Marks & Spencer Share News (MKS)

- German Ifo index better than expected- IMI rises strongly after first-quarter update- SuperGroup plummets after profit warningLondon's blue chip index was trading slightly higher on Friday morning after a better-than-expected reading of Germany sentiment. SuperGroup was a heavy faller on the FTSE 250 after warning on profits.As it stands, the Footsie has gained around 100 points since last Friday's close of 5,652.The Ifo Business Climate survey for Germany rose from 109.7 to 109.8 in March compared with consensus forecasts of a fall to 109.5. The news sparked a rise in the euro against the dollar with the USD/EUR trading at $1.3173, up 0.27% on the day. Nevertheless, the Ifo admitted that the rise was less pronounced than in previous months showing that "the German economy is losing some of its momentum"."The euro is continuing to trade in a tight range against the dollar, between 1.30 and 1.32. Even a successful Spanish bond auction and disappointing unemployment and manufacturing data out of the US yesterday failed to cause a significant move in the markets yesterday as investors continue to avoid making a decision on where the single currency is headed next," said analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari.The markets' focus today will mainly be on the upcoming weekend meetings for the IMF, World Bank and G20. Meanwhile, first-quarter earnings reports from US corporates will be closely watched.FTSE 100: IMI and IAG flying highEngineering group IMI was the best performer on the Footsie after saying that it has made a strong start to 2012 with growth in its Severe Service and Merchandising divisions offsetting a more subdued performance in its other units. Group revenues rose 8% in the first quarter.International Airlines Group (IAG) has officially completed the purchase of bmi airlines from Lufthansa. The airline will be integrated into British Airways, with details on how this will be achieved to be announced at the time of IAG's first quarter results announcement, scheduled for May. Shares were up 1.4% early on.Chip-designer ARM Holdings was a heavy faller ahead of the release of its first-quarter results next week. Jefferies this morning raised its target price on the stock but maintained its underperform rating, saying "we think a lack of visibility on the long-term potential has stymied sentiment."Banking group Lloyds was on the rise, helped by a buy recommendation from Investec. "Return on equity recovery will be painfully slow, but (whisper it quietly) the worst looks to be behind us now," the broker said.In contrast, comments from the same broker were weighing on the share price of High Street giant Marks & Spencer. Investec downgraded the stock from hold to sell, saying "the shares are currently trading at a premium to their recent average - this is wholly unjustified."FTSE 250: SuperGroup plummets after getting sums wrongTrendy clothing group Supergroup admitted this morning that there have been arithmetic errors in its forecast of the wholesale business's performance amounting to a shortfall of some £2.5m. In the addition to a timing issue over demand predictions, pre-tax profit for the year to end-April is now expected to be in the region of £43m, versus the current consensus forecast of £50.74m. Shares were down 35% early on.Heading the other way was bookmaker William Hill after a strong first quarter, driven by growth in online betting, with a gross win margin above the expected range. FTSE 100 - RisersIMI (IMI) 1,003.00p +2.98%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 30.06p +2.63%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,694.00p +2.11%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 881.50p +1.50%United Utilities Group (UU.) 614.00p +1.49%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,217.00p +1.42%Barclays (BARC) 215.25p +1.39%Aviva (AV.) 303.50p +1.30%Anglo American (AAL) 2,334.50p +1.19%CRH (CRH) 1,226.00p +1.16%FTSE 100 - FallersARM Holdings (ARM) 594.00p -2.22%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,721.00p -1.77%BP (BP.) 435.60p -1.01%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 836.50p -0.89%Kingfisher (KGF) 303.00p -0.88%BG Group (BG.) 1,401.50p -0.78%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,107.50p -0.71%ITV (ITV) 87.55p -0.62%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,171.00p -0.55%WPP (WPP) 851.00p -0.53%FTSE 250 - RisersWilliam Hill (WMH) 274.50p +2.89%Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 31.22p +2.36%Wood Group (John) (WG.) 738.00p +2.07%Home Retail Group (HOME) 101.60p +2.01%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 54.70p +1.77%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 64.60p +1.73%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 194.10p +1.68%Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 129.00p +1.57%Debenhams (DEB) 82.30p +1.42%easyJet (EZJ) 495.30p +1.21%FTSE 250 - FallersSupergroup (SGP) 340.00p -40.30%Carpetright (CPR) 574.50p -4.41%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 137.30p -3.04%Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 32.97p -3.03%Essar Energy (ESSR) 137.00p -2.42%Morgan Crucible Co (MGCR) 322.80p -2.06%Ocado Group (OCDO) 110.50p -1.87%Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI) (GEMD) 269.60p -1.68%Dunelm Group (DNLM) 499.00p -1.67%Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 773.00p -1.40%BC