BusinessJeeves United Kingdom (UK): London Stock Exchange (LSE) Analysis and Commentaries Archives

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 gained, while the TechMARK 100 closed lower. Gainers included: 3i Group Plc, Acambis Plc, Alliance & Leicester Plc, Allied Domecq Plc, Amersham Plc, Amvescap Plc, Anglo American Plc, Astrazeneca Plc, Autonomy Corp, Azlan Group Plc, Barratt Developments, BG Group Plc, BHP Billiton Plc, Bookham Technology, BP Amoco Plc, British Airways Plc, British Land Co Plc, BskyB Plc, Cadbury Schweppes Plc, Cambridge Antibody, Carlton Communications, Centrica Plc, Colt Telecom Group Plc, Compass Group Plc, Diageo Plc, Dimension Data Plc, Eidos Plc, Eurotunnel Plc, FirstGroup Plc, Gallaher Group Plc, Generics Group Plc, Granada Plc, GWR Group Plc, Hilton Group Plc, International Power, Invensys Plc, J Sainsbury Plc, Kingfisher Plc, KS Biomedix, LastMinute.Com, Lloyds TSB Group Plc, Man Group Plc, Meggitt Plc, Merant Plc, ML Labs, MmO2 Plc, Morrison Supermarket, National Grid, Ottakar's Bookshops Plc, P&O Princess Cruise Plc, Prudential Plc, Psion Plc, Renishaw Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, Safeway Plc, Schroders Plc, Schroders NV, Scottish Power, Severn Trent Plc, Skyepharma Plc, Smith & Nephew Plc, Standard Chartered Bank, Surfcontrol Plc, Synstar Plc, Telewest Communications, United Utilities Plc, Vernalis Group Plc, and WPP Group Plc.

UK's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for Q4 2001 was unchanged, but rose 1.6% from year ago. For the whole of 2001, the GDP grew 2.2%, slightly lower than the 2000 growth.
Smith & Nephew gained 0.25% after selling its rehabilitation business to AbilityOne for £87 million.
Carlton Communications and Granada gained 2.16% and 2.89% respectively after calling in administrators for their pay TV joint venture, ITV Digital, after the company failed to renegotiate its £315 million football broadcasting rights contract with the Football League.
Woolworths lost 5.56% after reporting full year pretax loss of £46.4 million, which was better than city estimates. Woolworths also reported it is having a "reasonable" start in 2002.
BT Group lost 0.35% after stating that it is closing 53 of its 150 call centres.
Mining shares gained as gold prices rose.
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Skyepharma gained 24.64% after confirming that GlaxoSmithKline will launch its antidepressant drug, Paxil CR™, in April. GlaxoSmithKline closed lower.
Barratt Developments gained 4.46% after reporting full year pretax profits that rose 23% to £77.6 million on a turnover of £753 million, a 20% increase. Barratt expects a still strong 2002 housing market.
MmO2 bucked the trend of telecommunications shares today and gained 4.51% after applying for a 3G license in Ireland.
Booksellers Ottakar's Bookshops gained 3.92% after reporting full year profits that rose about 70% to £4 million, as revenue rose 14% to £98 million. Ottakar also announced intentions to acquire 8 stores from administrators of bankrupt James Thin.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 and the TechMARK 100 closed lower again today. Gainers included: Abbey National Plc, AEA Technology, Amersham Plc, Anglo American Plc, Anite Group Plc, Associated British Foods, Axon Group Plc, BAA Plc, Beale Plc, BG Group Plc, Biocompatibles Plc, BOC Group Plc, BP Amoco Plc, British Land Co Plc, BskyB Plc, BT Group Plc, Cadbury Schweppes Plc, Centrica Plc, Colt Telecom Group Plc, Daily Mail & General Trust Plc, Diageo Plc, Dixons Group Plc, Easynet Group Plc, EMI Group Plc, Enterprise Oil, Eurotunnel Plc, Filtronic Plc, Generics Group Plc, GUS Plc, Hilton Group Plc, ICI Plc, Indigovision Group Plc, International Power, IQE Plc, Isoft Group Plc, J Sainsbury Plc, Kidde Plc, Kingfisher Plc, Kingston Communications, KS Biomedix, Lattice Group Plc, London Clubs International Plc, Man Group Plc, Manchester United FC Plc, Marconi Plc, Marks & Spencer Plc, ML Labs, Morrison Supermarket, National Grid Plc, Next Plc, Northgate Information Services, P&O Princess Cruise Plc, Pace Micro Tech, Project Telecom Plc, Rank Group Plc, Reckitt Benckiser Plc, Reed International Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, RM Plc, Rolls Royce Plc, Royalblue Group Plc, SA Breweries Plc, Schroders NV, Scottish Power, Severn Trent Plc, Six Continents Plc, Smiths Group Plc, Spirent Plc, Stanley Leisure Plc, Synstar Plc, Tate & Lyle Plc, Vernalis Group Plc, and Whatman Plc.

