Date: Wednesday 04 Feb 2015
LONDON (ShareCast) - 1630: Close A late rally helped the FTSE 100 to erase most of its losses on Wednesday as optimism surrounding Greece and stimulus measures in China lifted sentiment, but stocks still finished down 0.2% at 6,860.02 after hitting a five-month high the previous day. US markets are mostly higher though upside is limited after a mixed reaction to the ISM data. While the headline index improved, details showed that the service sector added jobs at a slower pace in January.
1512: The ISM services index rose slightly to 56.7 in January from 56.5, but beat consensus forecasts. Economists said the modest increase illustrated the boost to households' from lower oil prices, even as the stronger dollar is squeezing export-orientated manufacturers. "Since manufacturing accounts for little more than 10% of the US economy these days, this is consistent with our view that recent market moves (lower oil prices, lower long-term interest rates and a stronger dollar) will be a net positive for real GDP growth."
1330: US employers added 213,000 jobs in January, missing forecasts of 220,000, ADP data revealed. December's gain was revised up to 253,000 from 241,000. Employment gains moderated somewhat in January across goods-producing industries as well as the service sector, while goods-producing hiring was split about evenly between construction and manufacturing. Within the service sector, trade, transportation and utilities hiring picked up from December and professional and business services slowed.
1200: Mortgage applications in the US rose 1.3% in the week to 30 January after a 3.2% drop the previous week.
1130: China has cut the level of reserves its banks must set aside by 0.5% so they can lend more. The cut, which leaves the ratio at 19.5% and will come into effect from Thursday, is designed to boost lending to help lift economic growth. Khiem Do, a fund manager at Baring Asset Management, said the move would be "very positive" for stocks.
1014: Greece has unsurprisingly struggled to attract buyers for its debt this morning. A Greek government debt auction saw the country sell bills at the lowest bid-to-cover ratio since 2006. The treasury sold €812.5m of new 26-week bonds at 2.75%, up from 2.3% previously. This was a day after the new government softened its demands for a debt haircut, which sent borrowing costs on existing ten-year Greek government debt fall by 1.5 percentage points and the Athens stock market enjoy its biggest one-day leap since August 2011. On Wednesday morning Athens was retreating 16 points, or 1.9%, at 824.65. The euro was down 0.26% against the dollar at 1.1450, while in London the FTSE was down 42 points at 6,829.25.
1010: Eurozone retail sales have risen more than forecast, increasing 2.8% year-on-year in December to beat expectations for a 2% gain and following a 1.5% rise in November.
1000: In a round-up of other company news, Shell has cut off talks with striking US refinery unions, in the FTSE 250 Victrex delivers record first quarter volumes while Synergy Health reported good momentum in its third quarter.
0945: UK services activity grew more than expected in January, according to purchasing managers' index data released on Wednesday. Markit's services PMI rose to 57.2 last month from 55.8 in December, compared to analysts' estimates of 56.3. A reading above 50 signals expansion. After the upward surprises in both the manufacturing and construction PMIs earlier in the week, this represents a clean sweep of outperformance relative to expectations and together showing the strongest rate of job creation seen since data was first collected in 1998, of approximately 70,000 per month. The upturn in the PMI "gives reassurance that the UK economy is not slowing sharply but has merely seen its growth rate cool during the winter months from an unusually strong rate earlier last year to a more sustainable pace", said Markit's chief economist Chris Williamson. Thre FTSE was down around 20 points at 6846.89.
0934: Outside of financial news, the geopolitical tension has been ramped up higher in the Middle East, as Jordan has executed two jihadist prisoners in revenge for the brutal immolation of its captured pilot by ISIS forces. Further east, startling footage emerged of the crash of a TransAsia flight into a river in Taiwan, leaving 12 reported dead.
0915: Shares on the London Stock Exchange were oscillating sideways after yesterday's five-month high as traders and investors cast a sceptical eye over Greece's debt-swap proposals and mixed data on service sectors in various countries. The FTSE 100 is almost flat at 6,864.76, with sparkling results from Sky balanced by a missed forecasts from Hargreaves Lansdown. It is set to be a busy day for economic data, with services purchasing managers' indices (PMIs) out in China, the Eurozone, UK and US, along with euro-area retail sales figures and the ADP employment report in the US. Data already released showed slowing service-sector growth in China with the HSBC services PMI falling from 53.4 to 51.8.
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