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

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Market Summary and Analysis for Friday November 2nd. 2001

FTSE 250: 5386.9 = +45.2

FTSE A/S: 2452.2 = +26.8

TechMARK 100: 1394.4 = +25.3

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 and the TechMARK 100 closed the week higher by ignoring poor employment data from the US. Gainers included: AEA Technology, Alliance & Leicester, Allied Domecq, Alphameric Plc, Amersham Plc, Amvescap Plc, ARM Holdings Plc, Associated British Foods, Astrazeneca Plc, Autonomy Corp, BAA Plc, BAE Systems Plc, Barclays Plc, BHP Billiton, BOC Group Plc, Boots Co. Plc, British Airways Plc, British Biotech Plc, BskyB Plc, Cable & Wireless Plc, Cadbury Schweppes Plc, Cedar Group Plc, Celltech Group Plc, Centrica Plc, CMG Plc, Cobham Plc, Colt Telecom Group Plc, Diageo Plc, Easyjet Plc, Eidos Plc, Emblaze Systems, Energis Plc, Filtronic Plc, Friends Provident Plc, Galen Holdings, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Gyrus Group Plc, Havas Plc, Hilton Group Plc, HSBC Holdings, Innogy Holdings, Invensys Plc, ITouch Plc, J Sainsbury Plc, Kingfisher Plc, Land Securities Plc, Legal & General, Logica Plc, Marconi Plc, Marks & Spencer Plc, Marlborough Stirling Plc, Medisys Plc, Misys Plc, Motion Media Plc, Northern Rock Plc, Parthus Technology, Pearson Plc, Phytopharm Plc, Prudential Plc, Renishaw Plc, Reuters Group Plc, Rolls Royce Plc, Royal & Sun Alliance, Royalblue Group Plc, SA Breweries, Sage Plc, Schroders Plc, Schroders NV, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, Six Continents Plc, Smith & Nephew Plc, Spirent Plc, Standard Chartered Bank, Surfcontrol Plc, Telework Systems Plc, Thus Plc, Torex Plc, Unilever Plc, United Utilities Plc, United Business Media, Vodafone Group Plc, Whatman Plc, Wolseley Plc, WPP Group Plc, and Xansa Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• BskyB gained 6.29% after reporting fiscal Q1 pretax losses of £22.6 million, well better than the £123.6 million losses reported last year, and well better than city estimates. Sales rose 24% to £643 million, as customers for its Direct to Home (DTH) digital subscription rose 190,000 for the quarter.
• Unilever gained 2.40% after reporting fiscal Q3 earnings that beat city estimates, and expects to meet its fiscal Q4 and full year targets, despite a "more challenging" business environment.
• Oil shares declined after Brent crude prices closed below the $20/barrel levels at $19.23 a barrel. On the upside, UK retail petrol dealers: BP Amoco, Safeway, and Tesco decided to cut UK petrol prices.
• Prudential gained 6.39% after announcing that it is selling its generic insurance unit to Winterthus of Switzerland for £810 million as part of its UK operations restructuring.
• Banking shares closed higher on hopes that, the Bank of England, the US Federal Reserve Bank, and European Central Bank will all cut rates when they meet next week.
• Hotel and Leisure group, Six Continents, gained 1.78% after announcing that its planned sale of its minority stake in Britvic™ soft drinks for £600 million have been canceled due to disagreements with US based Pepsico. Six Continents indirectly controls 45% of Britvic™, while Pepsico controls 10%.
• Discount airline Easyjet gained 0.78% after announcing that it will price its new stock offerings at 375p/share. Investors seem to agree with its pricing and plans to for expansion.
• British Airways, Marks & Spencer, and Royal Sun & Alliance gained on the eve of their earnings reports next week, while British Telecom and Ryanair Holdings closed lower.
• AFTER CLOSE: The US Government and Microsoft have reached an agreement that will allow PC makers and software developers greater access to the Windows™ code, without breaking up the company.

• A PUBLIC PROTEST: The recent massacre of unarmed TIV villagers by the Nigerian Military is to say the least, very disappointing. The Tivs, who have long rejected the forceful Islamic intimidations and assimilation from the north, have found themselves in a state controlled ethnic cleansing ordered by the president of Nigeria, General Olusegun Obasanjo, so as to curry favors with his Islamic handlers. It is indeed a sad week for the democracy. 

