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

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Market Summary and Analysis for Thursday September 6th. 2001

FTSE 250: 5946.1 = -93.7

FTSE A/S: 2521.4 = -51.9

TechMARK 100: 1390.9 = -48.3

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed lower again, and at its lowest levels in 3 years. Most FTSE 100 shares were also hitting lows not seen in years. Gainers included: AEA Technology, BAA Plc, Brambles Industries, British American Tobacco, Celltech Group Plc, Centrica Plc, Cobham Plc, Eircom Plc, Eurodis Electron Plc, GKN Plc, Imperial Tobacco, KS Biomedix Holdings, Lattice Group Plc, Laura Ashley Plc, Lloyds TSB, London Clubs International, Marlborough Stirling Plc, Marshalls Plc, Medisys Plc, Meggitt Plc, Michael Page International, Motion Media Plc, Northern Foods Plc, Safeway Plc, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group Plc, Telecom Plus Plc, Telework Systems, Travis Perkins Plc, Ultra Electronics Holdings, and Whatman Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• The Bank of England held its Repurchase (Interest) Rate unchanged at 5%.
• Centrica gained 3.09% after reporting first half pretax profits that rose £33 million to £437 million, well above city estimates. Centrica also reported a turnover that rose 43% to £6.75 billion. The company expects its full year results to be strong.
• Marshalls gained 2.57% after its Chairman Christopher Burnett made known that the company's full year results will be better than the previous year's, and the company has "plenty of headroom" to make acquisitions.
• Banking, Telecommunications, and technology shares were hit hard, while defensive shares like tobacco gained.
• Marconi lost heavily today again as it continues its plunge.
• Building materials chain Travis Perkins gained 0.64% after announcing that it will acquire about 40 British independent materials suppliers this year to add to its 490 other outlets.
• Telewest Communications lost 12.09% despite reiterating its fiscal Q3 figures, and giving a positive outlook for the rest of the year.
• Diageo lost 0.43% despite reporting full year pretax profits that rose 9% to £1.98 billion. Investors were concerned that only the drinks unit accounted for the spectacular performance, as its Burger King™ units' profits continue to suffer, especially in Germany and the US due to Mad Cow disease and the weak economy respectively.
• IT services firm Axon Group, lost 52.48% and took the sector down after forecasting zero revenue growth for 2001.
• Brambles Industries was rewarded with a rally today after posting good earnings yesterday.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The US after hours market seem to be responding well to the mid quarter earnings report from Intel.

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Market Summary and Analysis for Wednesday September 5th. 2001

