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

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Market Summary and Analysis for Thursday October 4th. 2001

FTSE 250: 5193.1 = +135.6

FTSE A/S: 2391.1 = +63.2

TechMARK 100: 1220.2 = +62.0

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) rallied for the third day in a row after the Bank of England cut its Repo rate. Gainers included: Abbey National, Acambis Plc, Allied Domecq, Amvescap Plc, Anite Group Plc, ARM Holdings Plc, Autonomy Corp, Baltimore Technologies, BHP Billiton Plc, Biocompatibles Plc, Bookham Technology, BP Amoco Plc, Brambles Industries, British Land Co. Plc, British Telecom, Cable & Wireless Plc, Canary Wharf Group, Carlton Communications, Celltech Group Plc, Centrica Plc, CGNU Plc, Colt Telecom, Durlacher Plc, Ebookers Plc, Eidos Plc, Energis Plc, Enterprise Oil, First Choice Plc, Granada Plc, HBOS Plc, Hilton Group Plc, Invensys Plc, J Sainsbury Plc, Kingfisher Plc, Land Securities, Lloyds TSB Group, Logica Plc, Man Group Plc, Marconi Plc, Marks & Spencer, Medisys Plc, Misys Plc, Next Plc, Pearson Plc, Reed International, Reuters Group Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, Rolls Royce Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland, Safeway Plc, Sage Group Plc, Shell Transport & Trading, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, Six Continents, Skyepharma Plc, Spirent Plc, Ted Baker Plc, Telemetrix Plc, Telewest Communications, Turbo Genset Plc, Ultra Electronics Holdings, Unilever Plc, United Business Media, Weston Medical, Whatman Plc, Wolseley Plc, and Xansa Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• The Bank of England today cut its short term Repurchase (Repo) Rate by 25 basis points (0.25%) to 4.50%, the second cut in 3 weeks, and the 6th. cut this year.
• Xansa gained 20.32% after British Telecom announced that it is outsourcing most of its major accounting and financial services to Xansa. British Telecom gained 6.14%.
• Drug shares were under pressure today, and so were the traditional defensive shares.
• Oil shares gained after November Brent Crude prices rose 48 cents a barrel today.
• Telecommunications, technology, media and financial services shares were hot today.
• Broker Durlacher gained 27.27% after reporting full year losses of £44.9 million, well worse than the £12.24 million profit reported last year, as full year income dropped 50% to £12.7 million. Durlacher ended the year with £10.2 million in cash, which is higher than last year's £7.6 million.
• Ebookers gained 13.33% after announcing plans to cut 140 jobs due to the "substantial short term impact" of the US terrorist attacks.
• Telecom software developer Orchestream Holdings lost 24% after stating that it hasn't met its Q3 sales targets, and Q4 is still a mystery. Orchestream announced plans to cut more jobs.
• Medisys gained 25.97% after announcing that it has reached a US distribution agreement with a major US retailer for one of its Diabetes monitoring products.
• Fashion retailer Ted Baker gained 7.35% after reporting first half pretax profits that rose 19% to £2.5 million, while turnover rose 39.7% to £27.8 million. Ted Baker also reported that for the first 9 weeks of the year alone, sales rose 42.9%.
• Holiday operator First Choice gained 1.69% after announcing that the restructuring plan it initiated after the US terrorist attacks have seen 1,100 job cuts and will lead to an annual savings of £20 million.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The Bank of England's Repo rates decision will linger up to tomorrow, but markets will generally close the week based on US Unemployment Rate report due tomorrow.

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Market Summary and Analysis for Wednesday October 3rd. 2001

