Market Wrap, Thursday 31st July 2008

The FTSE closed down 8.8 points today at 5,411.9, whilst the FTSE 250 closed down 29.6 points at 8,856.7. It was an up-n-down day.

Over the pond, by the time London closed the DJI was down 85 points at 11,499, whilst the S&P500 was down 5 points at 1,279, and the Nasdaq down 11 points at 2,341. The July non-farm payrolls report is due tomorrow, whis is expected to be poor.

Back here in London, it was BT Group that had the worst day, closing down 23.7p at 173.9. This came after posting some poor 1st quarter figures. well, poor for a tech company of this size, anyway. Earnings were up 1% to £1.43 bln, but 12 month forecats were left the same.

The miners did well today, with Antofagasta closing up 25p at 578.5p after saying it produced 233,600 tonnes of copper in its first 6 motnhs this year, up over 10% on last year. Peer ENRC closed up 67.5p at 1,055, and Kazakhmys up 79p to 1,499 as a reaction. Staying with mining, Randgold Resources closed up 204p at 2,559p after better 2nd quarter profits, prompting two brokers to remind of their 'buy' stances on the African Gold miner.

On to the High Street, where Next closed down 41p at 954.5p after an SG Securities downgrade to 'sell' from 'hold' after yesterday's trading statement that stated the obvious, i.e.- that it was difficult in the High Street. I say they're lucky my missus still spends fortunes in there and with their Next catalogue.

On to the banks, where Lloyds TSB closed down nearly 11p at 292.25p after a Deutsche Bank downgrade to 'hold' from 'buy', whilst lowering its target to 350p, down from 525p. Peer HBOS, on the other hand, closed up over 19p at 290.5p after the bank's write-downs didn't look so bad, with 1st half to 30Jun pre-tax profit of £1.45 bln sounding ok, and the £1.1 bln of write-downs even better. Worse write-backs were expected.

On to phramas, where AstraZeneca closed up 78p at 2,468p after decent 2nd qaurter results and raising its earnings estimates for the year. Peer Shire Pharma closed up 29.5p at 831.5p after also raising its 12 month forecasts after a decent 2nd quarter.

Food & Goods group Unilever closed down 117p to 1,393p after posting a rise of 6.8% on sales for its 2nd quarter, and that growth was on target for its 3% to 5% forecast for the year. Broker Panmore Gordon wasn't so impressed though, and reiterated its 'hold' stance.

Publisher Reed Elsevier closed up 32.5p at 576.5p after saying its first half operating profit was up 12% and that it was on track to meet its 2008 targets despite market conditions. Broker Cazenove liked this, and repeated its 'outperform' satnce.

BSkyB closed up nearly 8p at just over 454p after its anual results looked as expected, and news that more new customers joined up in the 4th quarter also added to the joy.

Publisher Trinity Mirror closed up 3.25p at just over 86p after its 1st half figures were in-line, prompting a Cazenove upgrade to 'in-line' from 'underperform'.

Market Wrap, Wednesday 30th July 2008

The FTSE 100 closed up 101.5 points at 5,420.7 today, whilst the FTSE 250 closed up almost 155 points at 8,886.3. Insurance giants Admiral and Aviva helped London with some decent earnings news.

Over the pond, by the time London closed the DJI was up about 115 points at 11,512, whilst the S&P500 was up 14 points at 1,277, and the Nasdaq up 11 points at 2,331. News that the US Fed Res would help investment firms who were finding it 'tight' by extending credit helped Wall Street, as did news that employment was up for July too.

Back here in London, Admiral closed up 89p at 914p after figures showing 1st half profit up 16%, which was better than expected. Merrill Lynch, Citigroup & UBS all reiterated thier 'buy' stances on the insurer, whilst peer Aviva closed up almost 41p at 507.5p after also posting decent first half figures, which showed profit up 12%. Aviva added that is was doing a deal to reallocate surplus assets held by two with-profit funds. Broker Cazenove reiterated its 'outperform' stance. Friends Provident closed up 4.8p at 86.3p after saying it had appointed Trevor Matthews from Standard Life Assurance as its new chief executive. The sector liked all this news, with Legal & General joining in the bouyant mood with a 5p rise to close at 98.5p.

Rexam closed up 33p at 380.5p after announcing a 61% rise in 1st half pre-tax profit, saying it had done well with its pricing and cost recovery program. It added that 12-month figures would also be strong. Broker Evolution reiterated its 'buy' stance, adding a 5-quid target for the beverage can maker.

Despite recent rollercoaster movement with the oil price fluctuation, airline British Airways closed up 14.5p at 263p after a Cazenove upgrade to 'in-line' from 'underperform', whilst Deutsche Bank upped its stance to 'hold' from 'sell' after the airline's news yesterday on the merger possibilities with Spanish carrier Iberia.

On to banks, where Lloyds TSB closed down 15p at 306p after announcing a 70% fall in 1st half pre-tax profits, mainly due to a £585m write-down on bad debt and other market reasons. Goldman Sachs responded by reminding everyone of its 'sell' stance, also reminding everyone that there is a low divvy with this one. Peer HBOS closed down 1.5p at just over 271p.

Confectionary group Cadburys gave some decent figures, with pre-tax profit up 46% to £223m, adding that currency rates had helped. This was the first set of figures since it split from the beverage division. With revenue rise up above is hoped for 7% figure, the chocolate & confectionary giant said that it expects full-year revenue growth to be at the top end of its 4% to 6% target range, with its margins also being in line with expectations. The group has more plans, but said it will update investors at the time of its trading statement in October, but did up its interim divvy to 5.3p, up 6%.

On to housebuilders, where Bellway closed down 24p at 491.5p afetr a Goldman Sachs downgrade to 'sell' from 'neutral', whilst peers saw some profit taking after recent recoveries, with Taylor Wimpey closing down 2.25p at 42.5p, and Barratts closing down 5p at a quid.

Arm Holdings closed up 3.5p at 95.5p after announcing 1st half pre-tax profits of £24.19m, which was up about £0.34m from last year. This is quite good from the chip designer under such market conditions.

UK energy group Drax closed down 14p at 719p after a Goldman Sachs downgrade to 'neutral' from 'buy'.

Provident Financial closed up 74.5p at 894.5p after after the British consumer lender announced a 34% rise in 1st half profit, adding news that its customer numbers were also up 7% at its core consumer credit division. A WH Ireland upgrade to 'outperform' from 'market perform' followed.

Market Wrap, Tuesday 29th July 2008

The FTSE 100 closed up 6.6 points today at 5,319.2, whilst the FTSE 250 closed up 14.7 points at 8,731.4. Weaker oil helped both sides of the Atlantic.

Over the pond, by the time London closed the DJI was up 128 points at 11,259, whilst the S&P500 was up 13 points at 1,247, and the Nasdaq up 43 points at 2,307.

Back here in London, despite Ryanair's poor announcement and news, British Airways closd up 14p at 248.5p after saying it was back in talks with Spanish flag carrier Iberia about a merger. This would be a share deal, where BA would end up with 2/3rds of the new joint company. Whilst any deal would take a couple of months to come to a formal agreement, both airlines are supposed to be in favour of the deal in principle. With a KLM and Air France deal a few years ago, it doesn't look like there could be any real opposition to the merger. BA has around 42k staff, whilsy Iberia 22k. Savings would probably include some job reductions in the new joint Co.

On to mining, where Vedanta Resources closed up 37p at 1,889 after its 1st quarter figures came out better than expected, with an EBITDA of UYS$739m for 3 motnhs to 30June, which was about $44m better than last year. Others did well too, with Anto closing up 8.5p at 548.5p, Anglo up 50p at 28-quid, and erican ending 50 pence firmer at 2,800, and Xstrata up 76p at 3,435p.

On to the banks, where there was still some cynic pressure. Barclays closed down 14p at just shy of 323p, RBS down 5.5p at just shy of 201p, and HBOS down almost 15p at just shy of 273p.

On to the oil heavyweights, where the drop in the price of the black stuff showed in the share prices. BP closed down almost 13p at just shy of 507p, despite posting massive profits. The divvy being only 3.5% wasn't taken so well, though. Looks like all the good news was already built in to the share price there, then.

On to the High Street, where supermarket giant Tesco closed down 2.1p at 373.4p after yesterday's news that it had purchased RBS's 50% holding of Tesco Personal Finance for £950m.

Inchcape was the biggest faller, down 37 pence at 258-3/4, after the company said sales growth was slowing and profit for the year would be in line with last year. Brewin Dolphin downgraded the group to 'sell' from 'add' and Panmure Gordon cut its rating on Inchcape to 'hold' from 'buy'.

On to the housebuilders, where Persimmons closed down 1.5p at just shy of 312p after a Panmore Gordon downgrade to 'sell' from 'hold' citing fundamentals. Peers did better, with Taylor Wimpey up 1.5p at just shy of 45p, and Bovis Homes up nearly 7p at just shy of 346p.

Market Wrap, Thursday 24th July 2008

The FTSE 100 closed down 87.6 points at 5,362.3, whilst the FTSE 250 closed down 182.6 points at 9,007.2.

Over the pond, by the time London closed the DJI was about 134 points at 11,498, whilst the S&P500 was down about 15 points at 1,267, and the Nasdaq off 23 points at 2,303. Some weaker than hoped results from a few of the major companies didn't help Wall Street today so far.

Back here in London, what with the oil price down abouit 20-bucks in 2 weeks it was the oil heavyweights that were down. BP was down 9.25p at 512.25p, RD Shell down 36p at 1,790, and BG Group down 72p to close at 1,068p. BG actually said earlier today that it will be selling its Contact Energy as part of a takeover bid, and that its 2nd quarter profits to 30June were up to £807m, which was better than expectations.

With metal prices down the so were the heavyweights. ENRC was down 66p at 949p, Xstrata down 207p at 3,215p, BHP down 76p at 1,540p, Lonmin down 154p at 2,415, and Vedanta down 93p at 1,791.

On to the banks, where Barclays closed down 4p at 348p, HBOS down 3.5p at 301.5p, Lloyds TSB down 8.5p at 338p, and Bradford & Bingley bucked the trend by closing up 3.5p at 59.5p after media news it had raised £2.5 bln in funds.

Despite oil falling back, the airlines didn't seem to do well. British Airways closed down 21.25p at 242p on profit taking, whilst peer easyJet closed down 37.5p at 332.5p after saying full year pre-tax profit would be about £110m to £120m, which is worse than originally expected.

