LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY MARKET SUMMARY
AND ANALYSIS (Late Edition) ARCHIVES

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Market Summary and Analysis for Wednesday July 25th. 2001

FTSE 250: 5934.9 = -68.4

FTSE A/S: 2552.8 = -22.7

TechMARK 100: 1477.0 = -26.4

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed to its lowest level this year today. Gainers included: AEA Technology, ARM Holdings, Associated British Foods, Axis-Shields, Axon Group Plc, Baltimore Technology, BG Group Plc, Boots Co. Plc, BP Amoco, BskyB, British Telecom, Cadbury Schweppes Plc, Dimension Data, Emblaze Systems Plc, EMI Group Plc, Galen Holdings, GlaxoSmithKline, Hanson Plc, Hilton Group Plc, Intec Telecom, IQE Plc, Isoft Group Plc, Kingston Communications Plc, Lattice Group Plc, Legal & General, Macro 4 Plc, Medisys Plc, Misys Plc, Ncipher Plc, Parity Group Plc, Prudential Plc, Reckitt Benckiser Plc, Reuters Group Plc, Riversoft Plc, Roxboro Group Plc, SA Breweries, Scottish & Newcastle, SFI Group Plc, Shell Transport & Trading, Skyepharma Plc, Smiths Group Plc, Staffware, Trafficmaster, Weston Medical Plc, and WPP Group Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Abbey National closed 9.86% lower after its CEO Ian Harley made known that Abbey National might consider the takeover of a UK mortgage bank if the deal is good to shareholders.
• Cadbury Schweppes gained 1.29% after reporting first half pretax profits that not only beat city estimates, but rose 14%, while sales rose 26% - thanks to acquisitions.
• Marks & Spencer closed 2.31% lower despite confirming that it is in talks to sell its 18 French stores. Marks & Spencer also announced the appointment of Jack Keenan, a Diageo executive, to the board.
• Oil shares gained on news that OPEC will cut production by One million barrels a day in early September.
• Vodafone Group lost 4% after its CEO Sir Christopher Gent told journalists that he will like to see the spin-off and eventual public offering of Vodafone's Japanese subsidiary, J-Phone.
• Energis lost 20% and took networking and telecom equipment companies down after announcing at its AGM that its first half revenue growth will be lower than it expected.
• Legal & General gained 3.14% after reporting that its pretax profits rose 4% due to a booming life insurance and pension market.
• Pub operator SFI Group gained 3.54% after reporting that its full year profits rose 67%, while turnover rose 87%. SFI Group also made known that, for the first 7 weeks of the current year, turnover is already up by 76%.
• British Telecom gained 0.06% on the eve of its earnings report. BG Group and Prudential, also reporting tomorrow, gained, while Astrazeneca and Capita Group closed lower.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• We think the LSE will rally tomorrow due mostly to bargain hunting and encouraging earnings reports.

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Market Summary and Analysis for Tuesday July 24th. 2001

FTSE 100: 5320.2 = -85.1

FTSE 250: 6003.3 = -66.4

FTSE A/S: 2575.5 = -38.8

TechMARK 100: 1503.4 = -17.5

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed lower due to earnings concerns. Gainers included: AEA Technology, Allied Domecq, ARM Holdings, Axis-Shields, Azlan Group Plc, BATM Advanced Communications, Boots Co. Plc, BP Amoco, BskyB, British American Tobacco, Computacenter, Diageo Plc, Dimension Data, EasyNet Group Plc, Egg Plc, Eidos Plc, Electrocomponent Plc, GuardianIT, Imagination Technology, Intec Telecom, Kelda Group Plc, Land Securities, Lloyds TSB, Logica Plc, Misys Plc, Morrison Supermarket, Old Mutual, Oxford Glycosciences, Redstone Telecom, Rentokil Initial, Royalblue Group Plc, SA Breweries, Schroders, Scipher Plc, Scoot.Com, Shell Transport & Trading, Smith & Nephew Plc, Staffware, Telework Systems, and Wagon Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Bank of Scotland lost 1.76% after its shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of its merger with Halifax Group. Halifax Group also closed lower.
• Parthus Technologies closed 4.50% lower despite reporting that it is on track to profitability by 2002, and that its fiscal Q2 revenue grew 30% since the year before to $10.2 million.
• Marks & Spencer closed unchanged after suspending plans to close down 18 French stores and lay off about 1,900 people. Marks & Spencer is now looking to find a buyer for the stores.
• Invensys lost 14.95% after issuing an earnings warning today.
• Drug maker GlaxoSmithKline closed 1.22% lower despite reporting interim results that were in line with city estimates.
• Reuters Group lost 4.83% after reporting revenues that dropped 17%, despite strong performance from Instinet. Reuters plans to cut 1,100 jobs.
• Online banker Egg Plc. gained 1.85% after reporting that its customer base increased and it expects to break even by the end of the year.
• BskyB gained 0.45% on the eve of its earnings report. Abbey National, Cadbury Schweppes, Energis, and Legal & General, also reporting tomorrow, closed lower.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The US after hours market doesn't look too encouraging - then again, anything is possible in this market.