FTSE 250: 5057.5 = +31.5

FTSE A/S: 2327.9 = +21.6

TechMARK 100: 1158.2 = +37.5

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) rallied for the second day in a row. Gainers included: Abbey National, Acambis Plc, AEA Technology, Amersham Plc, Amvescap Plc, ARM Holdings Plc, Astrazeneca, Autonomy Corp, Baltimore Technologies, BHP Billiton Plc, Biocompatibles Plc, Bookham Technology, Boots Co. Plc, British Airways Plc, British American Tobacco, British Land Co. Plc, Capita Group Plc, Celltech Group Plc, Centrica Plc, CGNU Plc, CMG Plc, Colt Telecom, Daily Mail & General Trust, Eidos Plc, Emblaze Systems, EMI Group Plc, Energis Plc, Enterprise Oil, Gallaher Group Plc, GlaxoSmithKline, Granada Plc, HBOS Plc, Hilton Group Plc, Imperial Tobacco, Indigovision, Innogy Holdings, Invensys Plc, International Power, IQE Plc, J Sainsbury Plc, Kingfisher Plc, Kingston Communications, Lattice Group Plc, Lloyds TSB Group, Logica Plc, Man Group Plc, Marconi Plc, Marks & Spencer, Misys Plc, Motion Media, National Grid, Northern Rock Plc, Psion Plc, Regus Plc, Reuters Group Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, RM Plc, Rolls Royce Plc, Royal & Sun Alliance, Royalblue Group Plc, SA Breweries, Safeway Plc, Sage Group Plc, Severn Trent, Shell Transport & Trading, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, Six Continents, Skyepharma Plc, Spirent Plc, Telemetrix Plc, Telewest Communications, Turbo Genset Plc, Ultra Electronics Holdings, Unilever Plc, Weston Medical, Whatman Plc, and Wolseley Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Colt Telecom gained 34.15% after announcing plans to raise about £516 million through equity issues. Bear Stearns also had positive comments on Colt Telecom, calling it a long-term survival in the sector. Rivals Energis and Kingston Communications also gained on hopes that they can also raise capital in the markets.
• Unilever gained 1.48% after Deutsche Bank upgraded it to a "buy". Deutsche Bank also stated that Unilever is now a good buy.
• Misys gained 34.94% after stating at its AGM that it is cautiously optimistic about the second half.
• British Airways gained 5.05% as analysts reason that the September 11th. US attacks will have a lesser impact on the airline than previously thought.
• Dixons Group lost 4.01% after Dresdner Kleinworth downgraded it to "reduce. There is also news that UK authorities are investigating how Dixons sells warranties for electrical goods.
• Regus gained 52.17% after the company announced that its future outlook looks better than the market thinks. Regus' CEO Mark Dixon bought 2 million shares in the company Yesterday.
• ARM Holdings gained 1.30% despite the earnings warning yesterday from Canadian rival Nortel Networks.
• Amvescap gained 4% after Merrill Lynch had positive comments about the fund manager.
• Lloyds TSB gained 1.37% after announcing that it has sold 2 of its Brazilian units to Bank Itau, Brazil's second largest private bank. Terms of the sell were not disclosed.
• Astrazeneca gained 0.16% after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its Entocort™, an oral steroid drug used for treating Crohns Disease.
• GlaxoSmithKline gained 1.76% after announcing plans to make its prescription drugs affordable to low income US patients. This move is likely to boost GlaxoSmithKline drug sales as its drugs become relatively cheaper than that of its rivals.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The US after hours market looks encouraging.

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Market Summary and Analysis for Tuesday October 2nd. 2001

