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

<---D160--->

Market Summary and Analysis for Wednesday August 22nd. 2001

FTSE 250: 6156.0 = -7.0

FTSE A/S: 2619.3 = -8.9

TechMARK 100: 1491.4 = -13.0

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed lower today. Gainers included: Abbey National Bank, Allied Domecq Plc, Alphameric Plc, Antisoma Plc, Anite Group Plc, Applied Optical Technology, Arc International Plc, BAE Systems Plc, Baltimore Technology, BHP Billiton, BP Amoco Plc, Brambles Industries, Celltech Group Plc, CGNU Plc, Devro Plc, Diageo Plc, Diagonal Plc, Filtronic Plc, GKN Plc, Hanson Plc, Imagination Technology, Intec Telecom Plc, International Power, Legal & General, Kingfisher Plc, Kingston Communications, Marlborough & Stirling Plc, Oxford Glycosciences, Pearson Plc, Prudential Plc, Renishaw Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, Rolls Royce Plc, Sage Group Plc, Schroders Plc, Schroders NV, Shell Transport & Trading, Six Continents Plc, Skyepharma, Smiths Group, and Telework Systems Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Oil shares gained after US Crude Oil inventories were bullish.
• Invensys lost 6.69% after Standard & Poor's® lowered its long term credit rating to junk (high yield) bonds status.
• Bradford & Bingley lost 2.37% despite reporting first half profits that rose 22%.
• Kingston Communications gained after JP Morgan raised its price target to 100p/share. JP Morgan made known that the company's continuing business with the city of Hull alone values the stock beyond its current price.
• Hilton Group lost 3.28% after tax havens Alderney and the Isle of Man agreed to allow Casino style gambling. Fears are that Hilton will have a tough time holding on to its Casino customers.
• Baltimore Technology gained 6.74% despite reporting fiscal Q2 losses that rose to £476 million from a £13 million lost reported last year. Baltimore Technology announced another round of job cuts and drastic restructuring plans.
• IQE lost 13.89% despite reporting fiscal Q2 sales and earnings that more than doubled. IQE however, warned about fiscal Q3 revenues.
• Carlton Communications, Colt Telecom, and Energis closed lower on concerns that they might be relegated from the FTSE 100 during the September review.
• Oxford Glycosciences gained after getting a patent for Computer-assisted Isolation and Characterization of Proteins.
• Defensive shares like Smiths Group gained.
• Rolls Royce gained on the eve of its earnings report, while Merant Plc. closed lower.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The Rest of the week will be determined by earnings reports and economic data releases across the Atlantic.

