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FTSE 100 preview: Shares hit by US falls

By Reuters
Updated: 02:55 EDT, 13 June 2011

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The FTSE 100 is seen opening down on Monday, tracking weaker showings in Asia following sharp falls on Wall Street on Friday after further downbeat data added to concerns about the global economy.

Blue Monday: Shares may fall today.

The UK blue chip index closed down 90.54 points, or 1.6% on Friday at 5,765.80, ending below the 5,800 level for the first time since late March and beneath its 200-day moving average, a key technical level, for the second time in a week.

Commodity stocks were the main drag as Britain's blue chip index succumbed to risk aversion, falling back as more downbeat economic data intensified worries about the health of the global economy.

Import prices in the United States rose for the eighth straight month, hinting at ongoing price pressures from overseas.

US blue chips closed below 12,000 for the first time since mid-March on Friday, while the broader S&P 500 index and tech-laden Nasdaq both suffered their worst week since August 2010 as the latest deterioration in sentiment came on the back of flagging Chinese growth and fresh worries about Greece's debt crisis.

Asian stocks outside Japan fell 0.6% to a two-and-a-half month low as weak global economic data and worries about Greece weighed on investor confidence.

No important domestic economic data will be released on Monday but some important pointers will be released later in the week, including the latest British inflation, unemployment, and retail sales numbers.

Similarly, across the Atlantic, there is no important US data scheduled for Monday but a flood of pointers later in the week include May producer prices and retail sales on Tuesday, and consumer prices on Wednesday.

Commodities trader Glencore is considering making a £12bn takeover bid for ENRC, the Kazakh miner hit by a bitter boardroom battle, the Sunday Times reported.

Lloyds Banking Group could cut up to 15,000 jobs as part of a new £1bn cost-saving plan, according to a report in the Sunday Times newspaper,

British finance minister George Osborne will use a major speech on Wednesday to announce plans to auction off state-owned bank Northern Rock, the Sunday Times newspaper reported.

Unilever's chief executive Paul Polman has promised annual organic growth targets of 7% to 8% in a prediction the consumers goods giant would not need acquisitions to meet its revenue targets, The Financial Times said on Monday.

Southern Cross landlords will meet on Monday to consider proposals that would lead to a break-up of the care homes company and the possible ousting of the management led by Christopher Fisher, The Guardian said on Monday.

Invensys plans to offload its £4.2bn UK pension scheme, which could pave the way to a takeover, The Sunday Times said, with the British engineering group a perennial bid target.

Rank is believed to be considering a bid for private equity-owned Gala Coral's casino business, valued at up to £300m, the Mail on Sunday said.

Horizon Acquisition, a vehicle of Pizza Express and Punch Taverns co-founder Hugh Osmond, is close to buying US temporary power generation services firm APR Energy for around $850m, according to UK press reports. APR is number two to Britain's Aggreko in the global temporary supply market.

There will be results today from Majestic Wine and Latchways, with AGMs at Silence Therapeutics, Mission Marketing and Dods Group.

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