Scottish & Southern Energy closed down 55p at 1,390.5p after saying it reckons that profits for the 1st 6 months will be substantially lower than the 2 halves last year.

B&Q owner Kingfisher closed up 7.6p at 124.3 after saying sales and growth looked back on track, which was surprising. It still remains cautious. As it should do.

On to supermarkets, with Tesco closing down 6.8p at 376.5, Sainsburys down 3.5p at 308p, and Morrisons was down 9p at just shy of 265p.

Rolls-Royce added 2-1/2 pence to 371-1/4 after announcing an 8 percent rise in underlying half-year pretax profit and said it is confident of delivering profitable growth and positive cash flow for the full year.

Yell Group gave better than expected figures, closing up 8p at 79p.

Market Wrap, Wednesday 23rd July 2008

The FTSE 100 closed up 85.8 points at 5,449.9, whilst the FTSE 250 closed up 207.2 points at 9,189.8. The banks led the way.

Over the pond, by the time London closed the DJI was up about 43 points at 11,646, whilst the S&P500 was up nearly 10 points at 1,286, and the Nasdaq up nearly 30 points at 2,333. News from hamburger giant McDonald's that they were back in profit for the 2nd quarter was taken well. This was mostly due to the sale of their gourmet sandwich chain, apparently. There were earnings of US$1.19 bln, up from a loss of US$711.7m for the same period last year. Other giants, including telecom AT&T, Beverage PepsiCo, and aeroplane manuafacturer Boeing all reported earnings that were better than expected.

Back here in London, what with oil falling back and the US news, the market was bouyant. The banks led the way, with HBOS closing up 44p at 305p after rumours that Spanish banking giant BBVA is sniffing with intent to bid. Peers followed up, with Barclays up over 37p at 352p, RBS up over 22p at 221.25p, and Lloyds TSB up 26.5p at 346.5p.

Staaying with financials, insurance did ok too, with Standard Life closing up 15.5p at 232.5p after a Goldman Sachs 'buy' rating, whilst Friends Provident closed up 10.5p at 90.6p after also receiving a Goldman Sachs 'buy' rating.

On to oil, or fuel, where the big users enjoyed the price of the black stuff now at US$127 bbl. That's 20-bucks down on the peak a week or two ago. British Airways closed up 17p at 263.25p, whilst peer easyJet closed up nearly 32p at 370p, and cruise ship operator Carnival closed up 102p at 1,889.

Staying with oil, BP reacted to the lower price of a barrell by closing down nearly 6p at just shy of 522p, whilst BG Group actually closed up 22p at 1,140p as some decent 2nd quarter results are expected tomorrow.

On to mining, where metal prices pulled back causing the majors to follow. Anglo closed down 79p at 2,747 after de Beers, the diamond major, which it owns 45% of, said that the economic downturn was effecting diamond sales and would continue to do so. Peers fell too, with ENRC down 33p at 1,041p, Lonmin down 93p at 2,569p, and Ferrexpo down over 12p at 263.25p.

The housebuilders did well, with Barratts up over 19p at 110p, and Taylor Wimpey up over 6p at 50p.

Tate & Lyle closed down over 18p at just shy of 426p after saying pre-tax profits are roughly in-line with last year, but added that the whole general deterioration of economic conditions and the rise in raw materials is maaking life more difficult.

Inchcape closed down nearly 4p at 340.5p after SG Securities gave a 'sell' rating as its first stance on the car delaership, saying the company's acquisitions had lowered its rate of return.

Moneysupermarket.com jumped over 15p to close at 84.25p after saying it had rejected a takeover approach. No other details are known.

Daily Mail & General Trust closed up 27p at 339.25p after Merrill Lynch and Panmure Gordon reiterated their 'buy' ratings in the company, despite the newspaper group saying advertising revenue was still down.

Market Wrap, Tuesday 22nd July 2008

The FTSE 100 closed down 40.2 points today at 5,364.1, whilst the FTSE 250 closed down almost 63 points at 8,982.6. The FTSE 100 recovered about 80 points from its low of the session, though.

Over the pond, by the time London closed the DJI was actually up 55 points at 11,522, despite being lower after oil price worries, as well as this hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico that could threaten supplies of the black stuff. Other earnings news had also caused a negative opening, but after an hour or two the positive sentiment returned, with investors noting the last two or three trading updates and figures that matter not being as bad as feared, with the exception of American Express, of course.

Back here in London, though, despite recovering from its lows, the FTSE was held down by the banks and also with Vodafone, which gave a poor forecast.

Vodafone closed down over 20p at 129p after saying it expects full year figures to be at the low end of its forecasted outlook range. A Collins Stewart downgrade to 'hold' from 'buy' was the response, saying that it would expects peers in the sector to pull back as a reaction.

As mentioned earlier, the banks were under pressure again after the US news from Wachovia today, which was added to the Amex news yesterday. Barclays was down over 9p at just shy of 315p, RBS down 4p at 199p, Lloyds TSB down nearly 6p at 320p, and HBOS down 3.5p at 261p. No news on what the underwriters are going to do with the £3.8 bln worth of shares they are obliged to take.

Carrying on from this morning, Enterprise Inns ended the day down over 46p at 299.5p after saying pub beer sales were continuing to decline, and adding that they are also giving some breathing space and help to the licencees, all of which will effect the bottom line this year. Peer Punch Taverns was down over 25p at 240p as a reaction, with Mitchells & Butler closing down over 10p at 247.5p, JD Wetherspoon down almost 10p at 226.5p, and Greene King down 24.5p at 500.5p.

With oil falling back, the explorers bucked the expected trend did ok. Tullow Oil closed up 6.5p at 780p, whilst Cairn Energy closed up 161p at 2,744p, and Soco International up 94p at 1,441.

The oil price backing off helped the big users, with British Airways closing up 7.25p at 246.25p, and cruise ship operator Carnival closing up a healthy 83p at 1,808p.

On to mining, where some sniffing with intent of a bid for Lonmins help them close up 131p at 2,662 on the rumours and speculation.

Plumbing supplier Wolseley closed down 9.25p at just shy of 329p after reports that it is struggling to meet bank commitments and such like.

On to High Street food retail, where Sainsburys was up nearly 14p at 310p after news that Robert Tchenguiz, the property magnate, was now up to almost 122m shares in the group, which is just about 7%.

Chemical group Johnson Matthey closed up 70p at 1,738p after a decent trading update, saying its 1st quarter revenue was up 33% on last year, with pre-tax profit up 22%. A Merrill Lynch reminder of its 'buy' stance helped too.

Severn Trent was up again, closing at 1,398p, up 51p on the day, after saying that its trading was in-line with expectations, but did add that it reckons that a decline in useage could effect revenues by £12m to £14m this year.

Birmingham based Chocolate and confectionary king, Cadburys, closed up 29.5p at 632p after a Dresdner Kleinwort upgrade to 'hold' from 'reduce'.

Morning Market, Tuesday 22nd July 2008

The FTSE was down 65 points this morning at 5,340, whilst the FTSE 250 was down 145 points at 8,900.

Last night over the pond the DJI closed at 11,467.34, down over 29 points, whilst the S&P500 closed down less than a point at 1,260 and the Nasdaq down 3.25 points at 2,279.53. American Express gave some poor news.

In the Far East today the Nikkei 225 closed up 381.26 points at 13,184.96, whilst in Hong Kong the Hang seng was down just under 10 points at 22,524 by lunchtime chow time.

Back here in London it was the banks who fell back, with the news from Amex spreading this side of the pond. Barclays was down 14p at 310p, RBS down 6.6p at 196.4p, Lloyds TSB down 11p at 315p, and HBOS down 6p at 258.5p.

On to telecoms, where Vodafone gave a poor update saying that full year figures would be at the lower end of forecasts resulting in a big fall to 132p, down 17p this morning. The mobile major blaming economic weakness and equipment revenue down.

Enterprise Inns was down 29p at 317p after saying lower pub sales in beer, coupled with extra help to licensees, are squeezing earnings.

Plumbing supplier Wolseley was down 13p at 325p on reports it's struggling with bank deadlines and arrangements.

With oil price rising, so did the heavyweights. BP was up 8p at 529.5p, RD Shell up 22p at 1,851, and Tullow Oil up 8p at 781.5p.

With more oil worries due to a mexican hurricane, the big users suffered. British Airways was down 7p at 232p, whilst cruise ship operator carnival was down 45p at 1,681.

The miners were also back in favour as metal prices rose. ENRC was up 12p at 1,077, Lonmin up 32p at 2,563, BHP up 22p at 1,668, Rio up 17p at 5,237, and Xstrata up 30p at 3,560p. RBS also gave Xstrata an upgrade to 'buy' from 'hold'.

Severn Trent was up 15p at 1,363 after saying trading was as expected, but added its revenues would be down by £12m to £14m for the year.

Property developer Great Portland Estates was down 7p at 344p after saying its NAv was 538p, which is over 16% down on last year.

Chemical group Johnson Matthey was up 66p at 1,734 after saying it has made a "strong start" to the new financial year with 1st quarter revenues up 33% and pre-tax profit up 22% on last time out.

Market Wrap, Monday 21st July 2008

The FTSE ended the day up 27.9 points at 5,404.3, whilst the FTSE 250 closed up 80.8 points at 9,045.5. initial concern this morning over the HBOS rights issue was brushed aside by lunchtime, and half decent news from the US helped.

Over the pond, by the time London closed the DJI was up 6 points at 11,503, whilst the S&P500 was up 3 points at 1,263, and the Nasdaq up 5 points at 2,288. The Dow had started much better, but 'fade the gappers' played it well and took profit on the bell trade. Results news from the Bank of America had come in better than expected, with a US$3.41 bln income for the 2nd quarter, although down from the same period last year.

Back here in London, the banks did ok, despite the early reaction to HBOS news that only 8.3% of the rights issue stock had been taken up by shareholders. HSBC closed up 20.5p at 814.5, mainly on the weekend news of their talks with some Chinese Investment group that may stick a big lump of cash in to the bank. Barclays closed up nearly 4p at 324p, RBS up 5.4p at 203p, whilst HBOS still kept some hangover from the rights issue news, closing down 17.5p at 264.5p. As we said this morning, the underwriters have aboput £3.7 bln of the £4 bln shares to take up and place etc.

On to oil, where the black stuff was at about US$131 bbl. This helped the oil heavyweights, with RD Shell closing up 11p at 1,831, Cairn Energy up 21p at 2,583, and the oil services company Wood Group closed up 15.25p at 402p.