FTSE 250: 6039.8 = -51.3

FTSE A/S: 2573.3 = -29.1

TechMARK 100: 1439.3 = -30.1

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed lower as Telecoms take a hit. Gainers included: Alphameric Plc, Arc International Plc, Arriva Plc, Azlan Group Plc, Bank of Scotland, BHP Billiton, BOC Group Plc, Canary Wharf Group Plc, CGNU Plc, Computacenter Plc, Davis Services Plc, Diageo Plc, Eidos Plc, Electrocomponent, Galen Holdings, GKN Plc, Glanbia Plc, Guardian IT Plc, Halifax Group Plc, Harvey Nash Plc, IDS Group Plc, Imperial Tobacco, Indigovision Group Plc, Innovation Plc, International Power Plc, Isoft Group Plc, Lavendon Group Plc, London Bridge Software, Meggitt Plc, National Grid, Project Telecom, Prudential Plc, PSD Group Plc, Psion Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, RM Plc, Rolls Royce Plc, Roxboro Group Plc, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, Six Continents Plc, Telecom Plus Plc, Telemetrix Plc, Telework Systems, Thistle Hotels Group Plc, Torex Plc, Ultra Electronics Holdings, and Weston Medical Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Riversoft lost after reporting first half losses that rose to £19.89 million, but turnover rose to only £3.63 million.
• Publishing and media giant Pearson lost 2.46% after agreeing to sell its FT Energy Information Services unit to US rival McGraw-Hill for $65 million in cash, and $20 million for the already paid subscription. Separately, Lehman Brothers cut its price target on Pearson from £16 to £12.
• Rentokil Initial lost 2.12% despite a Merrill Lynch upgrade to "accumulate".
• Logica lost 2.51% despite reporting full year pretax profits that beat city estimates and rose 60% to £155.6 million. CS First Boston also noted in research notes that the shares are likely to rise.
• Marconi led the FTSE 100 lower by losing 28.30% to 38p/share, yet another record low, due to its financial warning yesterday. Goldman Sachs today cut its price target on Marconi to 40p/share, while Merrill Lynch downgraded it to a "neutral". On the upside, Teather & Greenwood upgraded it to a "buy".
• Vodafone Group lost 0.87% due to profit taking after the shares rallied yesterday as analysts had positive comments about the mobile phone giant.
• Canary Wharf Group gained 3.48% on bullish comments from Goldman Sachs. Canary Wharf also won the contract to build Barclay's new world headquarters by the Docks. Barclays closed lower.
• Raynair Airline's holding parent, Raynair Holdings, closed 1.87% lower despite a report from the airline that its August passengers carried was 1 million, a 35% increase and its highest monthly passenger traffic in its 16-year history.
• Brambles Industries lost 0.31% after reporting full year pretax profits that declined 58% to £57 million, due generally to a £23 million write-down from its merger costs with GKN. Brambles also announced that it will not pay an annual dividend.
• Thistle Hotels gained 4.05% after reporting first half pretax profits that rose 4.3% to £29.4 million, while turnover rose 4.4% to £168.3 million. Thistle Hotels is however worried about its second half performance due to the Foot-and-Mouth disease.
• Davis Services gained 5.23% after reporting first half pretax profits that rose 16% to £29.7 million, while turnover rose 10% to £245.6 million. Davis Services is expecting a strong full year results.
• Redbus Interhouse lost 26.87% despite reporting first half losses that narrowed and its turnover rose from £671,000 to a whopping £4.61 million. Redbus however, warned that its growth in the next 18 months might suffer.
• Arriva and Diageo gained on the eve of their earnings reports, while Centrica and Queens Moat House lost.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The Bank of England's interest rate decision tomorrow and US Jobless Claims data will determine how the FTSE close tomorrow.

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Market Summary and Analysis for Tuesday September 4th. 2001