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• Next week's market activities will be dictated by US Federal Reserve FOMC meeting on Tuesday, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank meetings on Thursday. 

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 November 1st. 2001

FTSE 250: 5341.7 = -23.1

FTSE A/S: 2425.4 = +11.9

TechMARK 100: 1369.1 = +5.3

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 and the TechMARK 100 closed higher again despite disappointing US economic data. Gainers included: AEA Technology, Allied Domecq, Amersham Plc, Arc International, ARM Holdings Plc, Associated British Foods, Astrazeneca Plc, BG Group Plc, BP Amoco Plc, Cadbury Schweppes Plc, Celltech Group Plc, Centrica Plc, Compass Group Plc, Diageo Plc, Emblaze Systems, EMI Group Plc, Friends Provident Plc, Gallaher Group Plc, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Granada Plc, Hays Plc, Hilton Group Plc, HSBC Holdings, ICI Plc, Imperial Tobacco, Innogy Holdings, Invensys Plc, J Sainsbury Plc, Land Securities Plc, Misys Plc, Motion Media Plc, Northern Rock Plc, Orchestream Holdings, Pace Micro Tech, Reuters Group Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, SA Breweries, Scottish & Southern Energy, Shell Transport & Trading, Smith & Nephew Plc, Smiths Group Plc, Spirent Plc, Taylor & Francis Plc, Telework Systems Plc, Tempus Group Plc, Thistle Hotel Plc, Thus Plc, Tomkins Plc, Torotrak Plc, Turbo Genset Plc, Unilever Plc, United Utilities Plc, United Business Media, Whatman Plc, and WPP Group Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Shell Transport & Trading gained 1.17% after reporting fiscal Q2 earnings of $3.61 billion, but warning that the second half of the year will be tougher.
• Chemicals giant ICI Plc. gained 11.73% after reporting fiscal Q3 pretax profits were higher than expected. ICI also announced that it is cutting 275 jobs in the UK and hundreds worldwide due to the sluggish global economy.
• Astrazeneca gained 2.58% and lifted the drug sector on reports that the phase II clinical trials for its Cancer "smart drug", Iressa™, show promise.
• Irish homebuilder CRH lost 6.74% and pulled the sector lower with it after warning about a tough industry condition.
• Banking shares closed mixed.
• Chip designer Arc International gained 5.34% after reporting fiscal Q3 losses that widened by £5.94 million to £11.20 million, while turnover declined from £3.20 million seen last year to £2.02 million.
• Media and advertising giant WPP Group gained 0.24% after the UK takeover panel ruled that WPP must honour its £432 million bid for Tempus Group, despite recent changes in the markets and the economy. Tempus Group gained 0.86%.
• Powergen lost 0.13% after announcing that for the 3 months ended September 30th, it added 65,000 new customers, a whopping 40% below the quarter before. Powergen attributed the poor performance to a slowing UK business environment and increased competition for household accounts.
• BskyB Plc, which is to report earnings tomorrow, lost 2.99% after Merrill Lynch reported that the company is expected to report a loss due to the high cost of televising English Premiership football games.
• South African Breweries (SA Breweries) gained 0.23% after paying $19.1 million for a 45% controlling stake in Coca Cola Bottling Luanda, Angola.
• United Business Media gained 1.39% after announcing that its advertising page volumes declined 48.1% in the US business-to-business (B2B) Information Technology market in September, while its CMP Media saw a 43.8% decline in high tech publications.
• Drinks giant Diageo gained 1.97% after wrapping up the sale of its Pillsbury™ brand to General Mills of the US for $10.4 billion, slightly less than the $10.5billion agreed upon in July 2000. Diageo's CEO Paul Walsh confirmed that they are in talks with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) so as to iron out differences on its joint bid for Seagram® with Pernod Ricard of France.

• A PUBLIC PROTEST: The recent massacre of unarmed TIV villagers by the Nigerian Military is to say the least, very disappointing. The Tivs, who have long rejected the forceful Islamic intimidations and assimilation from the north, have found themselves in a state controlled ethnic cleansing ordered by the president of Nigeria, General Olusegun Obasanjo, so as to curry favors with his Islamic handlers. It is indeed a sad week for the democracy. 