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

<---D159--->

Market Summary and Analysis for Tuesday August 21st. 2001

FTSE 250: 6163.0 = +26.4

FTSE A/S: 2628.2 = +31.4

TechMARK 100: 1504.5 = +8.1

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed higher before the US Federal Reserve FOMC announced its interest rates decision (see decision below). Gainers included: AIT Group Plc, Amvescap Plc, ARM Holdings, Astrazeneca Plc, Autonomy Corp, Axis-Shield Plc, BAA Plc, BAE Systems Plc, Barclays Plc, BATM Advanced Systems, BG Group Plc, Biocompatibles Plc, BOC Group Plc, Bookham Technology, Boots Co. Plc, British Biotech, British Telecom, Brown & Jackson Plc, BskyB Plc, Cable & Wirless, Cadbury Schweppes Plc, Carlton Communications, Centrica Plc, CMG Plc, Computacenter Plc, EMI Group Plc, Energis Plc, Filtronic Plc, Friends Ivory & Sime Plc, GKN Plc, Gladstone Plc, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Granada Plc, Guardian IT, GUS Plc, Hanson Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc, ICI Plc, Intec Telecom Plc, International Power, IQE Plc, Legal & General, Logica Plc, Marlborough & Stirling Plc, Marks & Spencer Plc, Misys Plc, Morrison Supermarket Plc, Motion Media Plc, Next Plc, Northgate Information Services, Oxford Glycosciences, Project Telecom, Prudential Plc, Reed International Plc, Reuters Group Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, Riversoft Plc, RM Plc, Rolls Royce Plc, Roxboro Group Plc, Royal & Sun Alliance, Safeway Plc, Sage Group Plc, Schroders Plc, Schroders NV, Scottish Power, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, Six Continents Plc, Smiths Group, Standard Chartered Bank, Telework Systems Plc, Tempus Group Plc, Tesco Plc, United Business Media Plc, Vodafone Group Plc, and WPP Group Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Brown & Jackson gained 11.63% after a non-executive director of the firm bought several thousand shares of the struggling retailer.
• Enodis lost 12.64% after deciding to be independent as opposed to putting itself up to be acquired.
• BAE Systems, which owns Airbus with EADS of France, gained 0.60% on news that Airbus is about to win a major contract in China.
• Pharmaceutical shares were some of the best performers today.
• Schroders Plc. gained 2.94% despite losing the £430 million pension management account of UK Environmental Agency to Henderson Global and Merrill Lynch.
• Energis gained 10.52% after reporting that its German Internet unit, Ision, had first half sales that rose 39% to £35 million. Ision is also confident that it will meet its growth forecast up to March 2002.
• Vodafone Group gained 3.91% after the Independent Newspaper named it as a "must have" for long-term investors.
• British Biotech gained 1.23% after announcing that it has started patients trials on Restenosis, a blood vessel treatment. British Biotech is doing the trials in conjunction with Biocompatibles. Biocompatibles gained 0.80%.
• Spirent lost 1.92% after its US rival Agilent Technologies reported disappointing earnings yesterday. CS First Boston and William de Broe downgraded Spirent today.
• Software developer Gladstone gained 2.63% after announcing plans to cut costs by £2 million a year.
• Broker Beeson Gregory Group lost 2.41% after reporting first half pretax losses of £5.5 million, well off the £11.38 million reported in profits same time last year.
• Baltimore Technology lost 4.21% on the eve of its earnings report.
• AFTER CLOSE: The US Federal Reserve FOMC cut interest rates by 25 basis points (0.25%). US Markets plunged after the news. Visit our Federal Reserve Policy Monitoring page to read more.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The US Federal Reserve FOMC decision seems to be making the markets nervous. Watch out for a rough week.

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

<---D158--->

Market Summary and Analysis for Monday August 20th. 2001

FTSE 250: 6136.6 = +3.4

FTSE A/S: 2596.9 = +6.30

TechMARK 100: 1496.3 = +2.5

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed slightly higher on the eve of the US Federal Reserve FOMC meeting. Gainers included: AEA Technology, Anite Group Plc, ARM Holdings, Baltimore Technology, Bank of Scotland, British American Tobacco, British Telecom, BskyB Plc, Carlton Communications, CGNU Plc, Computacenter Plc, Diageo Plc, Enodis Plc, GKN Plc, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Granada Plc, GUS Plc, Halifax Group, Hanson Plc, Hilton Group Plc, Imperial Tobacco, Intec Telecom Plc, IQE Plc, Lattice Group Plc, legal & General, Logica Plc, Marconi Plc, Marks & Spencer Plc, Misys Plc, Pressac Plc, Psion Plc, QXL Ricardo Plc, Recognition Systems Group, Reed International Plc, Reuters Group Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, Rolls Royce Plc, Royal & Sun Alliance, Sage Group Plc, Schroders Plc, SCI Entertainment Group, Scottish & Newcastle, Serco Group Plc, Smith & Nephew, Spirent Plc, Standard Chartered Bank, Telewest Communications Plc, Telework Systems Plc, Thus Plc, Unilever Plc, WPP Group Plc, and Xansa Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• BHP Billiton Plc. lost 0.39% after announcing that it is merging its North American metals distribution business with the world's largest Aluminum producer, Alcoa of the US, so as to gain market size.
• ARM Holdings gained 6.22% after the Financial Times' Lex column today stated that ARM not only have a better business model than its competition, but it is in a much stable shape than rivals.
• Tobacco shares gained, while oil shares were under pressure.
• Baltimore Technology gained 3.26% despite negative weekend comments from the Sunday Independent.
• Telecom equipment maker Marconi gained 2.17% after the weekend press made known that the troubled company is planning to sell its other units and concentrate on its core business. Marconi is expected to get about £500 million for its other units.
• WPP Group gained 0.60% after reporting first half pretax profits that rose 80% to £247.6 million. WPP Group, which already owns 22% of Tempus Group, also stated that it is offering 555p/share for the remaining shares, which is 10p/share higher than the offer from Havas Advertising of France.
• SCI Entertainment Group gained 19.10% after acknowledging that its Desert Storm game will be released on Microsoft's Xbox™.
• AEA Technology gained 3.73% after agreeing to sell its Nuclear consulting business to Serco Group for £69.8 million. Serco Group gained 0.66%.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The US Federal Reserve FOMC meeting next Tuesday will determine how markets act this week. Visit our Federal Reserve Policy Monitoring page to read our observations.