FTSE 250: 5026.0 = -39.9

FTSE A/S: 2306.2 = +16.9

TechMARK 100: 1120.7 = +2.9

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) rallied in anticipation of a US Federal Reserve FOMC interest rate cuts. Gainers included: Abbey National, Acambis Plc, Alliance & Leicester, Ambient Plc, Amersham Plc, Astrazeneca, Azlan Group Plc, Barclays Plc, BATM Advanced Communications, BG Group Plc, Biocompatibles Plc, BOC Group Plc, Body Shop Plc, Boots Co. Plc, BP Amoco Plc, British American Tobacco, British Biotech Plc, British Land Co. Plc, Cadbury Schweppes Plc, Celltech Group Plc, Diagonal Plc, Domino Printing Plc, Eidos Plc, Enterprise Oil, Galen Holdings, GlaxoSmithKline, Hanson, HSBC Holdings, Imperial Tobacco, ITNet Plc, IQE Plc, Kingfisher Plc, Lattice Group Plc, Legal & General, Lloyds TSB Group, Marconi Plc, Merant Plc, Monsoon Plc, Newcastle United FC, Northern Rock Plc, Northgate Information Services, Powderject Pharmaceuticals, Ricardo Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, SA Breweries, Scottish Power, Shell Transport & Trading, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, Standard Chartered Bank, Telemetrix Plc, Tempus Group Plc, Tesco Plc, Thus Plc, Unilever Plc, Vodafone Group Plc, Whatman Plc, and Wolseley Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• The Euro Zone unemployment rate held steady in August at 8.3%.
• Euro Zone Business and Consumer Confidence Survey held steady in August at 100.1. Industrial, Consumer, and Services indices declined, while Construction and Retail Trade indices rose to compensate.
• EMI Group lost 3.27% after Lehman Brothers cut its fiscal 2002 and 2003 earnings estimates on the shares.
• Tempus Group gained 12% after advertising giant WPP Group announced that it has received 93.9% approval for its takeover of Tempus. WPP lost 2.69%.
• Misys lost 11.54% on the eve of its AGM.
• Media shares were under pressure today, as Oil and drug shares rebounded. The financial services sector was mixed.
• Body Shop gained 4.76% after reporting first half pretax profits that declined from £7 million to £3 million, while turnover rose 5%. Body Shop expects to meet its full year financial target. Body Shop also confirmed that it is in early talks with candidates interested in acquiring it.
• Rolls Royce lost 1.41% after Goldman Sachs downgraded it to "market underperform", and Schroders Salomon Smith Barney lowered its price target from 140p to 95p.
• Premier division team Newcastle United FC gained 3.28% after reporting full year losses of £8.9 million, well better than the £18.9 million losses reported last year. Turnover rose 22% to £54.9 million.
• Mortgage banker Northern Rock gained 3.63% after stating that its business was good in Q3 and expects a strong Q4. Northern Rock expects to meet top end of city estimates.
• Crane hire company Baldwins Industries Services lost 50% after issuing a warning about full year results.
• Clothing retailer Monsoon gained 7.81% after making known at its AGM that its trading continues to be strong.
• Alliance & Leicester gained 2.62% after stating that its mortgage volume continue to be strong since the end of June.
• Media group Ambient gained 7.91% after reporting first half losses that rose from £5.1 million to £10.55 million, while turnover rose from £4.02 million to £9.91 million.
• AFTER CLOSE: The US Federal Reserve Bank cut its Feds Funds and Discount rates by 50 basis points (0.50%) each. Visit our Federal Reserve Monitoring page to read more.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The market will rally due to the US Federal Reserve FOMC action.

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 October 1st. 2001

FTSE 250: 5065.9 = -52.7

FTSE A/S: 2289.3 = -51.2

TechMARK 100: 1117.8 = -32.2

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) started the 3rd. quarter on a weaker note today. Gainers included: AEA Technology Plc, Alfred McAlpines Plc, BAE Systems Plc, Barratt Developments Plc, Biocompatibles Plc, Body Shop Plc, Boots Co. Plc, British American Tobacco, British Telecom Plc, BskyB Plc, BTG Plc, Carlton Communications, Cobham Plc, Computacenter Plc, Diagonal Plc, Domino Printing Plc, Eidos Plc, EMI Group Plc, Fibernet Group Plc, Genetix Group Plc, Granada Plc, Hiscox Plc, Innovation Group Plc, Invensys Plc, ITNet Plc, Jazz FM Plc, J Sainsbury Plc, Kidde Plc, Macro 4 Plus Plc, Merant Plc, Monsoon Plc, Next Plc, Persimmon Plc, Phytopharma Plc, Powderject Pharmaceuticals, Project Telecom Plc, Reckitt Benckiser Plc, Redrow Group Plc, Ricardo Plc, Riversoft Group Plc, Scipher Plc, Scottish & Newcastle, Skyepharma Plc, SMG Plc, Smith & Nephew, Telemetrix Plc, Tesco Plc, TJ Hughes Plc, Torex Plc, Vocalis Group Plc, and Whatman Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Reuters Group lost 2.08% despite announcing that it completed absorbing the property of bankrupt rival Bridge Information Services.
• George Wimpey lost 6.48% after announcing that it has completed the acquisition of Alfred McAlpines. Alfred McAlpines gained 0.40%, and so did other home builders.
• Cadbury Schweppes lost 4.64% after filing an anti-trust lawsuit against Pepsico. Pepsico has entered into an agreement with restaurants holding company, Tricon Global Restaurants, that punishes Tricon chains for carrying drinks under Cadbury Schweppes' Dr Pepper/Seven Up subsidiary.
• Smiths & Nephew gained 4.06% after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) its Dermagraft, a chronic ulcers drug, to be also used on diabetes patients.
• Discount retailer TJ Hughes gained 6.96% after reporting first half losses that were about 70% lower, while turnover rose 12.6%.
• Monsoon gained 5.83% on the eve of its AGM.
• Invensys gained 11.43% as Rick Haythornwaite assumed the CEO position today.
• Oil and financial shares were hardest hit today, the eve of the US Federal Reserve FOMC meeting.
• Body Shop and Jazz FM gained on the eve of their financial reports.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The US Federal Reserve FOMC meeting tomorrow will determine how the markets close tomorrow (the early actions on US markets will be the key for the London 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 Friday September 28th. 2001