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The US after hours market looks to directionless to make a call. We expect the US employment data due tomorrow to have the final say on how the markets close this interesting week. 

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 October 31st. 2001

FTSE 250: 5364.8 = +41.5

FTSE A/S: 2413.5 = +16.9

TechMARK 100: 1363.8 = +25.4

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 and the TechMARK 100 closed higher on US Q3 GDP data. Gainers included: Acambis Plc, AEA Technology, Amersham Plc, Anite Group Plc, Arc International, ARM Holdings Plc, Associated British Foods, Astrazeneca Plc, Autonomy Corp, Avis Europe Plc, Baltimore Technology, Barclays Plc, BG Group Plc, Bookham Technology, BP Amoco Plc, Brambles Industries, British American Tobacco, British Land Co. Plc, British Telecom Plc, BskyB Plc, Bullough Plc, Cadbury Schweppes Plc, Cedar Group Plc, Celltech Group Plc, Centrica Plc, Compass Group Plc, Cookson Group Plc, Electrocomponent Plc, Emblaze Systems, EMI Group Plc, Friends Provident Plc, Gallaher Group Plc, Granada Plc, Hanson Plc, Hays Plc, HBOS Plc, Hilton Group Plc, HSBC Holdings, Imperial Tobacco, Innogy Holdings, Invensys Plc, Innovation Group Plc, Isoft Group Plc, IQE Plc, J Sainsbury Plc, Kidde Plc, KS Biomedix Holdings, Land Securitis Plc, Lattice Group Plc, Legal & General, Lloyds TSB Group Plc, Logica Plc, London Stock Exchange Plc, Man Group Plc, Marconi Plc, Michael Page, Misys Plc, Morgan Crucible Company Plc, Morse Plc, Motion Media Plc, National Grid, Next Plc, Northern Rock Plc, Orchestream Holdings, P&O Princess, Pace Micro Tech, Parthus Technology, Pearson Plc, Psion Plc, Reckitt Benckiser Plc, Redrow Plc, Rentokil Initial Plc, Reuters Group Plc, Rexam Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, RM Plc, RMC Group Plc, Rolls Royce Plc, Royal & Sun Alliance, Royal Bank of Scotland Plc, Safeway Plc, Sage Group Plc, Scottish & Newcastle, Scottish & Southern Energy, Scottish Power Plc, Severn Trent Plc, Shell Transport & Trading, Shanks Group Plc, Smith & Nephew Plc, Smiths Group Plc, Spirent Plc, Telemetrix Plc, Telewest Communications, Telework Systems Plc, Thus Plc, Torotrak Plc, Turbo Genset Plc, Unilever Plc, United Utilities Plc, United Business Media, Vodafone Group Plc, Whatman Plc, Wolseley Plc, WPP Group Plc, and Xansa Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Banking shares gained after Deutsche bank of Germany reported fiscal Q3 earnings that met estimates.
• Retailer Matalan lost 15.81% after reporting first half pretax profits that rose 44% to £48.8 million, while turnover rose 50% to £385 million. Matalan however, stated that its sales is declining due to the September 11th. US terrorist attacks.
• British Telecom gained 3.26% after announcing that its CEO Peter Bonfield was leaving the company in January.
• Waste management company Shanks Group gained 1.82% after reporting first half pretax profits of £5.6 million, a 30% decline from a year ago. Shanks however, stated that its current trading is in line with management expectations.
• Chip designer ARM Holdings gained 8.58% after its management stood by the company's positive outlook as stated at the recent Morgan Stanley Conference.
• Pace Micro Tech gained 3.87% after announcing that Novavision, the largest Direct to Home (DTH) satellite operator in Latin America, has ordered 90,000 units of its Pace Worldbox DSR2200-MEX™ digital satellite home gateway boxes.
• Engineering company Bullough gained 8.33% on news that Montpellier Group has increased its stake in the company, and might even make a takeover offer for it. Montpellier Group closed 2.91% lower.
• P&O Princess gained 7.35% after US rival Royal Caribbean Cruise Line reported fiscal Q3 earnings yesterday that were well above Wall Street estimates.
• Friends Provident gained 4.27% after Goldman Sachs had good comments about the company, and sees a 15% upside potential on Friends Provident's share price.
• Arc International and Shell Transport & Trading gained on the eve of their earnings reports.