On to mining, where metal prices helped the majors. Kazakhmys closed up 66p at 1,418p, BHP closed up 46p at 1,646p, Rio up 1150p at 5,220p, Lonmin up 121p at 2,531, Vedanta Resources up 69p at 1,907p, and Ferrexpo closed up 20.5p at 290.5p.

On to retail, where Next closed down 17p at 1,015, Morrisons down 2p at 264p, as retailers stood together with a stance against developers and landlords on paying rent monthly, instead of quarterly up front.

On to telecoms, where Vodafone closed down nearly 3p at 149.25p, with some aprehension ahead of the up coming results for the 1st quarter. BT Group closed up nearly 2p at 205.25p after an RBS upgrade to 'buy' from 'hold', although cut the target to 280p, down from 310p, on fundamentals.

On to food producer and retail supplier Unilever, who closed up 5p at 1,446p after saying it had sold its Bertolli olive oil and vinegar business to Grupo SOS for €630m.

Severn Trent closed up 44p at 1,347p after a Citigroup upgrade to 'buy' from 'hold', adding a 1,545p target, up from 1,485, citing fundamentals.

On to the housebuilders, where the rebound continues. Taylor Wimpey closed up another 3.25p at 48.5p, and Barratts up nearly 10p at 93.5p. A good day.

Michael Page International closed up 14p at 265p after some good results elsewhere in the sector.

As we mentioned this morning, Hikma Pharmaceuticals had a poor day after saying it will lose US$6m in the first 6 months, with $5m of that due to chargebacks and refunds etc. The shares closed down over 82p, just shy of 427p.

Morning Market, Monday 21st July 2008

The FTSE was down 35 points at 5,341, whilst the FTSE 250 was down 36 points at 8,928 this morning. With news that only 8.3% of the rights issue was taken up by shareholders, which wasn't received well by the banks, although the mood wasn't too downbeat overall.

Over the pond on Friday, Citigroup announced a 2nd quarter loss that wasn't as bad as expected, but results below expectations for Microsoft, AMD & Google didn't give much to smile about. The DJI closed up almost 50 points, though, at 11,496.6, whilst the S&P500 closed up 0.36 points at 1,260.68, and the Nasdaq down nearly 30 points at 2,282.78, with the Nasdaq relecting the tech majors' figures and investors' sentiment.

In the Far East today, the Nikkei 225 was closed for a holiday, but in Hong Kong the Hang Seng had a decent morning, up 680 points at 22,554 by lunchtime chow time. News of an apaprtment shortgae coming in Hong Kong helped the property stocks.

Back here in London, the banks were pulling the FTSE down early doors, but other feeling wasn't too bad. HBOS was down 11p at 271p after just 8.3% of the rights issue was taken up by shareholders, leaving the underwriters Morgan Stanley & Dresdner Kleinwort a bit of a headache with the rest of the £4 bln worth, which is something like £3.7 bln. Peers reacted too, with Barclays down nearly 5p at 315.25p, Lloyds TSB down 3p at 328p, but HSBC was up 7p at 801p after weekend press reports that the bank held talks with China Investment Corp over the past few months about a significant investment in the bank.

With oil turning up again, the big users suffered. British Airways was down 5p at 237p, and cruise ship operator Carnival was off 50p at 1,695p.

On to mining, where metals gained strength over night in Australia. Kazakhmys was up 35p at 1,388p, BHP up 42p at 1,642, Rio up 95p at 5,167p,

On to retail, where Kingfisher was down 4p at 105.6p, Debenhams down 1.5p at 40.5p, Next down 28p at 1,004p, and Tesco off 8.2p at 367.6p. News that High Street retailers are going to the developers and landlords and asking for a better deal on rent until things pick up were reported, with the payment of rent in advance being switched to a monthly payment plaan instead being top of the agenda.

BT Group was up only 0.5p at 204p despite an RBS upgrade to 'buy' from 'hold', but it did lower its target to 280p, down from 310p.

Severn Trent climbed 110p to 1,313p after a Citigroup upgrade to 'buy' from 'hold', adding a target of 1,545p, up from 1,485p citing fundamentals.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals was down 110p at 401p after saying its US business was down, with a loss of US$6m expected for the first 6 months, with $5m of the loss blamed on a one-off charge-back and rebate related cost.

Market Wrap, Friday 18th July 2008

The FTSE closed up 90.1 points today at 5,376.4, whilst the FTSE 250 closed up 245 points at 8,964.7. The US helped with the end to the day as it actually turned up after the gap down.

Over the pond, by the time London closed the DJI was up about 55 points at 11,501, whilst the S&P500 was just about even at 1,260, and the Nasdaq down nearly 22 points at 2,291. A Citigroup update was actually fairly upbeat, which helped, as investors had been disappointed at the results from tech giants Microsoft & Google.

Back here in London, it was the banks that enjoyed the Citigroup news, with barclays closing up nearly 30p at 320.25, RBS up 18.1p at 197.6p, and Lloyds TSB up 30.5p at 331p.

On to oil-related stocks, where the users benefited in the fall back in the price of the black stuff. British Airways closed up nearly 15p at 242p, whilst cruise ship operator Carnival closed up 136p at 1,745p.

Engineering group Investec closed up over 17p at 278p after saying it is confident of making further progress in the remainder of the year, adding that it is able to meet its financing requirements for the foreseeable future.

On to the miners, where it wasn't such good news. The metal prices falling back was reflected in the prices of the heavyweight mining stocks. ENRC closed down 64p at 1,036p, Kazakhmys down 40p at 1,352p, Xstrata down 31p at 3,474p, Rio down 65p at 5,070p, BHP down 30p at 16-quid, and Lonmin down 104p at 2,410p.

On to the High Street suppliers, where negative news from L'Oreal in France that sales it has cut sales forecasts affected the heavyweights here in the UK. Uniliver closed down 12p at 1,441p despite an RBS upgrade to 'hold' from 'sell', whilst reckitt Benckiser closed down 68p at 2,420p.

On to the housebuilders, where the sentiment seems to be changing, and the bounce continues. Taylor Wimpey closed up 5p at 45.25p, Barratts up nearly 14p at just shy of 84p, and Bovis Homes closed up 55.25p just shy of 423p.

Media publisher Trinity Mirror closed up 11.25p at 85p, bouncing from recent freefall, after a Morgan Stanley upgrade to 'equal-weight' from 'underweight', but did lower its target to 115p from 135p.

Market Wrap, Thursday 16th July 2008

The FTSE closed up 135.7 points today at 5,286.3, which was well received. The FTSE 250 closed up 305.2 points at 8,719.7. The banks had a better day, after such turmoil recently.

Over the pond, by the time London closed, the DJI was up 36 points at 11,275, whilkst the S&P500 was up 2 points at 1,247.45, and the Nasdaq up a point at 2,286. The US unemplyment figures weren't as bad as feared with the Labor Department reporting new claimns up 18,000 to 366,000. This was better than the expected 380k.

Back here in London, it was the banks finally being able to take some breathing space. Barclays cosed nearly 24p up at 290.5, whilst RBS closed up 14.5 pence at 179.5, HBOS up nearly 14p at 268.25, Lloyds TSB up 16.5p at 300.5p, Bradford & Bingley up nearly 4p at 54p, HSBC up 36.5p at 764.5p, and Standard Chartered up 124p at 1,472.

On to comms, where Cable & Wireless closed up 3.8p at 159.4p after a Lehman Brothers upgrade to 'overweight' from 'equal-weight' and new target of 2-quid from 190p.

Oil was at about US$139 bbl. Cairn Energy closed down 25p at 2,571.

Drax Group closed down 39.5p at 714.5p.

On to housebuilders, where Bellway closed up 90.5p to 538.5p, and Persimmons up nearly 34p at 292p, whilst Taylor Wimpey clsoed up 8p at 40.25p.

Market Wrap, Wednesday 16th July 2008

The FTSE 100 index was down 21.3 points at 5,150.6, having been as low as 5,071.1, while the FTSE 250 index was up 135.2 points at 8,414.5. The market had been much lower, but recovered somwhat after Wall Street opened quite positive.

Over the pond, by the time London closed the DJI was up 103.1 points at 11,065, back through the 11k level, whilst the S&P500 was up 9 points at 1,224, and the Nasdaq up 32 points at 2,248.

Back here in London, it was the miners that suffered the most, really, with metal prices falling. Rio Tinto closed down 195p at 5,025 after saying everyone was struggling with the rising iinput costs, whilst peerr BHP closed down 54p at 1,609, and fellow heavyweight Xstrata closed down 182p at 3,538p.

On to oil, where the heavyweights also suffered. BP closed down nearly 15p at 509.5p, RD Shell down 66p at 1,773p, and Tullow Oil down 32.5p at 788p.

With the price of the black stuff falling, those that used alot of it had a good day. Airline British Airways closed up 14.5p at 225.25p, whilst cruise operator Carnival was up 63p at 1,526p.

London Stock Exchange (LSE:LSE) closed down 5.5p at 703p after going ex-dividend, whilst fund manager Man Group closed down 6.5p at 596.5p.

ICAP closed up nearly 37p at 454.5p after saying 1st quarter revenues were up by 15% for the same period this year. Numis Securities reckons £375m pre-tax profit is on the cards.

Bluebay Asset Management closed up nearly 29p at 219p after saying that its assets under management rose just about 60% this year. Broker Numis Securities reiterated its 'buy' rating.

Building materials group Wolseley closed down 18p at 272.25p after saying things were getting worse out there and wouldn't be bothering paying its final divvy, so to save some cash. Merrill Lynch reiterated its 'underperform' stance, whilst Landsbanki kept Wolseley at a 'hold' stance.

Health sector supplier Smith & Nephew closed up 19p at 549p, mainly due to Johnson & Johnson's 2nd quarter figures, which were good.

ITV closed up 0.7p at 41.2p as rumours that Bertelsmann may be sniffing with intent to bid.

British Land closed down 19p at 618.5p after going ex-divvy.

International Power closed up 6.5p at 425.5p after JP Morgan started its coverage with an 'overweight' rating. Broker Evolution Securities reiterated its 'buy' stance too.

Rolls-Royce closed up 12.25p at 329p after annoucing a new contract with Asiana Airlines from Korea to supply RR Trent XWB engines for 30 Airbus A350 XWB aeroplanes ordered. The order is valued at $2.4 bln.

