial Investments, the entity responsible for the government's stake in the bailed-out bank, has said it will block any proposal allowing the lender to pay bonuses up to 200% of fixed pay. In a statement, the bank, which is 81%-owned by the UK government, said it won't bring any proposals to its annual general meeting, intended to be held on June 25, that would allow it to award variable remuneration up to 200% of fixed pay, or a 2:1 ratio, as the government's majority voting stake in the bank means any such resolution would fail.
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Tullow Oil Says Tapendar-1 Exploration Well To Be Plugged, Abandoned As Has Not Encountered Hydrocarbons
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WPP Q1 Revenue GBP2.57B Vs GBP2.53B; Expects Like-For-Like Revenue Up Strong, Gross Margin Or Net Sales Growth Of Over 3% For FY; Targeting Gross Margin Or Net Sales Margin Improvement Of 0.3 Points Excluding Currency For FY; Targeting Annual Headling Diluted EPS Growth Of 10% -15% Per Year
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Pearson Says Trading In Line With Expectations Set Out In Results Statement In Feb; Says Sales In 1st 3 Months, Excluding Penguin And Mergermarket, Up 2% At Constant Currencies, 1% Underlying, To GBP0.9B; Says Headline Sales Down 6% On Sterling Strength; Stills Expects To Report Adjusted EPS Of 62p To 67p In 2014; Expects H1 Adjusted Operating Profit To Be Lower Than In 2013
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William Hill To Close 109 Shops This Year In Response To Government Hike In Machine Gaming Duty; Q1 Group Operating Profit Down 14%; Net Revenue Up 7%; Q1 Growth In Online Sportsbook Revenue Up 39%, Mobile Up 78%; Strong Q1 Performance In The US; Wagering Up 23%, Operating Profit Up 188%
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Cable & Wireless Communications PLC said it has agreed to sell Compagnie Monégasque de Communication, the holding company for its 55% stake in Monaco Telecom, in a deal worth EUR321.8 million. Cable & Wireless is selling the business to a private investment vehicle controlled by French entrepreneur Xavier Niel. Monaco Telecom is the incumbent operator in Monaco where it is the market leader and only full service telecommunications provider. CWC acquired its 55% stake in Monaco Telcom in June 2004 for EUR162 million.
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Rotork Full Year Expectations Unchanged; Q1 Order Intake 7.3% Lower Than 2013 At GBP140M; Q1 Revenue Was Up 2.4% On 2013
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Spectris Says Q1 Reported Sales Down 1%, Hit By Forex; Q1 Like-For-Like Sales Up 4%; Says It Has Seen Encouraging Start To 2014, Trading Conditions Remain Mixed
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Bank of Georgia Buys Out Minority Shareholder Of My Family Clinic; Says Buyout To Enable Integration Of MFC And Unimed
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COMPANIES - ALL-SHARE AND AIM
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Quindell Says Gotham City Research Paper "Highly Defamatory" - Rejects Conclusions Made; Has Commenced Legal Action; Says GCR Took Short Positions In Stock Prior To Publication
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Egdon Resources H1 Pretax Profit GBP834K Vs GBP228K Loss Year Before; Pretax Profit Due To GBP1.1M Gains On Asset Transactions; Revenue Down To GBP1.4M Vs GBP1.6M Year Before; H1 Production Down To 35,773boe From 37,698boe; Announces Results Of Shale-Gas Potential Of Some Of Its Northern England Licences; Says Net Estimated Mean Gas Initially In Place Of Around 18 Trillion Cubic Feet Of Gas
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Fastjet Says Its Flights Will Now Be Available Through Expedia
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Imaginatik Has Raised GBP1.3M Gross From 1.91B New Shares At 0.07p, 12% Premium; Looking To Hire Full-Time CEO; Matt Cooper Would Become Non-Exec Chair
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Harvey Nash FY Pretax Profit GBP6.4M Vs GBP7.9M; Adjusted Pretax Profit GBP9.0M Vs GBP8.7M; Revenue GBP697.3M Vs GBP594.7M; CEO: Significant Upturn In Q4 Trading Has Continued Into New FY
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Low & Bonar To Build New Factory At Changzhou Near Shanghai
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Rare Earth Minerals To Start Exploration Programme In Southwest Greenland Supported By Greenland Minerals And Energy Ltd; Will Issue 20M REM Shares To Greenland Minerals As Consideration; Greenland Minerals Will Take Over Day-To-Day Management Of Its 4 Licenses
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Iofina FY Pretax Loss USD3.8M Vs USD1.2M
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Lombard Medical Tech Suspends Trading On AIM, To Commence Trading On NASDAQ April 30; Raised USD55M In IPO On NASDAQ Global Market
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Friday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Spectris
Pearson
Rotork
Senior
SkyePharma
Minoan Group
Sterling Energy
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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