• A PUBLIC PROTEST: The recent massacre of unarmed TIV villagers by the Nigerian Military is to say the least, very disappointing. The Tivs, who have long rejected the forceful Islamic intimidations and assimilation from the north, have found themselves in a state controlled ethnic cleansing ordered by the president of Nigeria, General Olusegun Obasanjo, so as to curry favors with his Islamic handlers. It is indeed a sad week for the democracy. 

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The US after hours market looks to directionless to make a call. We expect economic data releases and earnings reports to have the final say once again. 

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 October 30th. 2001

FTSE 250: 5323.3 = -99.1

FTSE A/S: 2396.6 = -40.0

TechMARK 100: 1338.3 = -44.9

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 and the TechMARK 100 closed lower due to disappointing US consumer confidence data, and some earning warnings on the LSE. Gainers included: AEA Technology, Amersham Plc, Associated British Foods, Astrazeneca Plc, Bookham Technology, British American Tobacco, Cadbury Schweppes Plc, Diageo Plc, Domino Printing, Eircom Plc, First Technology Plc, Genemedix Plc, Genetix Group Plc, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Imperial Tobacco, J Sainsbury Plc, Kidde Plc, KS Biomedix Holdings, Lattice Group Plc, Medisys Plc, Morrison Supermarket, National Grid, Pace Micro Tech, Renishaw Plc, RM Plc, Safeway Plc, Serco Group Plc, Severn Trent Plc, Six Continents Plc, Smith & Nephew Plc, Taylor Woodrow Plc, Telework Systems Plc, Tesco Plc, Thus Plc, Torotrak Plc, Trafficmaster Plc, Turbo Genset Plc, Ultra Electronics Holdings, United Utilities Plc, Viridian Group Plc, Weston Medical Plc, Whatman Plc, Whitbred Plc, and Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Defensive shares like food retailers gained, while banking issues and telecoms led the decline.
• Engineering giant GKN lost 3.21% after issuing an earnings warning and announced plans to cut 1,250 jobs as part of its cost cutting.
• Diageo gained 0.44% on news that it is in talks to sell its Malibu Coconut Rum brand to Pernod Ricard of France for as much as £700 million. The sell is designed for the 2 companies to receive approval for their offer for Seagram®.
• Cadbury Schweppes gained 0.29% after European and US regulators approved its acquisition of Pernod Ricard's European, North American, and Australian soft drinks brands that include Yoohoo™.
• Bookham Technology gained 3.96% despite reporting fiscal Q3 losses that more than doubled to £13.6 million, while revenue declined 69% to £2.4 million. Bookham is expecting flat growth in Q4!
• Vodafone Group lost 3.37% after announcing that it is selling its stake in German natural gas firm, Ruhrgas, to German utility company, E.ON, for $769 million.
• Venture Capital firm 3i Group lost 7.59% after announcing plans to cut its workforce by 17% due to the tough financial market.
• Luxury hotel operator Whitbred gained 1.46% after announcing plans to cut 300 jobs and reduce capital spending by as much as £150 million due to the tough market conditions after the September 11th. US terrorist attacks.
• British American Tobacco gained 1.96% after reporting fiscal Q3 pretax profits that rose 26% to £298 million, due to strong sales in European countries like Spain.

• A PUBLIC PROTEST: The recent massacre of unarmed TIV villagers by the Nigerian Military is to say the least, very disappointing. The Tivs, who have long rejected the forceful Islamic intimidations and assimilation from the north, have found themselves in a state controlled ethnic cleansing ordered by the president of Nigeria, General Olusegun Obasanjo, so as to curry favors with his Islamic handlers. It is indeed a sad week for the democracy. 

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The US after hours market looks to directionless to make a call. We expect economic data releases and earnings reports to have the final say once again. 