Yell Group closed down 2p at just over 59p after UBS reiterated its 'neutral' rating and cut its target from 135p to 65p.

Salamander Energy closed down 21p at 285p after 3i Quoted Private Equity said it will invest up to £65.5m in the company as part of the placing announced today by Salamander.

JD Wetherspoon closed up over 18p at 193p after a decent trading update, which said like-for-like sales were up 0.4% for the last 3 months, whilst year to date like-for-like sales were down 1%, and overall company sales are actually up by 2.2%.

Trinity Mirror turned around an early slump to end the day up over 10 percent, or 5-3/4 pence at 60-1/2, after saying on Wednesday afternoon that it is trading "comfortably within the covenants for its debt facilities", and continues to perform in line with expectations.

Market Wrap, Tuesday 15th July 2008

The FTSE closed down 128.5 points at 5,171.9, whilst the FTSE 250 closed down 166.4 points at 8,279.3. Pressure was still on the banks, which was echoed in the US when Wall Street opened with big concerns on the financial sector there after downbeat economic news didn't help either side of the pond. Even President Bush & Fed Res Chairman Bernanke gave a little speech, which basicaly means them trying to reassure everyone it'll be ok means that the situation is definitely dire.

Talking of over the pond, by the time London closed, the DJI had recovered somewhat, but was still down 100 points at 10,955, still under that 11k level that it smashed thru' earlier. Luckily, the estimates by OPEC and everyone else that oild will be sub $100 bbl again seem to be helping the price as there was a massive fallback, caught by the marketbytes guys, with over 8-bucks off a barrell to sub US$1327 bbl.

On to mining, where falling metal prices weighed on the heavyweights, with Kazakhmys closing down 81p at 1,434 after saying it wasn't looking for a reverse deal, and Anto down 37.5p at 547p.

British Energy Group closed up 9.5p at 717p after Morgan Stanley raised its target and speculation that there could be some news on the nuclear group's auction coming very soon.

Imperial Energy jumped over 150p to 1,074p after news that it had received a 1,290p cash offer. Yesterday's rumours that it is India's ONGC seem to have been on the mark.

Back here in London, as mentioned it was the banks feeling the squeeze, with Barclays down over 9p at 260.5p, RBS down 12.7p at 167.3p, lloyds TSB down 9.5p at 273p, and Alliance & Leicester down 10.5p at 324.5p as it became apparent that the 299p offer by Banco Santander may be the only offer coming to the table for the mortgage bank.

On to telecoms, where Carphone Warehouse closed down 13.2p at 185.5p as its continued broadband cost wasn't helped by BT Group saying that it's spending some £1.5 bln on the new generation super-fast broadband. With everyone wanting fatser and faster download speeds, it will be the smaller guys that can't afford to keep up. Despite this positive news on its technology advancement plans, the cost of it all didn't appeal to investors as BT Group closed down almost 10p at 192.3p.

On to retail, where the British Retail Consortium announcing some downbeat figures saw the sector fall. Even Jessops, the camera and other electrical retailer issued another profit warning. One retail positive was Burberry Group, who closed up 2.5p at just shy of 4-quid.

With the fall in oil prices, the travel sector and those using oil did ok. TUI Travel closed up 5.7p to 176.6, and Thomas Cook up 3.7p to 179.5p.

Morning Market, Tuesday 15th July 2008

The FTSE was down about 70 points this morning at 5,230, whilst the FTSE 250 was down 118 points at 8,327. The UK CPI inflation figures are out later on, with inflation expected to be up to 3.6% from 3.3%. Even the Bank of England has said it expects inflation to rise to 4% over the coming months, blaming the higher cost of energy, commodity and food prices.

Over the pond last night, the 'bail out' of Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac is just papering over the cracks, it seems, as investors feel there is much more to come. The DJI closed down 45.35 points at 11,055.19, whilst the S&P500 closed down 11.19 points at 1,228.3, and the Nasdaq down 26.21 points at 2,212.87. Later today we will see the US Labor Department's PPI (producer price index) figure, which tells us what their inflation is. The Headline PPI is expected to be up 1.4% for June, as it did in May. Excluding highly volatile food and energy prices, the core PPI is expected to increase by 0.3%, compared to 0.2% for May. Moving on, the Empire State survey, a guide to economy with manufacturing conditions, is expected to be about -7.00, up from -8.68. When negative it is seen as recession scenario. US retail sales are expected to have increased by 0.5% for June, after 1% increase in May.

In the Far East today the Nikkei 225 closed down 255.60 points at 12,754.56, whilst in Hong Kong the Hang Seng was down 711 points at 21,303 by lunchtime chow.

Staying in Asian trade, but with oil, we saw the price fall back about half a dollar from US$145 to $144.50 bbl. Brent was about a dollar cheaper.

Back here in London, it was the banks and financials under pressure again. It seems no-one is overly impressed with the US Fed's handling and input to Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac. UK banks showed this, with Barclays off 8p at 261.5p, RBS down 8p at 172p, Lloyds TSB down 8p at 274p, Alliance & Leicester down 15p at 320p, and Bradford & Bingley down 2.5p at 50.5p.

Staying with financials, Friends Provident was down 2.7p at 81p, Standard Life off 5.55p at 199.7, and Old Mutual down 2.2p at 87p. The insurance sector has been viewed by Morgan Stanley, who promptly cut targets for the sector in general. cut price targets across the board of about 10%.

On to mining, where Kazakhmys fell 39p at 1,476, Anto down 16p at 568p, Xstrata down 71p at 3,809p, and Vedanta down 36p at 1,974.

With oil at US$145 bbl, the heavyweights looked attractive. RD Shellw as up 5p at 1,920, and BG Group up 6p at 1,140p. Tullow Oil was up 5.5p at 853.5p, Venture Production up 9p at 791.5p, Imperial Energy up 33p at 943p, and Dana Petroleum up 27p at 1,665p.

Market Wrap, Monday 14th July 2008

The FTSE closed up 38.8 points to 5,300.4, whilst the FTSE 250 closed up 106.6 points at 8,445.7. News of the Bank of Santander's bid for Alliance & Leicester helped, as well as the rumoyrs that ITV is being sniffed by a potential bidder too.

Over the pond, by the time London closed the DJI was down about 4 points at 11,096, whilst the S&P500 was down 2 points at 1,237, and the Nasdaq down 12 points at 2,227. All this depsite a postive start after news that the US government would be moving in with some help for mortgage giants Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae. This was just papering over the cracks, really, as more gloom is sure to follow, with more banks due to report this week, with big write-downs inevitable.

Back here in London, the Alliance & Leicester's news was received well, with the Spanish bank Santander bidding £1.3 bln (299p per share) for the bank, which will join Abbey as another bank owned by Banco Santander. Each A&L share will receive 299p worth of Banco Santander shares, plus an 18p divvy. A&L shares were up nearly 116p at 335p, a massive 50% rise on the news. Peers also had a good day on the back of this, with Barclays up 2p at just shy of 270p, HBOS up 5.5p at 272p, Lloyds TSB up nearly 7p at 282.25p, and Bradford & Bingley up 5.5p at 53p.

On to media, where the rumours were that ITV was looking to be taken out. Press reports over the weekend Endemol co-founder John de Mol has refused to rule out a bid for ITV, whilst other talk was that ITV was talking tio a potential buyer for its 17.9% holding in BskyB. A Morgan Stanley upgrade to 'equal-weight' from 'underweight' also helped.

On to mining, where Kazakhmys closed up 88p at 1,515 after confirming it is at very early stages of bid talk on an offer for the company, whilst reports of a deal with Russia's Metalloinvest were also mentioned. National peer ENRC closed up 91p at 1,228, whilst others also had a good day, with Xstrata up 101p at 3,880p, and Lomins up 36p at 2,757.

Johnson Matthey closed up 41p at 1,658 after a UBS upgrade to 'neutral' from 'sell' citing fundamentals.

Rexam closed up 23p at 365.5p after a Goldman Sachs upgrade to 'buy' from 'neutral', saying it looked good value at these leveks. Imperial Energy closed up 138p at 936p after confirming it has received a bid approach, but wouldn't name any names as yet.

Oil heavyweights pulled back a little, as oil; was about US$144 bbl, with RD Shell closing down 27p at 1,892 and Cairn Energy off 53p at 2,791.

Reed Elsevier closed down 7p at 534.5p after a Deutsche Bank downgrade to 'hold' from 'buy', while peer Pearson closed down 5.5p at 582.5p after a Deutche downgrade to 'sell'.

On to housebuilders, with Taylor Wimpey closing down over 3p at 34.5p after some profit taking.

Trinity Mirror closed down nearly 4p at 67.25p as concerns on advertsing revenue continued to hamper the publisher.

Morning Market, Monday 14th July 2008

The FTSE was up about 70 points this morning at 5,331, whilst the FTSE 250 was up about 118 points at 8,457.

There was some good feeling that Wall Street will open up as the Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac fudning looks to be sorted, with the US Treasury coming in to help.

Over the pond on Friday, the DJI closed down 128.48 at 11,100.54, whilst the S&P500 closed down nearly 14 points at 1,239.49, and the Nasdaq down nearly 19 points at 2,239.08.

In the Far East today the Nikkei 225 closed down 29.53 points at 13,010.16, whilst in Hong Kong the Hang Seng was down about 280 points at 21,902 by its lunchtime chow time.

Oil backed off to just under US$144 bbl.

Here in the UK it was the banks in the news. Alliance & Leicester news was that the bank is in talks regarding a bid of 299p per share, with Bank of Santander & Lloyds TSB being the names banted around. A&L was up 115p at 334p, whilst peers joined the hype, with HBOS up 7.5p at 274p, Lloyds TSB up 19p at almost 295p, Standard Chartered up 75p at 1,416p, and Bradford & Bingley up 13.5p at 61p.

Staying with financials, Friends Provident was up 1.5p at 83.8p after a Pnamore Gordon upgrade. The insurer also saying it will be keepoing hold of its Pantheon Financial Arm.

Imperial Energy was up 148p at 920p on speculation of a bid approach. Petrofac, which confirmed it is the lowest bidder for an Algerian liquified natural gas contract was up 27p at 677p.

Rexam was up 23p at 365p after a Goldman Sachs upgrade. Land Securities also received a Goldman Sachs upgrade, with shares up 40p at 1213p.

Enterprise Inns plans to turn itself into a REIT (real estate investment trust) helped the group up 15p at 317.5p this morning. Peer Punch Taverns 16p better at 249p.