FTSE 250: 5118.6 = +89.6

FTSE A/S: 2340.5 = +62.6

TechMARK 100: 1153.0 = +9.1

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed the week higher. Gainers included: Abbey National, Acambis Plc, AEA Technology Plc, Alizyme Plc, Allied Domecq Plc, Amersham Plc, Amvescap Plc, Astrazeneca Plc, Barclays, BG Group Plc, BP Amoco Plc, British Airways Plc, Cambridge Antibody Technology, Capita Group Plc, Compass Group Plc, Cox Insurance Plc, Emap Plc, Emblaze Systems, Enterprise Oil Plc, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Hays Plc, HBOS Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc, Lloyds TSB, Kingfisher Plc, London Stock Exchange, Prudential Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, Schroders NV, Staffware Plc, Standard Chartered Bank, Unilever Plc, Virt-X Plc, Weston Medical, Whatman Plc, Wolseley Plc, and Xansa Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Capita Group gained 1.65% after stating that its trade is still excellent.
• Emap gained 1.89% after Goldman Sachs raised its outlook on the company.
• Oil and banking shares lifted the FTSE.
• Cordiant Communications lost 37.70% after warning that its full year revenue will be about 5% below last year's.
• Energis lost 13.75% after Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and UBS Warburg had negative comments.
• The London Stock Exchange Plc. gained 9.83% after announcing that it has approached the Commodity exchange, LIFFE, on hopes of acquiring it.
• Goshawk Insurance gained 4.35% after reporting that it will only lost about $12 million from the US terrorist attacks.
• Cox Insurance gained 9.74% after reporting that it will only lost about $44.2 million in claims from the US terrorist attacks.
• Hays gained 6.99% on a Commerzbank recommendation.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The markets should be strong next week. Then again, this market has a mind of its own.

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 September 27th. 2001

FTSE 100: 4763.6 = +67.5

FTSE 250: 5029.0 = -25.6

FTSE A/S: 2277.9 = +26.3

TechMARK 100: 1143.9 = -24.9

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) closed mixeed today. straight day. Gainers included: Abbey National, Acambis Plc, AEA Technology Plc, Alizyme Plc, Allied Domecq Plc, Amstrad Plc, Amersham Plc, Amvescap Plc, Astrazeneca Plc, BG Group Plc, BP Amoco Plc, British Airways Plc, Cambridge Antibody Technology, Capita Radio Plc, Close Brothers Plc, Compass Group Plc, Domino Printing, Durlacher Plc, Energis Plc, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Goshawk Insurance Plc, GWR Group Plc, Hays Plc, Kingfisher Plc, London Stock Exchange, Prudential Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, Schroders Plc, Schroders NV, Scipher Plc, Staffware Plc, Torotrak Plc, Turbo Genset Plc, Unilever Plc, Vega Group Plc, Weston Medical, Whatman Plc, Wolseley Plc, and Xansa Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• The European Central Bank (ECB) left its interest rates unchanged.
• Builder John Laing lost 50.75% after reporting first half losses of £37.8 million, and announced a 9-for-13 rights issue so as to raise £73 million.
• Oil and Drug related shares lifted the FTSE.
• Electrocomponent lost 4.99% on a HSBC Holdings downgrade.
• RM lost 42.25% after issuing an earnings warning about its full year results.
• The London Stock Exchange Plc. gained 1.57% after announcing that trading in the 5 months ended August was in line, despite declines in new issues revenue.
• Goshawk Insurance gained 1.45% on the eve of its earnings report.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The market seem interested in ending this week on a high note. Then again, this market has a mind of its own.