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 29th. 2001

FTSE 250: 5422.4 = -52.8

FTSE A/S: 2436.6 = -45.1

TechMARK 100: 1383.2 = -32.3

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 and the TechMARK 100 closed lower. Gainers included: AIT Group Plc, Associated British Foods, Autonomy Corp, Azlan Group Plc, BAE Systems, Bioglan Pharma Plc, British American Tobacco, Cable & Wireless, Centrica Plc, Cobham Plc, Colt Telecom Group Plc, Computacenter Plc, Cordiant Communications, Daily Mail & General Trust, Domino Printing, Easyjet Plc, Eircom Plc, Emblaze Systems, Energis Plc, Filtronic Plc, First Technology, Galen Holdings, Genemedix Plc, Gyrus Group Plc, Hanson Plc, Imperial Tobacco Plc, Indigovision Group Plc, Innovation Group Plc, International Power, Isoft Group Plc, ITNet Plc, ITouch Plc, Kingston Communications, KS Biomedix Holdings, Lynx Group Plc, Morrison Supermarket, Ncipher Plc, Powderject Pharmaceuticals Plc, Powergen Plc, Reckitt Benckiser Plc, Renishaw Plc, RM Plc, Rolls Royce Plc, Roxboro Group Plc, Safeway Plc, Scipher Plc, Scottish & Southern Energy, Scottish Power Plc, SMG Plc, Telework Systems, TTP Communications, Ultra Electronics Holdings, and Xansa Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Oil shares declined after Norway's Statoil reported earnings that declined 11% due to the poor crude prices.
• Airport operator BAA lost 1.33% despite reporting first half pretax profits of £338 million, which beat estimates. BAA reported that traffic at its airports declined only 12% due to the September 11th. US terrorist attacks - which well below the decline it saw during Desert Storm.
• Discount airline Easyjet gained 2.75% after reporting full year pretax profits of £40.1 million. Easyjet's Chairman and Founder, Stelios Haji-Ioannon announced that he is selling about 10% of of his stake in the company so as to expand the business.
• The London Stock Exchange Plc. lost 3.23% after the board of derivates market LIFFE™ recommended to shareholders to accept the offer from Pan-European exchange Euronext™.
• Online travel booking company eBookers lost 6.80% after reporting fiscal Q3 pretax profits of £200,000 as opposed to the lost of £5.9 million seen last year. eBookers is expecting EBITDA earnings of 5% in fiscal Q4 2001 to fiscal Q1 2004.
• Thus Plc. lost 4.35% despite a Sunday Observer report that Thus' majority shareholder, Scottish Power, is underwriting a £100 million loan for the telecom operator. Scottish Power gained 1.03%.
• Cable & Wireless gained 1.94% on a Belgian Newspaper report that C&W is in talks to acquire rival Colt Telecom. Colt Telecom gained 12.30%.
• Rolls Royce and BAE Systems gained on news that Lockheed Martin will subcontract some of the $200 billion next generation fighters business to them. Smiths Group, also named as a subcontractor, closed 2.16% lower.
• GlaxoSmithKline lost 2.25% after signing 2 licensing agreements with Biovail, a US pharmaceutical company. The first deal calls for Biovail to manufacture and supply GlaxoSmithKline's Wellbutrin™, to GlaxoSmithKline in a once-a-day version. Secondly, GlaxoSmithKline will manufacture and supply to Biovail its cold sore treatment, Zovirax™, while Biovail pays $133 million for certain rights to the medication.
• Biotechnology firm Bioglan Pharma gained 38.40% on news that it has reached a deal with its bankers to rollover its £105 million debt. The Sunday Times also reported that US-based Cooper Developments is interested in acquire part or all of Bioglan.
• Shire Pharmaceuticals Group lost 1.37% despite wining a 10-year £131 million flu vaccine contract with the government of Canada.

• A PUBLIC PROTEST: The recent massacre of unarmed TIV villagers by the Nigerian Military is to say the least, very disappointing. The Tivs, who have long rejected the forceful Islamic intimidations and assimilation from the north, have found themselves in a state controlled ethnic cleansing ordered by the president of Nigeria, General Olusegun Obasanjo, so as to curry favors with his Islamic handlers. It is indeed a sad week for the democracy. 

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The US after hours market looks to directionless to make a call. We expect economic data releases and earnings reports to have the final say once again. 