indexbody --> Visit our sister portal to read more on our analysis and summary of the United States .

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Market Summary and Analysis for Monday July 23rd. 2001

FTSE 100: 5405.3 = +18.2

FTSE 250: 6069.7 = -15.4

FTSE A/S: 2614.3 = +6.5

TechMARK 100: 1520.9 = +8.0

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed higher today. Gainers included: Abbey National, Alliance & Leicester Plc, Amersham Plc, Anite Group Plc, Arc International, ARM Holdings, Autonomy Corp, BAE Systems Plc, Bank of Scotland, Barclays, BP Amoco, Centrica Plc, Compass Group, Dixons Group Plc, Eidos Plc, Eircom Plc, Electrocomponent Plc, Energis Plc, Express Dairies, Fibernet Group Plc, First Technology, Filtronic Plc, Halifax Group, Hanson Plc, International Power, IQE Plc, Kingston Communications, Lloyds TSB Plc, Medisys Plc, Misys Plc, Orbis Plc, Parity Group Plc, Psion Plc, Reckitt Benckiser Plc, Reed International, Rentokil Initial, Reuters Group Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland, Roxboro Group, Schroders NV, Shell Transport & Trading, Sherwood International, Smiths Group, Spirent Plc, Supercape Plc, Surfcontrol Plc, Telewest Communications, Tesco Plc, Unilever Plc, Vodafone Group Plc, Weston Medical, WPP Group Plc, and Xansa Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Shire Pharmaceuticals Group lost 3.10% after announcing a 52% growth in revenue and using its 208 Million Pounds war chest to expand in Japan.
• ARM Holdings gained 16.42% after reporting that its fiscal Q2 profits rose 46%, which was well above city estimates, thanks to growth in licensing fees.
• Vodafone Group gained 5.13% after Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein upgraded it ahead of its AGM Wednesday.
• Oil related shares gained after OPEC announced that it will meet in early August to discuss possible production cuts.
• Royal Bank of Scotland gained 2.47% after announcing that it has acquired the other 50% of Virgin One it doesn't already own from Richard Branson's Virgin Group and AMP of Australia.
• International Power gained 4.55% after Morgan Stanley upgraded it to an "outperform" recommendation.
• Weston Medical gained 2.55% after Morgan Stanley raised its price target on the shares to 390p/share.
• Compass Group gained 1.67%after announcing that it is paying 84 Million Pounds to acquire the UK's largest vending business, Vendepac.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The US after hours market doesn't look too bad - we expect the LSE to take advantage of this and rally tomorrow.

indexbody --> Visit our sister portal to read more on our analysis and summary of the United States .

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Market Summary and Analysis for Friday July 20th. 2001