The Euro Zone Current Account deficit declined 1.5 Billion Euros in January, well better than the 11.1 Billion Euros decline seen last year.
Shell Transport & Trading closed unchanged after its parent, Royal Dutch/Shell announced the acquisition of US based Pennzoil-Quaker State, a leading lubricants company.
House of Fraser lost 0.51% after reporting full year pretax profits that declined 44% to £25.6 million, as like-for-like sales in the first 8 weeks of this year rose 6.2%.
National Grid gained 1.39% after raising its full year estimates.
Eurotunnel gained 2.88% after announcing plans that will help reduce its £6.4 billion debt by £400 million.
Scottish Power gained 4.29% after announcing that it will meet city's full year estimates.
Banking and telecommunications shares were some of the hardest hit.
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Rolls Royce gained after the government lifted its restrictions on foreign control of the company. Foreign concerns were allowed to own only 49.5% of Rolls Royce.
Manchester United FC gained 0.81% after reporting first half pretax profit of £24 million on a turnover of £82 million.
Sugar company Tate & Lyle gained 8.13% after stating that it expects its full year numbers to beat city estimates.
Gaming shares gained after a UK government white paper outlined plans to overhaul the gaming laws and bring the industry into the mainstream.
Emap lost 2.55% despite stating that it sees its results at the top end of city estimates.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 and the TechMARK 100 closed lower today. Gainers included: Abbey National Plc, Alliance & Leicester Plc, Arc International, Associated British Foods, Axon Group Plc, Azlan Group Plc, British American Tobacco Plc, British Biotech Plc, BT Group Plc, Canary Wharf Plc, Cobham Plc, Colt Telecom Group Plc, Compass Group Plc, Computacenter Plc, Corus Group Plc, Daily Mail & General Trust, Diagonal Plc, Druck Holdings Plc, Easynet Group Plc, Emblaze Systems Plc, Energis Plc, First Technology Plc, Forth Ports Plc, Friends Provident Plc, Generics Group Plc, GKN Plc, GWR Group Plc, Hanson Plc, HBOS Plc, ICI Plc, Imperial Tobacco, Intec Telecom Plc, ITNet Plc, Kidde Plc, Lattice Group Plc, Man Group Plc, Meggitt Plc, MFI Furniture Group Plc, Michael Page Plc, ML Labs, Next Plc, Old Mutual Plc, Oxford Glycosciences Plc, Powergen Plc, Regus Plc, Rotork Plc, Spirent Plc, Schroders Plc, Six Continents Plc, Turbo Genset Plc, Vernalis Group Plc, Whatman Plc, and Woolseley Plc.