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

<---D157--->

Market Summary and Analysis for Friday August 17th. 2001

FTSE 250: 6133.2 = +0.8

FTSE A/S: 2590.6 = -19.5

TechMARK 100: 1493.8 = -9.8

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed lower for the third day in a row. Gainers included: Alphameric Plc, ARM Holdings, Azlan Group Plc, BAA Plc, Bristol Water Holdings, British American Tobacco, British Polythene Plc, British Telecom Plc, Canary Wharf, Centrica Plc, CMG Plc, Computacenter Plc, Daily Mail & Trust Group, Dixons Group Plc, Domino Printing Plc, Genetix Group Plc, Guardian IT, Hays Plc, ICI Plc, Imperial Tobacco, Kingfisher Plc, Logica Plc, Macro 4 Plus, Marconi Plc, Marks & Spencer Plc, Morse Plc, Ncipher Plc, Next Plc, Oxford Glycosciences, Parthus Technology, Pearson Plc, Reed International Plc, Safeway Plc, Schroders NV, Scoot.Com, Sherwood International, Six Continents, Tesco Plc, Thus Plc, Torotrak Plc, United Business Media Plc, Volex Plc, Xansa Plc, and Yates Group Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• The Euro Zone Consumer Price Index (CPI) grew only 2.8% in July, 0.2% below the June growth rate. The Core CPI grew only 2.0%, 0.1% below June growth rate.
• Telecoms were hit hard today, with Vodafone Group hitting another 52-week low.
• Scoot.Com gained 11.06% after agreeing to sell its Loot™ publication and its free classified newspapers in the UK and Ireland to the Daily Mail & Trust Group for £45 million in cash. Daily Mail gained 0.15%.
• ARM Holdings gained 1.63% after Merrill Lynch analyst Andrew Griffith  stated that after meeting with the company's CEO, he was confident the company will meet or beat its projected 40% revenue growths for fiscals Q3 and Q4.
• Airports operator TBI lost 2.55% after rejecting the £515.9 million takeover offer from Vinci of France on the grounds that it undervalues the company.
• Unilever lost 1.33% after announcing that it has sold its North American seafood operations to Japan's Nippon Suisan for $175 million in cash.
• Marks & Spencer gained 1.76% on news that apparel designer Tommy Hilfiger might make a bid for its Brooks Brothers unit.
• Motion Media lost 25.35% after warning that its full year results will not meet estimates due to the poor market for its Multimedia Video Servers.
• United Business Media gained today after Medialink Worldwide of the US rejected its takeover offer.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The US Federal Reserve FOMC meeting next Tuesday will determine how markets function most of next week.