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 October 26th. 2001

FTSE 250: 5475.2 = +54.9

FTSE A/S: 2481.7 = +45.1

TechMARK 100: 1415.5 = +37.6

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 and the TechMARK 100 closed the week higher. Gainers included: Abbey National, Acambis Plc, AEA Technology, AIT Group Plc, Alliance & Leicester, Allied Domecq, ARM Holdings, Avon Rubber Plc, Azlan Group Plc, Barclays, BP Amoco Plc, British Telecom, BskyB Plc, Colt Telecom Group, Cordiant Communications Plc, Diageo Plc, Diagonal Plc, Dixons Group Plc, Eidos Plc, Energis Plc, Enterprise Oil Plc, Fibernet Group Plc, Filtronic Plc, Galen Holdings, Gladstone Plc, Guardian IT, GUS Plc, HBOS Plc, HSBC Holdings, ICI Plc, Indigovision Group Plc, Innovation Group Plc, Invensys Plc, Isoft Group Plc, Itouch Plc, J Sainsbury Plc, Man Group Plc, Marks & Spencer Plc, Misys Plc, Morse Plc, Motion Media Plc, Ncipher Plc, Novar Plc, Old Mutual, Orchestream Holdings, Pace Micro Tech, Pearson Plc, Reuters Group Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, RM Plc, Rolls Royce Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland, Royalblue Group Plc, Sage Group Plc, Schroders NV, Shell Transport & Trading, Smiths Group Plc, Spirent Plc, Standard Chartered Bank, Surfcontrol, Telewest Communications, Telework Systems, Unilever Plc, United Utilities, Vodafone Group Plc, Whatman Plc, Weston Medical Plc, WPP Group Plc, Xansa Plc, and Xenova Group Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Xenova gained 14.84% after clinical trials for its Anal and Genital Cancer vaccine was successful.
• Oil shares gained after the December Brent Crude prices rose slightly to $21.12 a share. The market was also optimistic that the next OPEC meeting will cut production.
• Rio Tinto gained 2.54% after approving the first stage construction of its Camalco Alumina Refinery in Gladstone, Queensland.
• Media and advertising giants WPP and Pearson gained 6.35% and 5.31% respectively after Credit Suisse First Boston stated that European media stocks, especially these 2, rank in the top 10 based on financial health.
• Rolls Royce gained 4.24% after winning a $200 million engine supply agreement with China East Airlines due 2003. Bombardier also selected Rolls Royce's BR710™ engine for its new Global 5000 Super Large business jet.
• Banking shares rebounded today. So were telecoms and chip designers.
• Manufacturer Avon Rubber gained 33.15% after confirming that it has been approached about a takeover.
• Wilson Conolly lost 7.42% and took homebuilding shares down with it after warning that completed sales this year will be short from last year's levels, and that Chairman Allan Leighton will assume the joint roles of Chairman and CEO.
• Allied Domecq, BskyB, ICI Plc, and Unilever gained on the eve of their earnings reports next week. British American Tobacco and Matalan, also reporting tomorrow, declined.

• A PUBLIC PROTEST: The recent massacre of unarmed TIV villagers by the Nigerian Military is to say the least, very disappointing. The Tivs, who have long rejected the forceful Islamic intimidations and assimilation from the north, have found themselves in a state controlled ethnic cleansing ordered by the president of Nigeria, General Olusegun Obasanjo, so as to curry favors with his Islamic handlers. It is indeed a sad week for the democracy. 

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The markets should be calmer next week as we get closing to the end of earnings reports. 