On to media, where ITV was up 2.9p to 41.2p as Endemol founder John de Mol refused to rule out a possible bid.

Oil users did ok. British Airways was up 7p at 206.5p, whilst cruise ship operator Carnival was up at 1,536p.

Housebuilders are still recovering, with Persimmon leading the way, up 17p at 264.75p, Taylor Wimpey up nearly 3p at 40.5p, and Bovis Homes up 20p at 348p.

Gem Diamonds was down 26p at 965p after profit taking after news that it sold 15.7 carats at an average price of US$28,860 per carat.

On to retail, where DSG International was up 1.5p at 41p on rumouyrs that a bid could be coming in. Peer Kesa Electricals was up 7.5p at 152p.

Other news included: Johnson Matthey was up 46p at 1663p after a UBS upgrade. Plumbing supplier Wolseley was up 9p to 306.5p. Informa was up 23p at 432p an bid speculation. National Express was up 42p to 1,007p after a JP Morgan positive update.

Market Wrap, Friday 11th July 2008

The FTSE 100 closed down 145.2 points today at 5,261.6, which is now in bear market territory, down over 20% since the market peak last October, whilst the FTSE 250 closed down 180.8 points at 8,339.1. The FTSE had actually been up 50 points during the session, so the Friday sell off was 200 points.

Over the pond, by the time London closed the DJI was down about 214 points at 11,015, whilst the S&P500 was down nearly 20 points at 1,234, and the Nasdaq down 38 points at 2,220. With oil up at US$147 bbl, there are many concerns to the related problems this can cause. Security issues in Iran, with Israel apparently considering some sort of action didn't help, either, and nor did the lower production from Nigeria due to pipeline problems and such like there. The prognoisis doesn't look good. This is bear market behaviour, for sure. A US recession is here, no-one wants to officially announce it. Although the Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment rose to 56.6 in early July, up from June's final reading of 56.4, which could be taken as some sort of settlement, as a figure of 56.0 had been expected. This week's news that mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may need help from the government quashed too much good feeling, though. This is serious stuff.

Back here in London, this US strife was taken on board, esepcially with the financial sectors. The banks tumbled again, with RBS closing down 17.2p at 182.7p after confirming it will sell the Australasia operations it inherited from ABN Amro. Let's not forget their late announcement yesterday that said RBS had failed to reach agreement with Zurich Financial Services over the sale of its insurance business. Peers were also down, with Barclays down nearly 17p at just shy of 268p, HBOS down 5p at 266.5p, Standard Chartered down 114p at 1,341, and Lloyds TSB closing down 17p at 275.5p after reports they had given up on the German banking deal it was after, saying that none were good value.

On to retail, where John Lewis added some downbeat news to the already under pressure sector, saying sales in the week to July 5 at its 26 UK department stores were down 1.3% on the same period last year to £61.5m. They said this is the 8th week out of the last 9 that sales were down. Peers fell too, with B&Q owner Kingfisher down 7.2p at 91.8p, Marks & Sparks down 13p at 227.25p, Next down 43.5p at 852p, Debenhams down nearly 3p at just shy of 32p, whilst Argos owner Home Retail Group closed off nearly 17p at 188p. Sports Direct also continued its slide, closing off another 3p at 60.5p after that poor trading update this week. Citigroup added to the woe with a reduction in target from 85p to 50p today too.

Telecoms - Vodafone closed down 7.15p at 146.65p after media reports that there could be a £2 bln tax bill in India over its acquisition there in 2006. They intend to appeal. Other Indian investors take note. Carphone Warehouse was up 6.45 at 203.75 as customers queued round the block for the new Apple iPhone.

With the oil price up where it is, those that use alot of the stuff were hit again. Airline British Airways closed down 11.65p at 199.1p, peer easyJet down nearly 14p at 256p, and cruise ship operator Carnival closed down 85p at 1,436.

Oil stocks did well, though, with Cairn Energy closed up 102p at 2,844, Tullow Oil up 24.5p at 866.5, and Dana Petroleum was up 113p at 1,655. Staying related, AMEC closed up 6.5p at 867.5p after news it has been awarded a contract at the Sellafield nuclear power site.

The Miners did ok too as metals rose. ENRC closed up 90p at 1,137, whilst Kazakhmys closed up 17p at 1,427. Many still believe these two national peers will end up as one, it's just a matter of time.

Fancy a beer? The pub companies hope you do. Enterprise Inns closed down 28.5p at 302.5p, whilst Punch Taverns closed down 28p at 225p.

On to the housebuilders, where Barratts seem to have lked the way with their debt restructuring news this week. Barratts closed up over 4p at 71.25p, whilst peer Taylor Wimpey closed up nearly 3p at just shy of 38p. Rumours of a private equity investment still strong there.

On to media, where ITV was still getting stick, closing down 1.8p at 38.3p due to the continuing fall in advertising revenue. Media reports that the advertising downturn will mean it won't be a very busy festive season in the High Street.

Morning Market, Friday 11th July 2008

The FTSE 100 was up about 30 points this morning at 5,437, whilst the FTSE 250 was up 12 points at 8,533. Mood was quiet, but still a little bouyant after the US had a better day last night.

Last night over the pond, where it had been quite a bumpy day, it finsihed fairly positive. The multi-billion-dollar deal between Dow Chemical Co. and rival Rohm and Haas had taken more strength than the ongoing financial credit crunch related worries. The DJI closed up 81.58 points at 11,229.02, whilst the S&P500 up 8.7 points at 1,253.39, and the Nasdaq up almost 23 points at 2,257.85. Later today we will hear from the Fed Reserve what the US trade figures are for July, as well as the University of Michigan preliminary consumer climate index for July too. A figure of US$62.1 bln is expected, up from US$60.9 bln in June. The University of Michigan CCI is expected to fall back a little from 56.4 to 56.0 for July.

In the FarEast today the Nikkei 225 closed down 27.52 points at 13,039.69, whilst in Hong Kong the Hang Seng was actually up 300 points at 22,125 by lunchtime chow time.

Staying in Asia, oil had jumped overnight after Iranian tensions again, and Light Sweet (Aug del) was trading at US$141.80 bbl, whilst Brent (Aug del) was at nearly US$142 bbl after a 5-buck leap overnight.

Back here in London, it was mainly the miners that had helped the rise with the FTSE this morning. Kazakhmys was up 37p at 1,447, ENRC up 25p at 1,072, Vedanta Resources up 50p at 2,057p, BHP up 35p at 1,763p, and Anto up 12p at 591p.

The oil sector helped too, with a 5-dollar gain on a barrel helping the heavyweights. BP was up 9p at 549p, RD Shell up 22p at 1,931p, BG Group up 31p at 1,167p, Cairn Energy up 62p at 2,804p, and Tullow Oil up 20p at 862.

On to banks, where Lloyds TSB was up 4 at 296-1/2 following reports the group had abandoned its pursuit of a German banking deal after concluding that neither of the acquisitions it was considering would make sense for its shareholders.

On to travel, where Thomas Cook Group was up 3.4p at 187p after saying they are no longer pursuing the merger with German Condor and Air Berlin. Staying with travel, where the higher oil price affected the users. Bristish Airways was down 7p at 204p, whilst cruise liner operator Carnival was down 30p at 1,491p.

The housebuilders continued their little mini revival this week, with a decent start to the morning. Taylor Wimpey was up 2.5p at 37.5p, Barratts was up 4p at 71p, and Bovis Homes was up over 11p at 341.25p.

Mitchells & Butlers was up 7p at 197p after a UBS upgrade to 'buy' from 'neutral' as it thinks the trading statement due in a fortnight will be far more positive than the current share price shows.

On to retail, where Sports Direct carried on from yesterday, down another 3p at 60.5p after that negative trading update yesterday.

Sugar giant Tate & Lyle was down 5p at 391p after Morgan Stanley decided to remind everyone of its stance being 'underweight'.

Domino's Pizza was up 7p at 186.75p after Investec Securities started covering the stock and started with a 'buy' stance and target of 228p.

Market Wrap, Thursday 10th July 2008

The FTSE 100 closed at 5,406.8 today, down 122.8 points on the day. The FTSE 250 closed down 134.7 points at 8,519.9, with the market dragged down by the financials again.

Over the pond, by the time London closed the DJI was actually up 38 points at 11,185, whilst the S&P500 was up a point at 1,243, and the Nasdaq up 17 points at 2,252.

Back here in London, as expected interest rates remained at 5%, with the Bank of England confirming the news at midday.

On to the market, where concerns over the financial sector and spin off problems with the retail sector and such like saw the sellers move again.

The banks sank again, with Barclays closing down nearly 9p at 284.5p, Lloyds TSB down 12.25p at 292.5p, RBS down 2.85p at 199.9p, and HBOS down 2p at 271.5p.

Staying with financials, F&C Asset Management closed down 38.25p at 97.5p after Kaupthing Bank said that it had dumped about 1.2m shares at between 135.75p and 139.75p. But Man Group closed up 7p at 596.5p after Merrill Lynch reiterated its 'buy' stance after a positive update saying the year looked good.

Retail - B&Q owner Kingfisher closed down 5.5p at 99p after a Goldman Sachs banishing the DIY store owner to the European 'sell' list, blaming its French exposure and the fact that it is heavily geared with exposure to 'big ticket' items too. None of this helps the balance sheet.

Staying with retail, but in the High Street, Next received a Goldman Sachs downgrade to 'neutral' from 'buy', thus clsing off 5p on the day at 895p. Others fell too, with Goldmans waving its 'sell' stick around the sector in general. Debenhams closed down a fraction of a penny at 34.25p, Burberry down 26.5p at just shy of 403p, and Signet down nearly 2p at 45.25p after receiving the Goldman's 'sell' recommendation. Burberry was also on the end of a Deutsche Bank sell note too, who cited the luxury goods market is in for negative action too. Sports Direct International clolsed down over 8p at 63.5p after saying there had been a 30% drop in earnings for the year, and that this year won't be shwoing any growth.

Cadburys closed down 48.5p at 598.5p after a Merrill Lynch downgrade to 'underperform' from 'neutral', adding a target of 575p, down from 650p.

Aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce closed down 15p at 335.25p after a Cazenove downgrade to 'in line' from 'outperform', blaming the industry in general.

Johnson Matthey closed down 88p at 1,676 after news from the USA that Dow Chemical will be buying Rohm & Hass will mean that Dow Chem won't be interested in bidding for mattheys.