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

<---D156--->

Market Summary and Analysis for Thursday August 16th. 2001

FTSE 250: 6132.4 = -7.6

FTSE A/S: 2610.1 = -29.6

TechMARK 100: 1503.7 = -20.4

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed lower again. Gainers included: Aegis Group Plc, Amersham Plc, Asda Property Holdings, Associated British Foods Plc, BAE Systems Plc, Bank of Scotland, Baltimore Technology, Barclays, BG Group Plc, Birse Group Plc, Boots Co. Plc, British American Tobacco, Brown & Jackson Plc, Celltech Group Plc, Centrica Plc, Compass Group Plc, Computacenter Plc, Cordiant Communications, Diagonal Plc, GKN Plc, Granada Plc, Halifax Group Plc, Hilton Group Plc, Isoft Group Plc, J Sainsbury, LastMinute.Com, Lattice Group Plc, Meggitt Plc, Pressac Plc, Reckitt Benckiser Plc, Royal & Sun Alliance, SA Breweries, SDL Plc, Sherwood International, Six Continents, Surfcontrol, Telemetrix Plc, Telework Systems, Torex Plc, Torotrak Plc, TTP Communications, Unilever Plc, and Wembley Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Semiconductor company ARM Holdings lost 4.24% on worries that Dell and Hewlett-Packard, 2 major PC makers, will report disappointing earnings today after the US markets close. Visit our United States analysis page to find out
• Celltech Group gained 2.80% after UBS Warburg upgraded it to a "buy" recommendation.
• Construction company Birse Group gained 17.39% after making the trading statement that its business climate is at the best levels in years.
• Aegis Group gained 6.48% and Cordiant Communications gained 3.24% on speculation that WPP Group or Havas of France, the loser in the bid for Tempus Group, will make a move on either Aegis or Cordiant.
• Six Continents gained 2.43% after Lehman Brothers upgraded it to a "strong buy" recommendation.
• BAE Systems gained 1.05% after Merrill Lynch and ABN AMRO had positive comments about it. BAE Systems and Smiths Group were upgraded by Merrill Lynch to "accumulate", and also named as its top 2 Defence and Aerospace picks.
• Tempus Group lost 0.42% after confirming that it has entered into takeover talks with WPP Group, which is also a major shareholder in Tempus Group.
• LastMinute.Com gained 0.72% despite reporting that its 9-months pretax losses almost doubled to £42.6 million.
• Asda Property Holdings gained 10.13% after its Chairman Davidson teamed up again with British Land for another takeover offer, this time for £232 million. British Land lost 0.52%.
• British Airways lost 3.08% after Qantas Airways of Australia, which it owns a 20% stake in, warned that its yearly profits will be 20% lower and it expects tough times ahead. Qantas blamed high energy prices and the global economic slowdown on poor passenger numbers.
• Wembley Plc. gained 4.49% after reporting operating profits that rose 7% to £15 million. Wembley announced its intention to sell its property around Wembley stadium and concentrate on its other businesses like gambling.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• US economic data releases tomorrow will determine how the market closes the week.

