* European shares edge up
* STOXX 600 to hold to records in Q4- Reuters poll
* Markets await Powell's speech on Friday
* German business morale falls in August
* Elekta shares slide after results
Aug 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
ITV: LOVE WILL NOT SAVE YOU (0951 GMT)
It's been a long time coming for British broadcaster ITV but
its exit from the prestigious FTSE 100 now seems unavoidable.
That's after all the publicity it enjoyed this summer from its
Love Island reality show.
"Love Island may be back but broadcaster ITV looks likely to
be dumped from the 100 after a short fling, despite the boost of
Euros ad spend", commented Nicholas Hyett, an analyst at
Hargreaves Lansdown.
The recent rebound in ITV's advertising revenues is at least
partly down to the return of the smash TV show the latest season
of which has just ended. But clearly, it hasn't been a game
changer.
With a value of 4.6 billion pounds, ITV is right at the
bottom of the British blue-chip index, sharing that space with
engineering specialist Weir Group and far, far away from the
hundred billion-plus market cap the likes of AstraZeneca and
Unilever boast.
Both companies have been added to the "Indicative FTSE 100
Deletions" list by FTSE Russell. Instead, the index manager is
opening the door to Morrisons and engineering group Meggitt,
both of which are enjoying the share price benefits of a
takeover battle.
Some further reading here:
Morrisons set to enter FTSE 100 as M&A interest boost shares
Euro 2020 deliver record June ad revenue for ITV
ITV shares fall after presenter Morgan leaves broadcaster
Broadcaster ITV set for FTSE 100 exit after share slump
(Julien Ponthus and Carolyn Cohn)
*****
ANCHORED TO RECORDS THANKS TO TINA (0907 GMT)
A Reuters poll found out that European stocks are seen
holding around current record levels for the rest of 2021.
In a note to clients, Barclays strategist Emmanuel Cau says,
European stocks are poised to gains also because of TINA.
"'There is no alternative' (TINA) remains the key investor
mantra as equity inflows and 'buy the dip' continue unabated,
while falling vol triggered risk control funds' re-leveraging
through summer," he says.
As the Fed taper announcement may come soon -- Barclays
economist expect it will happen in September -- Cau says, he
sees value and Banks offering good hedge against bouncing yields
into tapering announcement.
Remaining anchored to record levels is not coming without
challenges with equity positioning showing increased caution,
Cau says. Investors are not rushing to return to cyclicals due
to peaking PMIs and China concerns.
But if delta variant concerns ease, it could revive interest
in reopening trades, he says.
(Joice Alves)
*****
A DELIVEROO SENSATION AT THE OPEN, ELEKTA FALLS (0741 GMT)
As expected European bourses are not making dramatic moves
at the open with the pan-European STOXX 600 up a modest
0.1% and regional benchmarks trading broadly flat.
That's not to say that early trades didn't provide any
surprises: Deliveroo fell a whopping 11% at the open
with nothing really in the newsflow to justify the move.
One possible explanation is a fat finger involving Just Eat
Takeaway.com which is set to leave the FTSE 100 after
the food delivery's nationality was reassigned from the UK to
the Netherlands by Index manager FTSE Russell.
Anyhow, while these early moves remain mysterious, Deliveroo
shares have since recouped most of their losses and are now
trading only around 2% down.
The clear loser of morning trading on the STOXX 600 is
Elekta shares, which are down 6.5% after the Swedish
radiation therapy equipment maker's operating result tumbled due
to rising expenses.
Talking about the end of the earnings season, Stadler Rail
is enjoying a boost from its result and took the lead
among gainers with a 4.5% jump.
Sector wise it's quite quiet too with Travel and Leisure at
the top gaining 1% and at the bottom utilities retreating 0.2%.
(Julien Ponthus)
*****
EUROPE'S POWERHOUSE JUST ISN'T FEELING IT (0725 GMT)
As the COVID-19 Delta variant and supply chain disruptions
persist globally, damage inflicted on business sentiment in
Europe's biggest economy could become clear in Wednesday's Ifo
German business sentiment index.
And with a Sept. 26 national election about to call time on
the Merkel era, the already closely-watched Ifo survey may take
on extra significance.
Just a month ahead of the key vote, the centre-left Social
Democrats have pulled ahead of Chancellor Angela Merkel's
conservatives for the first time in 15 years, according to an
opinion poll published on Tuesday.
Economists expect the August Ifo business sentiment index to
decline for a second straight month.
The timing of the German sentiment numbers means markets
have something to chew over before U.S. Federal Reserve chief
Powell steps up to the virtual Jackson Hole podium on Friday.
Although analysts do not expect Powell to give too much away
in terms of the Fed's taper timeline, markets are taking no
chances -- Treasury yields and the dollar are clinging to tight
trading ranges this week.
Stock markets, however have recovered ground from last
week's selloff with Asian stocks higher on Wednesday while U.S.
and European stock futures are flat to lower.
Elsewhere, U.S. officials have approved license applications
worth hundreds of millions of dollars for China's blacklisted
telecom company Huawei to buy chips for its growing auto
component business, two people familiar with the matter said.
Key developments that should provide more direction to
markets on Wednesday:
-U.S. House of Representatives approved a $3.5 trillion
budget framework and will vote by Sept. 27 on a $1 trillion
infrastructure bill
- Sydney hospitals battle coronavirus as daily infections
hit record
- BOJ policymaker warns of uncertain recovery
- Global corporate profits to fall 8% in Q3 after record Q2
- Cevian Capital pushes stake in Aviva above 5%; Klarna
reports Q2 jump in transactions value
- UK CBI survey
- U.S. durable goods data Jul
- ECB vice-president Luis de Guindos speaks
- Bank of Iceland meeting
- Earnings: Eiffage, Aroundtown, Grafton, Nederland, Mowi
(Dhara Ranasinghe)
*****
EUROPE WAKES UP WITH NO CLEAR TREND IN SIGHT (0534 GMT)
European futures are flat to slightly negative this morning
with no clear trend in sight.
Not much of a change since the close of the session
yesterday and there isn't much inspiration coming from the East
where MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
is up a meagre 0.2%.
Wall Street futures are also on the back foot and trading
flat or just below the floatation mark.
Some 'wait and see' is of course to be expected before we
get more visibility on the Fed's strategy at Jackson Hole on
Friday.
At the moment, nothing dramatic is expected with most
analysts taking the view that Powell will want to wait a bit
more before announcing his next move.
"The last-minute decision to hold this week’s meeting
virtually appears to be a tacit admission by the Federal Reserve
that the surge in the delta variant is still a clear and present
danger to the US recovery", wrote Michael Hewson at CMC Markets
UK.
(Julien Ponthus)
*****
Weir Group (WEIR)
ITV (ITV)