Banking and telecommunications shares closed lower.
Unilever lost 0.77% after warning about its fiscal Q1 sales.
Oil shares and prices closed lower after the US confirmed it has no immediate plans to attack Iraq.
GKN gained 3.25% after paying £27.7 million for a 33% stake in Japan's Tochigi Fuji Sangyo, a major Torque devices maker.
Barclays lost 1.37% after the Wall Street Journal reported that the banking giant will likely sell its assets management unit, Barclays Global Investors.
Defensive shares like tobacco gained.
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Hedge fund company Man Group gained 3.05% after stating that it sees full year profits toping £200 million.
Marconi lost 34.55% (over 70% in the last 2 days) after refuting a Sunday Business story that it will default. Morgan Stanley downgraded the shares to underweight.
Carlton Communications and Granada closed lower as it becomes likely they will face the Football League in court concerning the contract problems of their joint venture, ITV Digital.
AFTER CLOSE: Royal Dutch/Shell, the parent of Shell Transport & Trading, announced it is paying $1.8 billion to acquire leading lubricants maker, US based Pennzoil-Quaker States.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 and the TechMARK 100 closed lower again. Gainers included: AEA Technology, Affinity Internet Plc, Alliance & Leicester Plc, Allied Domecq Plc, Alphameric Plc, Anite Group Plc, Arc International Plc, Associated British Foods, Astrazeneca Plc, Axon Group Plc, Azlan Group Plc, BAA Plc, BATM Advanced Communications, Bicompatibles Plc, Boots Co Plc, British Airways Plc, British American Tobacco Plc, British Biotech Plc, BskyB Plc, BT Group Plc, BTG Plc, Cable & Wireless, Cadbury Schweppes Plc, Cambridge Antibody Plc, Canary Wharf Plc, Carlton Communications, Carphone Warehouse, Centrica Plc, Cobham Plc, Dixons Group Plc, Druck Holdings Plc, EMI Group Plc, Enterprise Oil Plc, Friends Provident Plc, GUS Plc, Hanson Plc, HBOS Plc, House of Fraser Plc, HSBC Holdings, Imperial Tobacco, Innogy Holdings, Innovation Group Plc, Invensys Plc, Lattice Group Plc, Logica Plc, Marks & Spencer Plc, Meggitt Plc, ML Labs, MmO2 Plc, Northern Rock Plc, Old Mutual Plc, Oxford Glycosciences Plc, Pearson Plc, Phytopharm Plc, Reed International, Rentokil Initial, Reuters Group Plc, Roxboro Group Plc, SA Breweries Plc, Sage Group Plc, Safeway Plc, Schroders NV, Shell Transport & Trading, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, Smiths Group Plc, Ted Baker Plc, Tesco Plc, Weir Group Plc, Woolseley Plc, and WPP Group Plc.

MmO2 gained 5.11% after announcing that it expects its earnings to beat city estimates, and report lower debt. Telecommunications were generally weak except, MmO2 and its former parent, BT Group.
Innogy Holdings gained 0.93% after accepting a £3.1 billion offer from Germany's RWE.
Invensys gained 1.52% after announcing that it sold its flow control business to US based Flowserve for £369 million.
Oil shares closed mixed as Brent crude prices closed slightly lower after a thunderous week.
Mining shares closed lower despite gold prices gaining on the US based NYMEX to 297.60/ounce.
Visit our Up to the minute market charts covering commodities, derivatives, foreign exchange, futures, interest rates, and global stock markets for the closing numbers worldwide.
Interest rate sensitive shares like banking and and homebuilders closed lower on increasing fears that the Bank of England might start raising interest rates sooner than expected.
Marconi lost 46.94% after finally reaching an agreement with its bankers that will keep it from defaulting on loans - at least for now. Analysts believe the company is better off broken up and sold.
Defensive shares like tobacco gained.
Carlton Communications gained, but Granada closed lower after their ITV Digital failed to reach a contract renegotiation agreement with the 72 team Football League.
House of Fraser gained on the eve of its earnings report.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 and the TechMARK 100 closed lower again as strong UK and US economic data raises fears of an interest rate hike. Gainers included: Aga Foodservice Plc, Allied Domecq Plc, Alphameric Plc, Amersham Plc, Anite Group Plc, Arcadia Plc, ARM Holdings Plc, Axon Group Plc, Azlan Group Plc, BAE Systems Plc, BATM Advanced Communications, Beeson Gregory Plc, Boots Co Plc, Brambles Industries, British American Tobacco Plc, BskyB Plc, BT Group Plc, Canary Wharf Plc, Cobham Plc, Daily Mail & General Trust, Debenhams Plc, Dixons Group Plc, Druck Holdings Plc, Easynet Group Plc, Eidos Plc, Emblaze Systems, EMI Group Plc, Enterprise Inns Plc, First Technology Plc, Generics Group Plc, Granada Plc, GUS Plc, Hays Plc, Imagination Technology, Imperial Tobacco, Innogy Holdings, Innovation Group Plc, Isoft Group Plc, J Sainsbury Plc, Kidde Plc, Kingfisher Plc, KS Biomedix Plc, Lattice Group Plc, Logica Plc, Marks & Spencer Plc, Medisys Plc, Merant Plc, Morrison Supermarket Plc, MmO2 Plc, National Grid Plc, Next Plc, Old Mutual Plc, Orange SA, Parity Group Plc, Pearson Plc, Powergen Plc, Project Telecom Plc, Prudential Plc, Reckitt Benckiser Plc, Roxboro Group Plc, Sage Group Plc, Selfridges Plc, Shanks Group Plc, Six Continents Plc, Skyepharma Plc, Taylor & Francis Plc, Thus Plc, Turbo Genset Plc, United Utilities Plc, Vodafone Group Plc, Weston Medical Plc, WPP Group Plc, and Xenova Group Plc.

