Date: Tuesday 09 Jun 2015
LONDON (ShareCast) - 1630:Close UK stocks ended the day lower albeit off their worst levels of the day as investors continued to wait on the outcome of the negotiations between Greece and its creditors. Miners were a weak spot in the market after analysts at SocGen lowered their forecast for the price of iron ore, downgrading the shares of multiple stocks in that space on the back of it. German bund yields edged higher once again, but closed below the psychological 1% mark. FTSE 100 down by 36.24 points to 6,753.80.
1530: G4S, the world's biggest security company, has had its business activity in Israel cleared of "adverse human right impacts" by the UK National Contact Point for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The verdict follows allegations of a human rights breach from Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights, about a number of areas in which G4S operates.
1524: Ten year German Bund yields are rising by five basis points to 0.95%, with the Dax now off by 1.12% to 10,940.78 points, albeit off its worst levels of the session.
1445: Front month Brent crude futures are rising by 2.8% to reach $64.52 per barrel on the ICE.
1409: Greece aims to narrow its differences in talks with creditors so that prime minister Tsipras is able to finalise a deal at a meeting due to be held tomorrow, in Brussels, according to one report which cites a source close to the negotiations.
1316: SocGen has cut its price target on shares of Rio Tinto to 3,100p from 4,000p previously. The recommendation on Anglo American was also lowered, to a 'hold' with a new price target of 1,090, down from 1,540p. Shares in BHP Billiton on the other hand were upgraded to a 'buy', versus a previous recommendation to 'hold'. The target was nudged lower to 1,600p from 1,700p. That came after the broker lowered its estimate for the price of iron ore for the years between 2015 and 2018 "conservatively" to $55 per metric tonne and to $70 per metric tonne thereafter. One trader cautioned the SocGen downgrades were in fact from Monday although the research reports were dated 9 June.
1250: Three-month copper futures were higher by 0.7% to $5,991 per metric tonne out on the LME.
1206: "It is worth remembering that previous arrangements to buy Greece time have proved counter-productive," Jonathan Loynes, chief European economist at Capital Economics said in a research note e-mailed to clients. Indeed, the economy was already in recession and the budget position likely to worsen again. "Only a major default can bring Greece's debt to GDP ratio back down from 175% to sustainable levels," Loynes added.
1014: Deutsche Bank's offices in Frankfurt are being searched by authorities in relation to trades with clients, although no staff have been accused of any wrong-doing, Bloomberg TV reports.
1000: The Eurozone's gross domestic product expanded at a 0.4% quarter-on-quarter clip in the first quarter of the year. That was as expected by economists.
0941: China's copper imports fell 16.3% in May from the previous month, hitting a three-month low. Additionally, data out overnight indicated that Chinese exports of unwrought aluminium and products jumped 21% on an annualised basis to 410,000 tonnes.
0930: The UK's visible trade balance fell to -£8.6bn I April from -£10.7bn in the prior month (consensus: -£9.95bn).
0929: Media group Reed Elsevier offers excellent value for growth given how its shares have seen no re-rating on a relative P/E-basis since the start of 2012, after underperforming by 7-8% year-to-date, said Barclays in a research note e-mailed to clients. The broker upgraded its recommendation on the stock to overweight from equal-weight, setting a 1225p target price.
0838: Stocks have stabilised shortly after the start of trading with some traders highlighting how the Stoxx 600 has logged five consecutive lower closes while Wall Street ended down on Monday for a third day running. Yet what has been grabbing the attention of traders the most is the greater than 7% fall in German equities over the last two weeks. In all things Greece, the WSJ reported the country and its creditors are negotiating an extension of the current bailout to march 2016. China's CPI eased to a 1.2% year-on-year pace in May, down from 1.5% in April (consensus: 1.3%). Fresnillo is doing best early on. Stock in Reed Elsevier is higher on the back of an upgrade out of Barclays to overweight. FTSE 100 up 4.61 points to 6,794.65.
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