Carrying on from this morning, credit checking company Experian closed up 28.5p at just shy of 390p after announcing revenue up 20-odd% in the last quarter, prompting Merrill Lynch to reiterate its 'buy' stance.

On to mining, where Antofagasta closed up 3.5p at 579.5p after a Citigroup upgrade to 'buy' from 'hold' after reviewing the sector in general. Whilst the sector has pulled back from its peak 2 months ago, there are still some mining stocks with good value. Metals are in demand, and it will only continue. International Ferro Metals closed up nearly 5p at just shy of 97p after saying ferrochrome production for the 3-months to the end of June was up 16% on the previous quarter to 61k tonnes.

On to the housebuilders, Barratt Developments continued its bounce, closing up 13p at 67p after confirming it has negotiated a refinancing package with its bankers and lenders. Peers also liked the news, with Taylor Wimpey up nearly 5p at 35p, and Persimmons up over 9p at 257p.

Morning Market, Thursday 10th July 2008

The FTSE 100 was down 94 points at 5,436 this morning, whilst the FTSE 250 was down 140 points at 8,514. This all mainly because the US fell back quite sharply later in its trading day last night. The Bank of England also announce its interest rate decision today, with the consensus staying with 5%, unchanged.

Over the pond last night it was the banks and financials that were causing the concern. The DJI closed down nearly 237 points at 11,147.44, which was down about 385 points from the day's peak when the index was 150 points up. The S&P500 closed down 29 points at 1,244.69, whilst the Nasdaq closed down 59.55 points at 2,234.89. All 3 indexes down over 2% on the day.

In the Far East today the Nikkei 225 closed up 15 points at 13,067.21, whilst in Hong Kong the Hang Seng closed was up about 170 points at 21,977 by lunchtime chow time.

Back here in London, talk was of the BoE's interest rate decision, which looks to be staying at 5% as the Bank tries to kerb inflation, which is running at 3.3%. But, torn between two evils, it doesn't want to hamper growth or cause recession, either. With the current problems in the housing market, a reduction in rates would benefit that sector greatly. Which has priority...? Inflation, probably, but maybe a stay at 5% will be the choice.

On to the market, where Associated British Foods was down 35p at 733p after a fairly decent 3rd-quarter trading update. Its sales Primark, the discount clothing store chain, were actually up 14% on last year for the same period.

On to financials, where the London Stock Exchange (LSE:LSE) was down 53p at 687p on prfit taking after its recent rally and revenue update yesterday. Fund Managers F&C Asset Management was down 29p at 106 after a major placing of shares was doing the rounds.

On to retail, where Kingfisher, who own B&Q DIY stores, was down 4.5p at a quid after Goldman Sachs banished it to its 'sell' list, saying the company was exposed to France and 'big ticket' items, which causes a higher than welcome leveraged balance sheet & valuation. High Street retailer Next was down 31p at 869p as it received a Goldman Sachs downgrade to 'neutral' from 'buy', whilst Debenhams was down 5p to 30p, Burberry down 20p at 409p, and Signet down 2p at 45p after all also receiving a Goldman Sachs downgrade to 'sell' from 'neutral'.

Credit checking company Experian Group was up 11p at 372p after reporting revenue up 21% in 3 months to June.

On to housebuilding, where the mini revival, or at least scavenger interest continued. Barratt Developments was up 9p, at 63p after the company said it had just about agreed a restructuring of its debt package with its banks and private placement promptly due to market and sector conditions. The company informed it was cutting 1,200 jobs and that its selling prices were down 5% on the year to June. Peer Taylor Wimpey was up over 3p at 33.5p, whilst Bovis Homes was up 3.25p at 326.25p.

Sports Direct International was down 4p at 68p after reporting a 30& drop in full year underlying earnings and added that it doesn't expect things to get any better this year.

Market Wrap, Wednesday 9th July 2008

The FTSE 100 closed up 89.1 points at 5,529.6, whilst the FTSE 250 closed up 174.5 points higher at 8,654.6. The banks had a better day than of late.

Over the pond, by the time London closed the DJI was up 13 points at 11,397, whilst the S&P500 was up about 3 points at 1,277, and the Nasdaq up a fraction of a point at 2,294.6.

The banking sector had a much better day, with RBS closing up 7.85p at 202.25p, Lloyds TSB up 19p at just shy of 305p, Barclays up just over 14p at 293.25, Standard Chartered up 61p at 1,465, Alliance & Leicester up 18p at just shy of 233p, and Bradford & Bingley up over 9p at 43.25p after press reports that its major shareholders are all queuing up to put money into the £400m rights issue.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE:LSE) had a good day, closing up 69p at 740p after announcing revenue up 8% to £178m for the first quarter. Merrill Lynch liked the news, saying it was better than expected under recent circumstances.

On to travel, where TUI Travel closed up 4.6p at 186.5 after a Dresdner Kleinwort upgrade to 'hold' from 'reduce' citing fundamentals.

It looks like oil investors moved to the banks, as oil heavyweights were down with some profit taking around too. With the US government saying supplies were lower again this stifled the progress of these shares. BP was down half a penny at 552p, RD Shell down 17p at 1,954, and BG Group down 16p at 1,179. Tullow Oil closed up 4.5p at 877.5p after saying it expects production of 70,000 to 72,000 bbl per day and capital spending of £480m for 2008. It said that output was up 1% in the 1st half to 70,550 boepd, adding that sales volume about 60,000 boepd and capital spending was around £170m for the 6-month period. Tullow also added that the disposal of US$1bn worth of non-core assets this first half will put about £400m profit on to the bottom line. It also mentioned the Mahogany-2 well on the Jubilee field again, which is in Ghana, confirming that the potential resources there of 500m to 1.8bln bbl. It also confirmed that Jubilee remains on track to achieve first oil sales in 2010.

Staying with energy, British Energy Group was down 11p at 716p after announcing a fall in nuclear total output for the 1st quarter today.

Southern Cross Healthcare closed up nearly 16p at a quid after media reports that private equity groups are sniffing with intent to bid.

On to mining, albeit not a heavyweight, where a Cazenove downgrade to 'in-line' from 'outperform' saw Hochschild Mining close down 16.5p at just shy of 320p.

BBA Aviation closed down 0.75p at 102.5p after a JP Morgan downgrade to 'underweight' from 'neutral'.The housebuilders had a better day as well. Redrow and Bovis gave an update, nboth of which were received fairly well, although Bovis did paint a gloomier picture. Redrow closed up nearly 4p at a quid after saying it expects figures to be in-line with expectations, whilst Bovis closed up 5.5p at 323p despite saying it will be cutting the divvy drastically. Peer Barratts closed up 15p at 54p as the sector feels it is coming off the bottom. Rumours of some M&A and/or consolidation were abound the builders too.

Morning Market, Wednesday 9th July 2008

The FTSE was up 45 points this monring at 5,485, whilst the FTSE 250 was up 52 points at 8,532, both helped by Wall Street's positive day yesterday.

Last night over the pond the DJI closed up over 152 points at 11,383.21, whilst the S&P500 closed up obver 21 points at 1,273.70, and the Nasdaq up over 51 points at 2,294.42. Quite a good day for the Wall Street blue chips, the best for nearly a month.

In the Far East today the Nikkei 225 closed up just over 19 points at 13,052.13, whilst in Hong Kong the Hang Seng recently closed up 585 points at 21,805.81.

Staying in Asia, oil was fairly even following the recent pull back after world leaders made some noise about tthe price of the black stuff hindering world economy and growth. Light Sweet was trading at just over US$136 bbl (Aug del).

Back here in London, it was the banks and financial sector that had a decent start this morning. The rally on Wall Street saw the UK banks now look cheap, it seems. RBS was up over 8p at 203p, Lloyds TSB up 15p at 301p, Barclays up 11p at 290p, Standard Chartered up 42p at 1,446, Alliance & Leicester up nearly 20p at 234.5p, and Bradford & Bingley up nearly 3p at just shy of 37p. B&B looks like it may be ok for its £400m cash call as press reports that there is a queue to haand in applications from investors. Credit Suisse issued a cautious note this morning saying it was reducing targets for the UK banks, but this was stating the obvious.

Staying with financials, the London Stock Exchange (LSE:LSE) had a good start, turning up after recent falls, up 50p at at 721p after saying revenue was up 8% to £178m for the first quarter. Merrill Lynch liked the news, saying that this was better than expected.

On to retail, namely supermarkets, where Morrisons was up 6p at 266.5p after a Cazenove upgrade to 'outperform' from 'in-line', citing fundamentals. Peer Sainsburys, however, was down 9p at 280p after some profit-taking since JP Morgan upgraded the group causing a little rally. Staying in the High Street, nd food as well as clothing, Marks & Sparks was down half a penny at 231p as there is some investors concerned at what may be said that the AGM today. Sir Stuart Rose, the executive chairman, looks to be in for a thumping, verbally, by shareholders over the drastic fall in share price this last year, inclusing the profit warning last week. A Lehman Brothers downgrade to 'equal-weight' from 'overweight' with its 3-quid target unchanged didn't help.

Advertising giant WPP Group was down 12p at 452p launched a fresh and formal £1 bln takeover bid for market research firm Taylor Nelson Sofres, who are already linked for merger with GfK, the German group. TNS was up 12p at 260p on the back of the interest from 2 fronts.

Southern Cross Healthcare was up 18p at 102p on bid rumours, including a private equity outfit sniffing with intent.

The housebuilders had a flurry this morning, with Redrow and Bovis both giving updates saying things aren't too bad and they expects results to be as exp[ected, although are expecting pressure moving forward. Redrow was up 10p at 106p, whilst Bovis was down 5p at 313p as they mentioned cutting the divvy quite drastically.

Market Wrap, Tuesday 8th July 2008

The FTSE 100 closed down 72.2 points at 5,440.5, whilst the FTSE 250 closed down 142.9 points at 8,480.1.

Over the pond, by the time London closed the DJI was up 42 points at 11,274. There is a somewhat more bouyant mood over there in Wall Street as oil is falling again and also news that investment banks may get some lending help from the central bank was received well.

The miners were off today, what with metal prices falling, oil pulling back a bit, and general profit taking too. BHP Billiton closed down 108p at 1,657, Rio down 316p at 5,264, Anto down 35.5p at 574p, Anglo down 154p at 3,004, and Xstrata closed down 134p at 3,655. News from australia of a protest by environmentalists didn't help, either. The plan is to block a raliway used by coal exporters, which includes 3 of the majors.