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

<---D155--->

Market Summary and Analysis for Wednesday August 15th. 2001

FTSE 250: 6140.0 = +3.3

FTSE A/S: 2639.7 = -18.5

TechMARK 100: 1524.0 = -20.5

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed lower as markets react to US Productivity data. Gainers included: Alliance & Leicester, Amersham Plc, Anglo American Plc, BAA Plc, Balfour Beatty Plc, Bank of Scotland, Baltimore Technology, Barclays, BATM Advanced Communications, BHP Billiton Plc, Bioglan Pharmaceuticals, Bookham Technology, Boots Co. Plc, BP Amoco Plc, Brambles Industries Plc, British Biotech, Brown & Jackson Plc, Cedar Group Plc, Centrica Plc, CMG Plc, Cobham Plc, Compass Group, EMI Group Plc, Galen Holdings, Halifax Group Plc, Innovation Group, International Power, Isoft Group Plc, IQE Plc, ITNet Plc, J Sainsbury, Knowledge Management Software, Lloyds TSB Group, Macro 4 Plus, Marconi Plc, Marks & Spencer Plc, Morse Plc, Motion Media Plc, National Grid, Northgate Information Services, NSB Retail Systems, Orchestream Holdings, Parity Group, Pressac Plc, Psion Plc, Reckitt Benckiser Plc, Riversoft Plc, Roxboro Group Plc, Schroders, Schroders NV, Scipher Plc, Shell Transport & Trading, Sherwood International, Six Continents, Surfcontrol, TBI Plc, Tempus Group Plc, Thus Plc, Telemetrix Plc, Torex Plc, United Utilities, and Xansa Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• The UK Unemployment Rate held steady at 3.2% in June.
• Hotel group Six Continents (formerly known as Bass Plc.) gained 0.49% on comments that it is still in talks to acquire Wyndham International Hotels.
• GlaxoSmithKline lost 1.90% after losing a patent infringement lawsuit against Teva Pharmaceuticals. GlaxoSmithKline sued about its Arthritis drug Relafen™.
• Balfour Beatty gained 8.82% after reporting a 17% rise in first half pretax profits and that its orders are now at record levels.
• Colt Telecom lost 5.03% after Merrill Lynch downgraded it to a "reduce".
• Bioglan Pharmaceuticals gained 2.08% after announcing that its stop smoking and Cancer drugs have both successfully entered phase II trials.
• Computacenter lost 9.24% after reporting first half pretax profits that rose 60.9% to £34 million. Computacenter however, is expecting a weaker second half.
• Tempus Group, a media buying agency, gained 3.78% after the Financial Times reported that WPP Group is going to make a counter offer for it besides the offer from Havas Advertising of France. WPP Group closed lower.
• Media shares were hit hard due to a research note from Banc of America Securities that warned the sector will under perform.
• TBI gained 6.17% after rejecting a £559 million hostile bid from Vinci of France.
• Shire Pharmaceuticals Group lost 5.13% after launching a large $300 million 10-year convertible notes. Institutional investors are concerned about the size, while some people speculate the company is getting ready for acquisitions.
• Discount retailer Brown & Jackson gained 2.67% after reporting full year sales that rose 8.1% to £430 million, while operating profits dropped more than half to £12.6 million.
• Pressac gained 35.11% after the automotive and telecommunications parts maker confirmed today that it has been approached many times and it expects a takeover offer soon.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• US economic data releases tomorrow will determine how the market closes.
• We think the mounting conflict in the Middle East will influence energy related issues significantly for the rest of the week.

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

<---D154--->

Market Summary and Analysis for Tuesday August 14th. 2001

FTSE 250: 6136.7 = +35.6

FTSE A/S: 2658.2 = +33.4

TechMARK 100: 1544.5 = +14.5

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed higher for the second day in a row. Gainers included: Abbey National Plc, ARM Holdings Plc, Atlantic Telecom, Autonomy Corp, Baltimore Technology, Bank of Scotland, Barclays, BG Group Plc, Biocompatibles, BOC Group Plc, Bookham Technology, Boots Co. Plc, BP Amoco Plc, British Airways, Cable & Wireless, Cadbury Schweppes, Canary Wharf, Capita Group, CMG Plc, Colt Telecom, Energis Plc, Fibernet Group Plc, Filtronic Plc, George Wimpey Plc, Granada Plc, Guardian IT, Halifax Group Plc, Hanson Plc, HSBC Holdings, Imperial Tobacco Plc, Intec Telecom, Isoft Plc, Kidde Plc, Kingston Communications Plc, Lloyds TSB Group, Logica Plc, Marks & Spencer Plc, McAlpine Plc, Michael Page International, Misys Plc, Morse Plc, Motion Media Plc, National Grid, Northgate Information Services, Orchestream Holdings, Oxford Glycosciences, Parity Group Plc, Parthus Plc, Pearson Plc, Reed International, Rio Tinto Plc, Riversoft Plc, RM Plc, Rolls Royce Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland, Sage Group Plc, Scottish Power, Schroders, Schroders NV, Shell Transport & Trading, Sherwood International, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, Six Continents, Spectris, Standard Chartered Bank, Surfcontr