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 October 25th. 2001

FTSE 250: 5420.3 = +15.5

FTSE A/S: 2436.6 = -32.4

TechMARK 100: 1377.9 = -13.6

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 and the TechMARK 100 closed lower today due to poor US economic data. Gainers included: Acambis Plc, Aegis Plc, AIT Group Plc, Alphameric Plc, Arcadia Group Plc, Autonomy Corp, Azlan Group Plc, BATM Advanced Communications, BHP Billiton, Brambles Industries, British Airways Plc, British Biotech Plc, BTG Plc, Cambridge Antibody, Cedar Group Plc, Centrica Plc, CIA Group Plc, Colt Telecom Group, Cordiant Communications Plc, Diageo Plc, Diagonal Plc, Dixons Group Plc, Eircom Plc, Electrocomponent Plc, Enodis Plc, Enterprise Oil Plc, Filtronic Plc, Galen Holdings, Gallaher Group Plc, Genetix Group Plc, Guardian IT, GUS Plc, GWR Group Plc, ICI Plc, Indigovision Group Plc, Innogy Holdings Plc, Innovation Group Plc, Intec Telecom Plc, Invensys Plc, IQE Plc, Isoft Group Plc, J Sainsbury Plc, Kidde Plc, Man Group Plc, Marks & Spencer Plc, Misys Plc, Morse Plc, Motion Media Plc, Old Mutual, Orchestream Holdings, Pace Micro Tech, Rentokil Initial, Reuters Group Plc, RM Plc, Royalblue Group Plc, Sage Group Plc, Schroders NV, Smith & Nephew, Smiths Group Plc, Standard Chartered Bank, Surfcontrol, Spectris Plc, Tempus Group Plc, Telework Systems, United Utilities, Whatman Plc, Weston Medical Plc, WPP Group Plc, and Xansa Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• The European Central Bank (ECB) held its Repo (interest) Rate unchanged at 3.75%.
• Misys gained 5.84% after Deutsche bank added it to its UK Focus List. Lattice Group, which was dropped from the list, lost 1.57%.
• Autonomy Corp. gained 6.19% after reporting fiscal Q3 earnings that met city estimates. Autonomy stated that its sales is beginning to pick up.
• Carlton Communications and Granada lost despite news that their troubled pay per view TV venture, ITV Digital, had 82,000 new customers in Q3, well above estimates.
• Retailing group Arcadia gained 22.51% after reporting a 2001 profit of £53.3 million, as opposed to the loss seen in 2000. Arcadia also confirmed that Iceland's Bauger unit has approached it for a possible takeover. Word is that they are offering between 280p - 300p/share. Arcadia closed at 268p/share.
• WPP gained 5.64% after reporting fiscal Q3 results, and then warning that it might not achieve its 15% operating margin target. The takeover panel also rejected WPP's intention to allow its hefty £435 million offer for Tempus Group to lapse. Tempus Group gained 4.05% on the news.
• Radio group GWR gained 11.86% after reports that its classic FM Q3 listening audience grew 1.75% from Q2 to 6.44 million adults.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The US after hours market looks too mixed to make a call. We do however, expect UK corporate earnings, and US economic data releases to be the determining factor for the markets 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 Wednesday October 24th. 2001

FTSE 250: 5404.8 = +11.1

FTSE A/S: 2469.1 = -10.1

TechMARK 100: 1391.5 = +13.7

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 closed lower on earnings concerns, while the TechMARK 100 closed higher. Gainers included: Alliance & Leicester Plc, Allied Domecq Plc, Alphameric Plc, Amvescap Plc, Anglo American, ARM Holdings, Astrazeneca Plc, Autonomy Corp, Azlan Group Plc, BAA Plc, Barclays, BHP Billiton, Brake Brothers Plc, Brambles Industries, British Airways Plc, Cambridge Antibody, Capita Group Plc, Colt Telecom Group, Compass Group Plc, Diagonal Plc, Dixons Group Plc, eBookers, EMI Group Plc, Energis Plc, First Technology, GW Pharmaceuticals Plc, Hilton Group Plc, HSBC Holdings, ICAP Plc, Indigovision Group Plc, Innovation Group Plc, Invensys, IQE Plc, J Sainsbury Plc, Land Securities Plc, Lattice Group Plc, Lloyds TSB Group, Logica Plc, Meggitt Plc, Misys Plc, Morrison Supermarket, National Grid, Ncipher Plc, Old Mutual, P&O Princess Plc, Parthus Tech, Phytopharm Plc, Powderject Pharmaceuticals, Project Telecom, Prudential Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, RM Plc, Rolls Royce Plc, Royalblue Group Plc, Safeway Plc, Sage Group Plc, Schroders NV, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, Spirent Plc, Tate & Lyle Plc, Thus Plc, TTP Communications, United Business Media, and Xansa Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• BHP Billiton gained 1.50% despite news that South African miners at its Bayside and Hillside Aluminium smelters intend to ignore a court order an strike on Thursday anyway.
• Oil shares closed lower after December Brent Crude declined 28 cents to close at $20.66 a barrel.
• J Sainsbury gained 3.56% after reporting a strong fiscal Q2 sales.
• eBookers gained 9% after reporting fiscal Q2 losses that were below city estimates, and that its online bookings are still strong despite the September 11th. US terrorist attacks.
• P&O Princess Cruise gained 8.71% after reporting that its cruise bookings are recovering despite the September attacks and raids on Afghanistan.
• GW Pharmaceuticals gained 13.47% after the Home Office indicated on Tuesday that it might support law changes that could make cannabis-based prescription medicines available.
• Lattice Group gained 2.58% after announcing that it will accept a 5-year price cut from utilities regulator Ofgem.
• Astrazeneca lost 1.23% despite reporting fiscal Q3 results that met city estimates, and even promised high single digit sales growth for the year. Analysts are concerned about generic competition for its blockbuster drug Prilosec™, and the pending approval for Iressa™.
• Reuters lost 4.71% despite reporting that it has signed up with Cantor Fitzgerald to carry its bond prices data on its terminals. Cantor Fitzgerald, which lost about 73% of its staff after the September 11th. World Trade Center attacks, is the dominant player in the $3 Trillion US treasuries market.
• Autonomy gained 3.48% on the eve of its earnings report.