FTSE 100: 5387.1 = -50.3

FTSE 250: 6085.1 = -5.9

FTSE A/S: 2607.8 = -20.8

TechMARK 100: 1512.9 = -12.4

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed lower due to news from Microsoft, etc. Gainers included: Antisoma Plc, Astrazeneca, Axon Group, BAA Plc, Bioglan Pharmaceuticals, BP Amoco, Canary Wharf, Capita Radio Plc, Cedar Group Plc, Centrica Plc, CMG Plc, Dixons Group Plc, EasyNet Group, EMI Group Plc, GuardianIT, Intec Telecom, International Power, Kidde Plc, Lattice group Plc, Marks & Spencer, Misys, Mothercare, Motion Media, Orbis, Oxford Glycosciences, Pace Micro Technology, Parity Group Plc, Phytopharm Plc, Psion Plc, Prudential Plc, QXL Ricardo, Reuter Group Plc, Rolls Royce, Roxboro Group, Safeway Plc, Shell Transport & trading, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, Standard Chatered Bank, Trafficmaster, and Weston Medical.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Microsoft took software shares down after announcing that its sales in the current quarter will be flat.
• Ericsson strained telecom equipment makers after announcing that it is not able to give quidance to the next quarter due to uncertainty.
• EMI Group gained 0.98% after announcing that its fiscal Q1 sales rose 3% and profits will be in line of estimates.
• Capita Radio gained 2.38% after Chris Tarrant, its popular DJ on the Breakfast Show, signed a new contract with the company.
• Rolls Royce gained 2.44% after signing a 250 Million Pounds after sales service contract with Continental Airlines of the US.
• Weston Medical gained 7.79% after signing with Celltech Group to use its needless drug delivery technology to deliver Influenza Vaccines in Europe.
• Mothercare gained 10.17% after reporting that its like-for-like sales grew 9.6% over the year.
• Kingfisher closed lower after announcing that it has completed the sale of its SuperDrug chain to Dutch drug chain Kruidvat for 280 Million Pounds. Kingfisher intends to use the proceeds to reduce debts.
• Abbey National, ARM Holdings, Egg Plc, Lloyds TSB, and Parthus Technologies closed lower on the eve of their earnings reports next week.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• We don't think the markets will perform any better next week, unless bargain hunters and good economic data comes to the rescue.

indexbody --> Visit our sister portal to read more on our analysis and summary of the United States .

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Market Summary and Analysis for Thursday July 19th. 2001

FTSE 100: 5437.4 = +32.8

FTSE 250: 6091.0 = +11.9

FTSE A/S: 2628.6 = +13.9

TechMARK 100: 1525.3 = -28.4

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed higher due to good news in the European telecom sector. Gainers included: Abbey National, Alliance % Leicester, Amersham Plc, Anglo American Plc, Associated British Foods, Astrazeneca Plc, Bank of Scotland Plc, Barclays, BG Group Plc, Boots Co. Plc, BP Amoco, British American Tobacco, Canary Wharf, Celltech Group Plc, CGNU Plc, Colt Telecom Plc, GlaxoSmithKline, Granada Plc, Hilton Group Plc, HSBC Holdings, ICI Plc, Imperial Tobacco, International Power, Lloyds TSB, Morrison Supermarket, Old Mutual, Lattice Group Plc, Publicis Plc, Reckitt Benckiser Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland, Schroders Plc, Shell Transport & Trading, Smith & Nephew, Spirent Plc, Telewest Communications, Unilever, and Vodafone Group Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Halifax Group gained 3.47% after the competition commission approved its merger with Bank of Scotland. Bank of Scotland gained 1.99%.
• HSBC Holdings gained 1.59% after acquiring Turkish private bank, Demirbank TAS.
• Telecommmunications shares rallied after Nokia announced that it expects the mobile phone market to recover this year.
• Granada gained 1.07% after ITVDigital which it owns with Carlton Communications, reported that it acquired 48,000 customers last quarter, and that it is still on target to break even. Carlton Communications closed lower.
• Publicis gained 2.95% and Cordiant Communications lost 0.6% after announcing the merger of their subsidiaries, Zenith Media and Optimedia.
• Telewest Communications gained 5.6% after its US rival, NTL, reported fiscal Q2 earnings that were stronger than expected.
• Colt Telecom gained 8.05% after Schroder Salomon Barney upgraded it to an "outperform" recommendation.
• Misys closed lower after reporting full year pretax profits that rose 22%, but warned for the first half of its fiscal year. Technology shares took a hit on Misys demise.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The US after hours market doesn't look too bad. We hope the LSE will close the week strong.

indexbody --> Visit our sister portal to read more on our analysis and summary of the United States .

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Market Summary and Analysis for Wednesday July 18th. 2001