On to oil, where BP closed down 19.5p at 552.5p, Tullow Oil down 47p at 873p, and Cairn Energy down 190p at 2,796.

The banks didn't do well. RBS closed down 6.1p at 194.9p, Lloyds TSB down nearly 10p at jsut shy of 286p, down 3p at 279p, Bradford & Bingley down 8p at 34p, and Alliance down nearly 34p at just shy of 215p. Note that B&B's rights issue is at 55p. Citigroup, in the US, didn't help the sector by commenting on more credit-related babnk problems.

On to media, where ITV was down 1.5p at 40.1p after an Investec downgrade to 'sell' from 'hold', adding a target down to 36p from 65p.

In to the High Street, where Marks & Sparks closed up 14.5p at 231.5p on rumours that someone could be sniffing with intent to bid.

The housebuilders were down again. The government data showed annual house price growth slowed to its weakest point in over two years during May. Taylor Wimpey closed down 1.25p at 26p and Barratts was down 1.5p at 39p.

Punch Taverns closed down 19.5p at 260.25p after a Cazenove downgrade to 'in-line' from 'outperform'.

Savills closed down 22.15p at 193p after warning things are getting worse.

Morning Market, Tuesday 8th July 2008

The bear market arrives. It's official. 20% fall from the peak broken. The FTSE 100 was down over 130 points this morning at 5,380, whilst the FTSE 250 was down 200 points at 8,423.

Last night over the pond the DJI closed down 56.58 points at 11,231.96, whilst the S&P500 down 10.59 to 1,252.31, and the Nasdaq down just over 2 points at 2,243.32. It was a fairly jumpy and volatile day on Wall Street, with more cautious statements from the Fed Reserve.

In the Far East today the Nikkei 225 closed down almost 327 points at 13,033.10, whilst in Hong Kong the Hang Send was down about 748 points at 21,165 by lunchtime chow time.

News from Fitch, the ratings agency, said it has revised its 2009 forecasts for GDP growth, and now upped its estimates on unemployment and inflation. Just confirming what we all new, really. The added that the British economy is one of the most exposed to the current US credit crunch and recession.

The G8 all agree that the current oil price is hindering world economy and they urged for more production.

Today in UK we will hear the figures for May mortgage advances from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. This will tell us what we already know as well. Then the government will give its own assessment and opinion of the housing market, once it hears the figures. They can also tell us what we already know.

Back here in London, it was the financial stocks that dragged the FTSE downwards. The banks were down again. RBS was off 9p at 191.9, lloyds TSB down 10p at 285p, Barclays down 6p at 276p, Bradford & Bingley down 6p at 36p. It's worth noting that the B&B shareprice is well below the 55p righyts issue level.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE:LSE) was down over 50 points this morning at 670p. on Stock Exchange was the biggest faller, down 52 at 670, while banks also suffered.

On to mining, where metals prices fell, causing the heavyweights to fall back. ENRC was down 35p at 1,070, Rio down 160p at 5,420, and BHP down 50p at 1,715.

With oil on the agenda, British Airways took a hit, down 8p at 198p. A target cut to 170p from 2-quid by ABN Amro didn't help the airline, nor did it's reiterating its 'sell' stance'.

Chocolate king Cadbury was down 22p at 612p after an Investec Securities downgrade to 'sell' from 'hold'.

On to the housebuilders, where the gloom continued. Persimmons was down 6p at 222p, Berkeley Group down 35p at 588p, and Bellway down 16p at 355p.

Wolseley, the building materials supplier, was down 15p 296p.

Savills was down 30p at 185p after the mortgage broker said business was still on the slide and worse than last year.

Partygaming was down nearly 15p at 233p after a cautious trading update as well.

Market Wrap, Monday 7th July 2008

The FTSE 100 closed up 99.9 points at 5,512.7, whilst the FTSE 250 closed up 107 points at 8,623. Quite a good day, considering.

By the time London closed the DJI was up about 70 points at 11,359, whilst the S&P500 was up 5 points at 1,268, and the Nasdaq up 15 points at 2,260. Oil falling back from the rather worrying levels reached at the end of last week helped, as did a stronger dollar, and maybe some good mood after the independence day weekend gave investors something to maybe feel happy about.

Back here in London it was quite a good day, but it was the oil heavyweights that helped the index the most. Deutsche Bank gave some decent comment on the sector., upping its longer term forecasts for a barrel of the black stuff. It said it now reckons US$120 bbl for this year and next, up from $96 & 120.50 respectively. Deutsche Bank also upped its targets on BP & Shell, as we mentioned this morning. BP closed up 20.5p at 572, RD shell up 79p at 2,041, and BG Group up 59p at 1,250.

On to telecoms, where Carphone Warehouse closed up 11p at 190p after a Goldman Sachs interest in the stock again with a 'buy' rating together with 251p target. BT Group closed up 4.25p at 212p after a UBS upgrade to 'neutral' from 'sell'.

Sainsburys closed up 8.25p at 288p after a JP Morgan upgrade to 'overweight' from 'neutral' after reviewing the supermarket sector. The amount of propertry the group has looks attractive, JP Morgan said.

Oil services engineering group AMEC closed up 29.5p at 915.5p after a Citigroup upgrade to 'buy' from 'hold' after noting the group's better margin estimate announcement last week.

Marks & Spencer closed down another 10p at 217p after JP Morgan reiterated its 'underweight' stance and lower target to 2-quid. Peer Next didn't like the news, either, closing down 17p at 856p after Panmure Gordon lowering its traget onj nthe retailer.

Banks were down. RBS closed down 5.25p at 201p after a Cazenove downgrade to 'underperform' from 'in-line', blaming RBS's acquisition ABN Amro, which has a rather tight balance sheet. Lloyds TSB closed 2.25p at 297, Bradford & Bingley down 8p at 42p after the rights issue news which we mentioned this morning, and Alliance & Leicester down 7p at 248.5p after press reports on a rather large divvy cut this year.

Morning Market, Monday 7th July 2008

The FTSE was up this morning, trading at about 5,435, up 22 points. The FTSE 250 was up nearly 30 points at 8,545.

Over the pond on Friday, nothing happened as the markets were shut for Independence day. Not sure what all the fuss is about. Anyway, it looks like it could open up today, as GE and Alcoa will be reporting figures. Oil backed off on Friday too.

Here in London this morning, we saw the price of oil under US$143 bbl, which is about 4-bucks under the peak and new high last week. Deutche Bank now agrees (with us?) that oil prices will be higher this year, and have upped thier forecasts to US$120 bbl, up from $96 for 2008, and $102.50 for 2009. That's still conservative, we'd say. Deutche Bank also increased targets for BP, to 735p from 720p, and for RD Shell, to 2,750p from 27-quid. It reiterated its 'buy' stance on both of these majors. As a result, this morning BP was up 13p at 564.50p, RD Shell up 42p at 2,004p, and BG Group up 32p at 1,223p.

On to telecoms, where Carphone Warehouse was up 9.2p at 188.2p after Goldman Sachs was back on the scene, reinstating coverage with a 'buy' rating. Goldmans said it sees material value in the shares although expects a slowdown and flater revenue for fixed telecoms next year. Goldmans went on to say that 35% growth in earnings before tax is possible, even with further product price cuts. Staying with telecoms, BT Group was up nearly 3p at 210.5p after a UBS upgrade to 'neutral' from 'sell'. UBS also added, though, that it expects BT's results to show tough economic environment remains. The results are due on 30th July.

Engineering group AMEC was up 22p at 908p after a Citigroup upgarde to 'buy' from 'hold'. The oil services group raised its margin guidance last week, giving Citigroup reason to up its target from 815p to a tenner.

On to retail, albeit food, Sainsburys was up 6p at 286p after a JP Morgan upgrade to 'overweight' from 'neutral', saying there is value of the company's properties, compared with its enterprise value, which could give reason for outside bidding interest on the food retail giant. Peer Marks & Sparks recived a JP Morgan target cut to 2-quid, down from 345p, retaining its 'underweight' stance. Last week's profit warning taking its toll, with M&S down nearly 9p at 218.25p this morning.

BAE Systems was up 8p at 434.5p as investors are confident on the government's challenge to a court's verdict that ministers were wrong to drop a probe into bribery allegations surrounding the UK defence group's arms deals with Saudi Arabia. The House of Lords is scheduled to hear a government appeal against the High Court's ruling that the Serious Fraud Office acted unlawfully in ditching its investigation into the £43 bln Al-Yamamah arms deal in 1985.

On to the banks, where RBS was down nearly 9p at 197.5p after a Cazenove downgrade to 'underperform' from 'in-line', saying a key issue for ABN Amro, which RBS has taken over, is that its balance sheet has a 'curious combination of a high income yield but low risk weighting'. Bradford & Bingley was down another 7p to 43p after Friday's news it will issue some 828m new shares in an enlarged rights issue, which is about 57% of its enlarged share capital. There will be 67 new shares offered for every 50 existing shares. News that TPG had pulled out of the funding deal meant the mortgage bank would have to raise £400m in the rights issue. TPG was to take 23% of the bank. Alliance & Leicester was down 10p at 245.5p after weekend press said there is plans a dividend cut so to shore up its finances in a move expected to save it about £80m a year.

On to mining, where metal prices were lower. Also, Rio Tinto was down 155p at 5,445, and BHP down 43p to 1,720p after Friday's European Commission announcement that it has opened an in-depth inquiry into BHP's proposed $170bn acquisition of Rio.

easyJet was up 5p at nearly 250p after reporting higher load figures.

Market Wrap, Friday 4th July 2008

The FTSE closed down 63.8 points at 5,412.8, whilst the FTSE 250 closed down 140.4 points at 8,516. The financial sector took the hit again today.

Over the pond it was Independence Day - 4th July - so the markets were closed.

Here in London it was the Bradford & Bingley bank that said it will increase its rights issue to £400m, up from £258m after news that US private equity firm TPG Capital has decided to pull out of plans to buy a 23% stake in the banking group. This prompted Dresdner Kleinwort to reiterate its 'sell' stance and also reduce its target to 50p, down from 55p. The shares closed down 11p at 50p. Peers also fell, with Barclays down 13p at 279p, HBOS down 7.75p at 271.5p, and RBS down nearly 7p at 206.25p.

Staying in finance, the insurers fell back as it now looks like Friends Provident won't be getting taken over. They closed down 7p at 94.5p, whilst peer Standard Life closed down 9.25p at 201p, and The Pru down 21.5p at 508.5p.