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 September 26th. 2001

FTSE 100: 4696.1 = +32.7

FTSE 250: 5054.6 = +30.0

FTSE A/S: 2251.2 = +15.2

TechMARK 100: 1168.8 = +17.6

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) rallied for the 3rd. straight day. Gainers included: Abbey National, Acambis Plc, AEA Technology Plc, Alizyme Plc, Allied Domecq Plc, Amersham Plc, Amvescap Plc, Applied Optical Technology Plc, ARM Holdings Plc, Autonomy Corp, BAE Systems, Barclays Plc, Barratt Developments Plc, Biocompatibles Plc, Bloomsbury Publishing, BOC Group Plc, BP Amoco Plc, British Biotech Plc, British Telecom Plc, BTG Plc, Cambridge Antibody Technology, Celltech Group Plc, CMG Plc, Cobham Plc, Daily Mail & General Trust, Diagonal Plc, Dixons Group Plc, Easynet Plc, Emap Plc, EMI Group Plc, Energis Plc, Fibernet Group Plc, First Technology, Galen Holdings Plc, GUS, Innovation Group Plc, IQE Plc, J Sainsbury Plc, Logica Plc, London Bridge Software Plc, London Clubs International, Madisons Coffee Plc, Marks & Spencer Plc, Marlborough Stirling Plc, Ncipher Plc, Next Plc, Old Mutual, Oxford Glycosciences, Phytopharm Plc, Reckitt Benckiser Plc, Reuters Group Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, Roxboro Group Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland, Scipher Plc, Severn Trent Plc, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, Six Continents Plc, Spectris Plc, Standard Chartered Bank, Surfcontrol Plc, Telewest Communications, Torex Plc, Torotrak Plc, TTP Communications, Unilever Plc, United Business Media Plc, Vodafone Group Plc, Weston Medical, Whatman  Plc, and Wolseley Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Boots Co. lost 3.20% despite announcing that its profit outlook for the year will be met. Boots also announced that its cost cutting efforts will yield £250 million in savings.
• British Telecom and Vodafone Group gained 2.81% and 2.09% respectively after telecom regulator, Oftel initiated new charge controls for making the mobile phone market more competitive. The new controls are to cost the 2 giants only £600 million, well below what the market was expecting.
• Telework Systems lost 54.01% after announcing that its workplace unit had an operating loss in the first half, and the company can't make a call for the whole year due to the slowing global economy.
• Bloomsbury Publishing gained 3.25% after reporting first half pretax profits of £2.8 million, as turnover doubled to £22.7 million, thanks to its highly popular Harry Potter series and a movie due out in November.
• Oxford Glycosciences gained 22.02% after CS First Boston recommended biotechnology shares in these tough economic times. Oxford Glycosciences and Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, were 2 of the 3 favourites of CS First Boston.
• Chloride Group lost 17.89% after warning that its uninterrupted power supply business is performing below expectations.
• Oil shares gained after OPEC agreed to hold production steady.
• Homebuilder Barratt Developments gained 4.77% after reporting full year pretax profits that rose 24% to £178.4 million, which beat city estimates. Turnover rose 21% to £1.5 billion. Barratt reported that for the period, sales completions rose 6%, well better than the industry average of -8%.
• Marconi lost 1% after announcing that it will raise £43.2 million by selling its stake in French media and defence giant Lagardere.
• Broadband operator Easynet gained 3.39% despite reporting first half losses that almost tripled, while revenue rose almost 50%. Easynet's customers rose from 10,000 to 28,000 for the period.
• Emap gained 9.52% after warning that its print media business is facing the worst advertising environment in 10 years. Investors found relief in the fact that, the company doesn't expect it to get any worse.