British Retail Sales rose 1.5% from January to February, its highest monthly gain in over 2 years. Over the year, Retail Sales rose 5.9%.
Morrison Supermarket gained 3.28% after reporting full year pretax profits that rose 10.9% to £243 million, which beat city estimates, as like-for-like sales rose 7.2%.
Next gained 6.99% after reporting full year pretax profit that rose 22% to £266 million, as turnover rose 18%.
Shanks Group gained 9.12% after being named the preferred bidder for the 25 year East London Waste Authority contract.
Selfridges gained 5.04% after reporting full year pretax profit that rose 16.2% to £44.5 million, and turnover rose 4.1% to £402.2 million.
Orange gained 3.21% after reporting full year EBITDA of 3.29 Billion Euros, which was above estimates. Orange announced it will sell its stake in Wind; will take a 3.4 Billion Euros charge for its stake in Mobilcom.
Xansa lost 14.10% after warning about its full year results, and reporting that its restructuring is proving harder than planned.
Oxford Glycosciences lost 9.88% after reporting 2001 losses that rose to £25.3 million, an almost £10 million rise in losses, while revenue rose only £4.5 million to £13.4 million.
Visit our Up to the minute market charts covering commodities, derivatives, foreign exchange, futures, interest rates, and global stock markets for the closing numbers worldwide.
Enterprise Inns gained 9.86% after Deutsche Bank upgraded it to a "strong buy".
Cobham gained 3.14% after reporting full year pretax profit that rose 15% to £103.5 million on turnover of £722 million.
Banking and oil shares closed lower today, while defensive shares like tobacco gained.
Taylor & Francis gained 7.83% after the publisher announced that its sales are up 18%.
Aga Foodservice and Beeson Gregory gained on the eve of their earnings reports.
AFTER CLOSE: The Football League rejected the reduced cash offer for games broadcast rights from ITV Digital. ITV Digital, a joint venture of Carlton Communications and Granada, is offering the 72 team league £50 million cash for the remaining 2 year contract, as opposed to their previously agreed upon offer of £178 million.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 and the TechMARK 100 closed lower as strong UK and US economic data raises fears of an interest rate hike. Gainers included: Alliance & Leicester Plc, Allied Domecq Plc, Anite Group Plc, Arriva Plc, Associated British Foods Plc, Autonomy Corp, Axon Group Plc, Biocompatibles Plc, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, BP Amoco Plc, Brambles Industries, British American Tobacco, Canary Wharf Plc, Cobham Plc, Computacenter Plc, Corus Group Plc, Daily Mail & General Trust, Diagonal Plc, Dimension Data Plc, Dixons Group Plc, Easynet Group Plc, Eidos Plc, Electrocomponents Plc, Emblaze Systems, EMI Group Plc, Energis Plc, FirstGroup Plc, Gallaher Group Plc, Generics Group Plc, Hilton Group Plc, Imperial Tobacco, Innogy Holdings, Innovation Group Plc, Kidde Plc, Kingfisher Plc, KS Biomedix Plc, Man Group Plc, Marconi Plc, Morrison Supermarket Plc, Morse Plc, MmO2 Plc, National Express Plc, Old Mutual Plc, P&O

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

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