PICKS FOR NEXT MARKET DAY

• The US after hours market looks too mixed to make a call. We do however, expect UK corporate earnings, and US economic data releases to be the determining factor for the markets tomorrow. 

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Market Summary and Analysis for Tuesday October 23rd. 2001

FTSE 250: 5393.7 = +51.3

FTSE A/S: 2479.1 = +53.9

TechMARK 100: 1377.8 = +47.7

SUMMARY & ANALYSIS

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 and the TechMARK 100 closed higher today, despite earnings fears. Gainers included: Abbey National, Acambis Plc, Alliance & Leicester Plc, Allied Domecq Plc, Alphameric Plc, Amvescap Plc, Anglo American, ARM Holdings, Astrazeneca Plc, Autonomy Corp, Azlan Group Plc, BAA Plc, BAE Systems Plc, Baltimore Technology, Barclays, BHP Billiton, BOC Group Plc, Bookham Technology, BP Amoco Plc, Brambles Industries, Bristol & West Investments Plc, British Airways Plc, British Biotech Plc, British Land Co. Plc, British Telecom Plc, BskyB Plc, Cable & Wireless, Cambridge Antibody, Capita Group Plc, Celltech Group Plc, CGNU Plc, Colt Telecom Group, Compass Group Plc, Computacenter Plc, Daily Mail & General Trust, Diagonal Plc, Electrocomponent, Emblaze Systems, EMI Group Plc, Enterprise Oil Plc, First Technology, Friends Provident Plc, Galen Holdings Plc, GKN Plc, Granada Plc, Guardian IT, Hays Plc, HBOS Plc, Hilton Group Plc, HSBC Holdings, ICI Plc, Imagination Tech, Indigovision Group Plc, Innovation Group Plc, Intec Telecom Plc, IQE Plc, J Sainsbury Plc, Kidde Plc, Land Securities Plc, Lattice Group Plc, Legal & General, Lloyds TSB Group, Logica Plc, London Bridge Software, Man Group Plc, Medisys Plc, Meggitt Plc, Microgen Plc, Misys Plc, Morrison Supermarket, Morse Plc, Motion Media Plc, National Grid, Ncipher Plc, Northern Rock Plc, Old Mutual, Orange SA, P&O Princess Plc, Pace Micro Tech, Parthus Tech, Pearson Plc, Project Telecom, Prudential Plc, Psion Plc, Reed International, Rentokil Initial, Reuters Group Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, RM Plc, Rolls Royce Plc, Royalblue Group Plc, Sage Group Plc, Schroders Plc, Schroders NV, Shell Transport & Trading, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, Six Continents Plc, Spirent Plc, Standard Chartered Bank, Telewest Communications, Telework Systems Plc, Thus Plc, Tesco Plc, Trafficmaster Plc, TTP Communications, United Business Media, Vodafone Group Plc, Westbury Plc, Wolseley Plc, WPP Group Plc, and Xansa Plc.

REASONS FOR ACTIVITIES

• Home builder Westbury gained 2.37% after reporting first half pretax profits that rose to £31.9