FTSE 250: 6091.1 = +8.4

FTSE A/S: 2602.4 = +27.9

TechMARK 100: 1469.3 = +26.1

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed higher on 2 pieces of news across the Atlantic. Gainers included: Abbey National, Allied Domecq, Alphameric Plc, Amvescap Plc, Antisoma Plc, ARM Holdings, Autonomy Corp, Axis-Shield Plc, Axon Group Plc, Baltimore Technology Plc, Bank of Scotland, Barclays Plc, BATM Advanced Communications, Biofocus Plc, Bookham Technology, Cable & Wireless Plc, Cambridge Antibody, Canary Wharf Group Plc, Capita Group Plc, Cedar Group Plc, CMG Plc, Colt Telecom Plc, Compass Group Plc, Computacenter Plc, Emblaze Systems, Energis Plc, Fibernet Group Plc, Galen Holdings, Guardian IT Plc, Halifax Group Plc, International Power Plc, IQE Plc, Kewill Systems, Kidde Plc, Kingston Communications, KS Biomedix Holdings, Logica Plc, London Bridge Software, Misys Plc, Morse Plc, Morrison Supermarket, National Grid Plc, NSB Retail Systems Plc, Pace Micro Tech, Parity Group Plc, Parthus Technology Plc, Pharmagene Plc, Reckitt Banckiser, Rentokil Initial Plc, Sage Group Plc, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, Six Continents Plc, Smiths Group Plc, Spirent Plc, Trafficmaster, Vodafone Group Plc, and Xansa Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• The Euro Zone Unemployment Rate held steady again at 8.3% in July.
• Parthus Technology gained 4.17% after announcing a licensing deal with Sun Microsystems.
• Vodafone Group gained 6.47% on news that it is cutting its spending in the next few years by £500 million to £4.5 billion. Analysts also had good comments on the mobile phone giant.
• Taylor Woodrow lost 10.33% despite reporting first half pretax profits that rose 48%. ABN AMRO downgraded the shares.
• Television stations operators Carlton Communications and Granada closed lower after Goldman Sachs reduced its earnings outlook on them due to a tough advertising market.
• Allied Domecq gained 1% after announcing that it is paying £128 million for Germany's 4th. largest spirits group, Kuemmerling.
• Telecom equipment maker Marconi lost 1.85% after stating that it expected first half losses, and it is writing down about £3 billion to £3.5 billion due to acquisitions. Marconi also announced the resignation of its Chairman and CEO, and that it is cutting 2,000 more jobs.
• Retailer Kingfisher lost 2.74% on a credit ratings downgrade from Moody's®.
• Britannic lost 1.70% after reporting first half pretax profits that declined 17% to £79.9 million.
• Drug discoverer Pharmagene gained 11.22% after reporting smaller-than-expected first half losses, and then announcing that it has signed a multimillion pounds technology sharing deal with Bristol Myers Squibb of the US.
• Shares rallied today after the National Association of Purchasing Managers (NAPM) reported growth in US manufacturing activity.
• Technology shares performed well after Hewlett-Packard announced it is acquiring Compaq, the #2 computer maker in the world, for $25 billion in stocks.
• Drug discoverer Biofocus gained 1.53% after reporting first half pretax profits that rose to £410,000, and turnover rose 70%.
• South African Insurer Old Mutual lost 0.37% after reporting first half pretax profits that declined £1 million to £455 million.
• Orchestream Holdings lost 4.07% despite reporting fiscal Q2 revenue that rose a whopping 115% to £4.7 million, but losses almost doubled.
• Logica gained 6.39% on the eve of its earnings report.
• AFTER CLOSE: British Airways, which closed lower in regular trading due to concerns that it might report losses, announced after close that it is cutting a further 1,800 jobs before the end of the year.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The US after hours market is too directionless to make a call for 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 Monday September 3rd. 2001