FTSE 100: 5404.6 = -23.2

FTSE 250: 6079.1 = -34.6

FTSE A/S: 2614.7 = -11.6

TechMARK 100: 1553.7 = -6.9

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed lower for the Third day in the week due to earnings fears. Gainers included: Amersham Plc, Amvescap Plc, Astrazeneca Plc, Boots Co. Plc, British American Tobacco, British Airways, British Telecom, Canary Wharf, Carlton Communications, Colt Telecom Plc, Dixons Group Plc, Energis Plc, GlaxoSmithKline, Hays Plc, Imperial Tobacco, Innovation Group Plc, J Sainsbury, Kingfisher Plc, Lattice Group Plc, Marks & Spencer, Microgen Plc, Next Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland, Safeway Plc, Sage Group Plc, Schroders NV, Scottish & Newcastle, Scottish Power, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, Tesco Plc, Unilever Plc, and WPP Group Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• UK Unemployment dropped 12,000 in June to 963,700 as the Unemployment Rate held steady at 3.2%, its lowest levels in 26 years.
• The European Central Bank (ECB) reported that the Euro-Zone Consumer Price Index (CPI) dropped to 3.0% in June, while Core CPI held steady at 2.1%.
• Chairman of the US Federal Reserve Bank, Alan Greenspan, made known to the US lower house (House of Representatives) finance committee that there is still uncertainty in the US economy.
• Pharmaceutical shares had a good day after the European Commission announced plans to reform the pharmaceutical sector laws that will make it possible for drug companies to advertise directly to consumers.
• Oil shares were lower today after Crude Oil futures were under pressure on the NYMEX and ended up closing lower than the all important $26 a barrel.
• Marconi closed lower after its CEO Lord George Simpson defended the telecommunications equipment maker's strategy and added at the AGM that the scale and speed of the market downturn in Marconi's core business took everyone by surprise.
• Northern Rock lost 0.66% on the eve of its interim results.
• Innovation Group gained after announcing that it has completed the acquisition of Privately held MTW Group, a US software company, for 59.5 Million Pounds.
• Redstone Telecom lost 22.22% after the Daily Telegraph reported that private investors have been hit by stock shortage.
• Royal Bank of Scotland gained 1.96% due to the favourable response to its 2 Billion Pounds share placement.
• Boots Co. gained 1.27% after announcing that it will open pharmacies in Sainsbury stores. J Sainsbury gained 0.35% on the news.
• Insurer CGNU lost 0.41% despite reporting that for the first half of this year, UK business rose 12%, while worldwide life and pension sales rose 19%.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• It looks like the LSE will not have a strong week afterall, especially due to the disappointing earnings and comments from AOL Time Warner and Marconi respectively.

indexbody --> Visit our sister portal to read more on our analysis and summary of the United States .

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Market Summary and Analysis for Tuesday July 17th. 2001

FTSE 100: 55427.8 = -89.3

FTSE 250: 6113.7 = -41.2

FTSE A/S: 2626.3 = -39.1

TechMARK 100: 1560.6 = -33.6

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed lower again as investors wait on earnings reports across the Atlantic. Gainers included: Aberdeen Asset Management, AEA Technology, Alphameric Plc, Amersham Plc, ARM Holdings Plc, Associated British Foods, Boots Co. Plc, British Airways, Canary Wharf, Cobham Plc, Diagonal Plc, EMI Group Plc, Galen Holdings, Genetix Group Plc, GUS Plc, Hanson Plc, Hilton Group Plc, Indigovision Plc, Intec Telecom Plc, Isoft Group Plc, J Sainsbury, Kidde Plc, Kingston Communications, Medisys Plc, Motion Media, Next Plc, Reckitt Benckiser, Roxboro Plc, Sherwood International, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, Skyepharma Plc, Spectris, Staffware, Surfcontrol, Telemetrix, Thus Plc, Torotrak Plc, Unilever Plc, United Utilities, and WPP Group Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Royal Bank of Scotland lost 3.27% after announcing that it is paying $2.1 billion to acquire the retail banking operations of US based Mellon Financial Corp.
• Baltimore Technologies lost 17.65% after rejecting an all share takeover offer from Chantilley Corp Ltd.
• Semiconductor shares were hit hard by an earnings warning from Philips.
• Telecommunications and banking shares were the hardest hit as funds fled to defensive shares.
• Hilton Group gained 2.09% after a UK government commission recommended changes in the nation's gaming laws that will allow Las Vegas style casino gaming.
• Internet firm NetStore lost 40.48% after issuing an earnings warning due to the poor Application Services Provider (ASP) market.
• EMI Group finally gained today after licensing its music to fee based online music download site FullAudio of the US yesterday.
• British Airways gained on the first day of its AGM.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• We think the LSE will have a strong week due to earnings reports from: AOL Time Warner, BT, Marconi, etc.

indexbody --> Visit our sister portal to read more on our analysis and summary of the United States .

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Market Summary and Analysis for Monday July 16th. 2001