Weir Group Regulatory News (WEIR)

18 May 2015 09:04

1630: Close The Footsie settled 8.38 points higher at 6,968.87, ending well below the intraday high of 7,015.49 but firmly above the intraday low of 6,931.64. Mining stocks ended broadly higher, though BHP Billiton bucked the trend, while oil and banking shares were providing a drag. Analyst Alastair McCaig from IG said that market "direction [was] distinctly absent despite sufficient corporate newsflow". He said that a sparse economic calendar "provides little incentive for any significant portfolio adjustments". 1529: Spain's Sabadell given EU clearance for TSB acquisition. 1500: The NAHB's gauge of homebuilder confidence retreated to a reading of 54 points in may from 56 in June (consensus: 56). Acting as a backdrop, the Athens Stock Exchange General Index has turned higher to rise by 1.57%. 1426: Shares in Plus 500 are plummeting on reports it has suspended some accounts pending verification that they meet UK anti-money laundering regulations. 1352: The yield on 10-year Greek government bonds is jumping by 82 basis points to 11.44% as markets monitor the situation surrounding Greece. Market News International is reporting the European Central Bank is increasingly concerned at the tone of negotiations. The ECB may decided to raise the haircut it applies on Greek government debt offered up as collateral at the central bank from around 23% at present to between 44% and 80%. RBS's base case continues to be for an early compromise agreement with a partial release of the €7.2bn in aid still left to Greece under its previous rescue programme. However, in the broker's view "capital controls are likely unless an agreement is reached soon." 1338: Shares in Hikma Pharmaceuticals were under pressure on Monday, down 2% after the company said its founder and major shareholder, Samih Darwazah, passed away on Friday 15th May at the age of 85. 1222: A every soft first quarter for US growth is at risk of being followed by a lacklustre rebound in the second quarter, The Wall Street Journal's Jon Hilsenrath wrote over the weekend. The lack of an uptick in consumer spending is especially concerning given improved labour trends, higher income levels and lower gas prices. However, there are signs of underlying strength, Hilsenrath pointed out. June is increasingly off the table and the odds of September are falling too, he added. In any case, once lift-of occurs the pace of tightening will be very gradual, the WSJ Fed watcher pointed out. 1200: Investors are facing "mediocre" returns, "volatile trading rotation & flash crashes" until the flow of US macroeconomic data turns unambiguously robust to allow the Fed "to hike safely," analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch wrote on Monday. Hedge, raise some cash, add some gold, own volatility...targets of 0.2% for 5-year bund, 2% for Italy 10-year, 20 on VIX, 2000 for S&P 500 remain Q2 risks, the broker added. 1101: BP's shares are edging 0.1% higher on the back of a 0.4% gain in Brent to $67.07/bbl, as investors shrug off a downgrade by Goldman Sachs. The bank has cut its rating on the integrated oil sector from 'neutral' to 'cautious' and lowered BP specifically from 'neutral' to 'sell', after reducing its near-term forecast for Brent to $65. It also said Brent would fall to $55 by 2020. "For BP, we see limited upstream growth, fewer options left for disposals and an ongoing overhang of the Macondo liability," Goldman said. 1027: "Increased conjecture on the potential unlocking of value should the CCH's territories be re-allocated to other bottlers has widened interest. The core of our investment case has been built on margin expansion, driven by both input costs and opex tailwinds. The recent price run has priced those in: we downgrade the company to HOLD based on valuation," Deutsche Bank analysts say. 1018: "Despite the US data softness, bottoming inflation and recovery in EU/Japan and easy policy keep risk assets steady. We think rates have further to rise and the dollar should resume its rally as US growth recovers. Equity and credit valuations are average, but DM earnings growth is supportive," Morgan Stanley writes today in a research note e-mailed to clients. 1000: After a "euphoric" reaction to its latest IMS and the UK election result Lloyds shares hit a fresh 6.5-year high. Consensus may have some catch-up to do given the lender's robust performance. However, broker Investec had correctly anticipated such an outcome. What's more, on a 12-month view it "expects a combination of statutory downgrades and share indigestion to curtail further progress. Now, with modest implied downside." Investec has downgraded the shares to 'sell' from 'hold' while keeping its target price unchanged at 84p. 0905: Stocks have started the session higher led by gains in Weir Group and Fresnillo. BHP is doing worst on the top flight index as analysts pare their valuations for the firm following the spin-off of its South 32 unit. Credit Suisse's discounted cash flow valuation for the remainder of BHP is $21 share. The Swiss broker has cut its earnings per share forecasts for BHP in fiscal years 2016 and 2017 by approximately 11-12%. Some market commentary is also highlighting how the $9bn valuation fetched by South 32 was less than expected. The price target has been cut to 1,350p from 1,400p. Aveva is the biggest gainer on the FTSE 250 on the back of a Sunday Times report that Schneider Electric, GE or US outfit Emerson might bid for the firm. FTSE 100 up 38.64 to 6,999.00.