FTSE 250: 6082.7 = -33.6

FTSE A/S: 2574.5 = -15.7

TechMARK 100: 1443.3 = -4.9

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) started the week and the month lower. US markets were closed for the Labor Day holiday celebration. Gainers included: AEA Technology, Amvescap Plc, Antisoma Plc, Arc International, Autonomy Corp, Axon Group Plc, BAE Systems Plc, Bank of Scotland, Barclays Plc, Bookham Technology Plc, Britannic Plc, British Biotech Plc, British Vita Plc, Cable & Wireless Plc, Canary Wharf Group Plc, Capita Group Plc, Cedar Group Plc, Centrica Plc, Colt Telecom Plc, Compass Group Plc, Computacenter Plc, EMI Group Plc, Energis Plc, Fibernet Group Plc, First Technology Plc, Galen Holdings, Guardian IT Plc, Halifax Group Plc, Informa Group Plc, Innovation Group Plc, International Power Plc, Kidde Plc, Kingston Communications, KS Biomedix Holdings, Land Securities, Lattice Group Plc, Legal & General, Logica Plc, Macro 4 Plus Plc, Marks & Spencer Plc, Medisys Plc, Misys Plc, Morse Plc, Morrison Supermarket, Motion Media Plc, National Grid Plc, Next Plc, NSB Retail Systems Plc, Pace Micro Tech, P&O Princess, Parity Group Plc, Provalis Plc, Reckitt Banckiser, Reed International Plc, Renold Plc, Rentokil Initial Plc, Rexam Plc, Roxboro Group Plc, Royal & Sun Alliance, Schroders, Scoot.Com, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, Six Continents Plc, Smiths Group Plc, Sopheon Plc, Taylor Woodrow Plc, Telewest Communications, Telework Systems, Tesco Plc, and United Utilities Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Tadpole Technology lost 34.43% after issuing an earnings warning about its fiscal 2001 figures.
• Chemicals company British Vita gained 8.92% after reporting first half pretax profits that declined £7.7 million to £31.7 million. British Vita however, raised its dividend payout from 5p to 5.25p.
• British Airways lost 2.37% after Lehman Brothers downgraded it and removed the company from its "recommended list".
• Colt Telecom gained 21.09% after announcing a £11.5 million bond buyback. Colt Telecom denied weekend newspaper reports that a takeover offer for it is in the works.
• Rentokil Initial gained 0.40% after CS First Boston upgraded it to a "buy" recommendation.
• Barclays gained 0.71% on German press reports that the bank is in possible merger talks with Deutsche Bank.
• Alliance & Leicester lost 1.69% after National Australia Bank (NAB), the potential acquirer of Alliance & Leicester, announced a A$1.75 billion write-down on its HomeSide subsidiary.
• Guardian IT gained 2.80% after reporting first half pretax profits that rose 23% to £5.2 million, while sales rose 75% to £58.3 million - thanks to its acquisitions. Guardian IT announced that it is getting out of the web hosting business, and will be writing down £8 million in the second half, and £4 million in 2002 due to its web hosting business exit.
• Rage Software closed lower despite announcing that it is to supply sports content to BskyB's 5.3 million digital satellite television customers. BskyB also closed lower.
• Informa Group gained 2.53% after reporting first half pretax profits that rose 10% to £22.6 million, and turnover rose 21% to £179 million. Informa made known that it is confident about the coming half.
• Stockbroker Collins Stewart Holdings lost 1.80% after reporting first half pretax profits that dropped £1.89 million to £11.65 million.
• Friends Provident and subsidiary Friends Ivory & Sime both closed lower after Friends Ivory & Sime reported first half pretax profits that declined 12% to £10.74 million.
• Healthcare company Provalis gained 1.79% after reporting narrower-than-expected first half losses.
• Pizza Express lost 0.82% despite reporting full year pretax profits that rose 24% to £40 million, while sales rose 24% - all in line with city estimates. Pizza Express also stated that it is in a position to increase its market share.
• Tesco gained 1.38% after Researcher Retail Intelligence reported that the leading UK retailer is now the second largest European retailer after Carrefour.
• London Clubs International lost 37.50% on news that Sommer Trust has withdrawn its financial support for London Clubs' Aladdin Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
• Rexam gained 3.94% after UBS Warburg upgraded it to a "strong buy" recommendation.
• Britannic, P&O Princess, and Taylor Woodrow gained on the eve of their earnings reports tomorrow. Aga Foodservices, also reporting tomorrow, closed lower.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• All eyes are on the US markets to see how they start the so-called worst week for stocks (technically, August has been the worst week for US stocks since the 1920s).

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Market Summary and Analysis for Friday August 31st. 2001

FTSE 250: 6116.3 = -0.8

FTSE A/S: 2590.2 = +4.5

TechMARK 100: 1448.2 = -1.1

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) indices closed mixed due encouraging US New Factory Orders data. The TechMARK tumbled yet again to a new low. Gainers included: AEA Technology, Amersham Plc, Anglo American Plc, Applied Optical Tech, Arc International, ARM Holdings Plc, Associated British Foods, Astrazeneca Plc, Autonomy Corp, Axon Group Plc, BAE Systems Plc, Bank of Scotland, BOC Group Plc, Boots Co. Plc, BP Amoco Plc, British Biotech Plc, Cable & Wireless Plc, Cadbury Schweppes Plc, Cedar Group Plc, Centrica Plc, CMG Plc, Computacenter Plc, Diageo Plc, Energis Plc, Fibernet Group Plc, Galen Holdings, GlaxoSmithKline, Green King Plc, GUS Plc, Halifax Group Plc, Indogovision Group Plc, Invensys Plc, IQE Plc, ITNet Plc, J Sainsbury Plc, Kidde Plc, Logica Plc, London Bridge Software, Macro 4 Plus Plc, Marks & Spencer Plc, Medisys Plc, Morse Plc, Morrison Supermarket, NSB Retail Systems Plc, Pace Micro Tech, Parthus Technology, Phytopharm, Project Telecom, Reckitt Banckiser, Renishaw Plc, Reuters Group Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, Rolls Royce Plc, Roxboro Group Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland, Royalblue Plc, Safeway Plc, Sage Group Plc, Schroders, Schroders NV, Scottish Power, Scoot.Com, Shell Transport & Trading, Singer & Friedlander Plc, Smiths Group Plc, Spirent Plc, Tarsus Group Plc, Tesco Plc, TTP Communications, Ultra Electronics Holdings, Unilever Plc, Vodafone Group Plc, and WPP Group Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Bioglan Pharma lost 0.24% despite announcing today that Goldman Sachs will be its new adviser.
• Vodafone Group gained 1.85% despite a downgrade from Morgan Stanley Dean Witter to a "neutral".
• Online Auctioneer QXL Ricardo lost 16.67% after reporting fiscal Q1 sales of £1.6 million, a 17% drop. QXL Ricardo's losses narrowed due to cost cutting efforts.
• Roofing products maker Ultraframe lost 16.89% after warning that its poor August sales will affect its financial outlook.
• Unilever gained on news that its rival, US' Procter & Gamble, is in settlement talks after the US company was caught using covert operations to find out about Unilever's hair care products.
• Merchant bank Singer & Friedlander gained 3.64% after reporting first half pretax profits that dropped almost half to £36.4 million. The company announced that it is returning £80 million excess capital back to shareholders.
• Green King gained 0.07% after making known at its AGM that its business activities are still on target.
• Schroders gained 4.81% after reporting first half pretax profits that dropped to £41.5 million. Schroders rallied on the news that its CEO, David Salisbury, is resigning.
• NSB Retail Systems gained 33.33% after reporting first half pretax loss of £40.3 million, due mainly to a goodwill write off of £44.1 million. NSB Retail Systems reported that turnover rose a whopping 156% to £48 million.
• Orange gained 4.29% after its parent, France Telecom, reported that the mobile phone operator's first half pretax profits more than doubled to 1.63 Billion Euros. Rival mobile phone giant, Vodafone Group, gained 0.75% on the news.
• Millenium & Copthorne Hotels lost 4.17% after reporting first half pretax profits that declined £7.4 million to £46.2 million, while turnover declined 2.7% to £313.5 million.
• Anglo American, Centrica, Diageo, and Logica all gained on the eve of their earnings reports next week.
• AFTER CLOSE: Just Group, which lost v12% in regular trading, warned about the coming quarter due to poor business conditions. Just Group also announced the departure of 2 influential directors.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• We are not confident enough about next week to make a call yet.

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 August 30th. 2001

FTSE 250: 6117.1 = -41.3

FTSE A/S: 2585.7 = -37.0

TechMARK 100: 1449.2 = -50.2

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) indices closed lower as the TechMARK hit its all time low due to disappointing European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate cut and technology shares warnings across the Atlantic. Gainers included: Abbey National, Axon Group Plc, Azlan Group Plc, BAA Plc, Boots Co. Plc, British Biotech Plc, BskyB Plc, Cobham Plc, Diagonal Plc, Emblaze Systems, Eidos Plc, Eircom Plc, Fibernet Group Plc, GUS Plc, Hilton Group Plc, Indogovision Plc, Invensys Plc, Isoft Group Plc, Kewill Systems, London Bridge Software, Marks & Spencer Plc, Medisys Plc, Meggitt Plc, Morrison Supermarket, Orange Plc, Phytopharm, Powergen Plc, Project Telecom, Rentokil Initial, Rexam Plc, Safeway Plc, Scipher Plc, Telework Systems, Torex Plc, Torotrak Plc, Trafficmaster Plc, Ultra Electronics Holdings, and Vodafone Group Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• The European Central Bank cut its interest rates