In to the High Street, where Marks & Spencer fell another 9p to close at 227p after a Citigroup downgrade to 'sell' from 'buy', adding a much lower 205p target, down from 450p. The well-respected John Lewis Partnership said that sales were down for 7th week out of the last 8. It looked like Next was taking the M&S investors as the clothes retailer closed up 19.5p at 873p. Supermarkets Morrison and Tesco were up, 7p at 254.5p and 17.7p higher at 359.2p respectively.

Engineering group AMEC was up again, closing up 12p higher at 886p after UBS reiterated its 'buy' stance and upped its target to 1,050p from 1,030p.

Market Wrap, Thursday 3rd July 2008

The FTSE 100 closed up 50.3 points at 5,476.6 today, whilst the FTSE 250 closed down 1.8 points at 8,656.4. There was even an extension to the closing auction today due to the backlog of data.

Over the pond, by the time London closed the DJI was up 93 points at 11,308, whilst the S&P500 was up nearly 7 points at 1,268, and the Nasdaq up nearly 4 points at 2,255.

Back here in London, it was the banks that did well today. Barclays closed up 6.75p at 292p, RBS up 9p at 213p, and HBOS up 18.25p at 279.25p.

Oil services firm AMEC had a good day too, closing up 24.5p to 874p after saying it expected its EBITA margin for this year to 6.5%. This prompted a Seymour Pierce upgrade to 'hold' from 'sell'.

BAE Systems closed up 11.75p at 438.5p after its JV with VT Group got the nod for 2 new aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy worth £3 bln. Cazenove reiterated its 'outperform' rating, and upped its earnings estimates.

Pharmas wre back in fashion too, with AstraZeneca up 81p at 2,314, and Glaxo up 35p at 1,181p.

The retailers didn't fair as well, mainly due to Marks & Sparks, who received a Goldman Sachs downgrade to 'neutral' from 'buy'. M&S closed down 4p at 236p, whilst Kingfisher closed down 1.6p at a quid, and supermarket giant Sainsburys closed down 10p at 280p.

Miners were mixed due to copper higher and gold lower. Anto closed up 36.5p at 604.5p, whilst ENRC closed up 14p higher at 1,079p. Negatives were Lonmin, who closed down 57p to 2,814p, Ferrexpo off 10.5p at 332.5p, and Rio Tinto down 51p to 5,460p.

Greene King closed up 33p at 433.25p after announcing some 'strong' results. The pub company said like-for-like sales were down 2.8% in the first eight weeks of the current financial year, but like-for-like profits at its Pub partners division actually up on the same period last year.

Housebuilders were looking cheap, it seems, with Barratts up 1.25p at 41.5p, Bovis Homes up 24.5p to 316.5p, and Bellway Homes up 33p at 410.75p.

Rightmove closed down 5p at 242.5p after Merrill Lynch gave an 'underperform' rating and 215p price target.

Premier Foods closed down 9.5p lower at 73.75p, with neagative feeling on the trading update in 2 weeks. The company cut its dividend in March and rumours have been around about a possible rights issue may be required.

Game Group closed down 12p to 250.25p, mainly due to the whole sector negativity.

Morning Market, Thursday 3rd July 2008

The FTSE 100 was down 20 points at 5,406 this monring, whilst the FTSE 250 was down 115 points at 8,542.

last night over the pond the DJI closed down nearly 167 points at 11,215.51, which is getting awfully close to the 11,000 mark, whilst the S&P500 closed down over 23 points at 1,261.52 and the nasdaq down 53.5 points at 2,251.46.

In the Far East today the Nikkei 225 closed down almost 21 points at 13,265.40, whilst in Hong Kong the Hang Seng was down about 260 points at 21,440 by lunchtime.

Staying in the Far East, where oil was almost touching US$145 bbl, a new record, as the weaker dollar and other regional security concerns fuelled (excuse the pun) the rise in price.

On to interest rates, where the feeling is that the European Central Bank will be raising interest rates today, trying to kerb inflation. We'll have to wait and see.

Back here in London, the not-so-long-ago star of the High Street, Marks & Sparks, was down another 8p at 232p after a Goldman Sachs downgrade to 'neutral' from 'buy', whilst peer Next was down 28p at 808p, and Kingfisher down 5p at 96.7p. Supermarket chain Sainsburys was down 8p at 282p, but peer Tesco was actually up 1.5p at 345.4 after a Merrill Lynch upgrade to 'buy' from 'neutral'.

The miners had a poor start to the morning, though, with Xstrata having the worst start, down almost 140p at 1,710, whilst Rio was off 105p at 5,410, BHP was down 45p at 1,714, and Kazakhmys down 43p at 1,354. News from BHP, by the way, said that the US Department of Justice has given the nod for its proposed acquisition of Rio Tinto.

On to travel, namely the main oil user, where the $145 bbl was taking its toll on British Airways, who were down nearly 3p at 2-quid a share. Investors still hoping that the traffic figures for June that will be with us later on will be decent, although the airline is expected to say traffic measured in revenue passenger kilometres dropped by 1.5% last month, whilst aircraft loadings fell by 2 percentage points to 78.5%. Press reports this morning said that the airline is apparently close to securing clearance from the competition authorities for a three way tie up for operations with American Airlines and Iberia.

On to the banks, where a small bounce was experienced. Maybe we are near the floor? Or maybe we're not. Or maybe UBS just saying they don't need any cash helped. Probably. Anyway, Barclays was up 1.5p at jsut shy of 287p, HBOS up over 3p at 264.25p, and RBS up a penny at 205p.

On to housebuilders, where Barratts was up 2p at 42.25p, Bovis Homes up 7.5p at 299.5p, whilst Taylor Wimpey continued its slide with another 2p down at just shy of 33p.

AMEC was up 8p at 858p saying it expected its earnings before tax to be about 6.5% this year, which prompted a Seymour Pierce upgrade to 'hold' from 'sell'.

Computer and games retailer Game Group was down 10p at 252.5p after a trading statement which said it has managed to buck the retail trend with better than expected first half sales growth. Products like the new Grant Theft Auto game and the new Wii console had helped sales. Deutsche Bank reiterated its 'buy' stance.

Pub group Greene King fell 5p to 395p after saying sales were down 2.8% these first 2 months of the financial year.

Rightmove was down 16p at 230p after Merrill Lynch gave an 'underperform' rating and 215p. Merrills added that 1,300 UK estate agent branches have closed and that it expects 2,200 more to follow this year, and another 1,500 next year.

Yell Group was down 1.5p at 58.5p after an ABN Amro downgrade to 'hold' from 'buy' and adding a 70p target, saying Yell may need to raise some cash at a discounted rate of 39p.

Market Wrap, Wednesday 2nd July 2008

The FTSE closed down 53.6 points at 5,426.3, about 140 points down from its peak, whilst the FTSE 250 closed a worrying 249.5 points down at 8,671.3.

Over the pond, by the time London closed the DJI was down 29 points at 11,353, whilst the S&P500 was up a point or so at 1,287, and the Nasdaq down 21.5 points at 2,283.5. The market fell back from a decent start as disappointing jobless figures showed that 79,000 jobs were lost in June, which was a much worse figure than expected.

Back here in London, the market retreated from a positive kick off, especially after the US figures were heard. Marks & Sparks posted some poor trading figures too, which affected the retail sector, and the miners also pulled back as metal prices fell.

Marks & Spencer closed down 78p at 240, down nearly 25% on the day, after a very disappointing and unexpected trading update that said that sales were down 5.3% on the same last quarter period last year, blaming consumer confidence levels had deteriorated somewhat. Peers followed the fall, with Next closing down 72p at 837.5p, Kingfisher down 5.1p at 101.6p, and supermarkets Tesco down 19.3p at 343.7p, and Sainsburys down 20.25p at 290p.

The miners also had a poor day, with metal prices falling after the recent jump. ENRC closed down 110p at 1,065p, Xstrata down 181p at 3,649p, Anto down 49p at 568, BHP down 82p at 1,759p, Vedanta Resources was 102 lower at 1,982, and Rio Tinto down 253p at 5,511.

On to the pharmas, where AstraZeneca closed up 103p at 2,233 after saying it would not need a full trial to defend its Seroquel patent from generic company Teva Pharmaceutical Industries after all. Sector peer GlaxoSmithKline closed up 43p at 1,146.5.

Housebuilders all reacted badly to the Taylor Wimpey news this morning, which said that the company was in talks to raise cash for shares, but it has been unable to conclude a satisfactory transaction in light of current market conditions. Then it added that it expects the UK housing market to remain weak for at least the rest of this year and that it did not expect any recovery in the short-term. With its order book for the UK down 1/3rd in value than this point last year. The share price fell like a stone, down 25p to 35p on the day, a drop of 41%. Peers joined the slide, with Barratts down 16.5p at 40.25p, Persimmons down 51.5p at 240p, and Bellway Homes down 39.5p at just shy of 378p. The UK construction sector PMI came in at 38.8, which is way down from the 43.9 figure for May. The forecast was 42.5. The Bank of England said that the amount of money home owners took out of their homes in the first quarter slumped to its lowest level for seven years.

Informa closed up over 49p at 427.5 after it confirmed it has been approached by a private equity consortium led by Providence Equity with a 506p a share offer.

Babcock International closed up 7p at 606.5p after the Office of Fair Trade approved the company's acquisition of Weir Group's Strachan & Henshaw.

Johnston Press closed down nearly 7p at 40p after a Citigroup downgrade to 'sell' from 'hold' and a 43p target, down from 88p. Trinity Mirror's profit warning earlier this week contributing to the sector pressure.

Morning Market, Wednesday 2nd July 2008

The FTSE was up about 20 points this morning at 5,500, Whilst the FTSE 250 was down 135 points at 8,786.

Last night over the pond, the DJI closed up 32.3 points at 11,382.3, whilst the S&P500 closed up almost 5 points at 1,284.9, and the Nasdaq up just about 12 points at 2,304.97.

Today in the Far East the Nikkei 225 closed down nearly 177 points at 13,286.37, whilst in Hong Kong the Hang Seng was down about 220 points at 21,882.67 by lunchtime chow time.

Staying in Asia, oil was up again, near the US$14.50 bbl level. The OPEC president talked of uncertainty surrounding future investment in energy facilities to boost crude output. Light sweet (Aug del) was up $1.30 at $142.25 bbl, whilst Brent was up $1.60 at $142.30 bbl.

Back here in London, Marks & Spencers had a poor start after a poor update, and was down 68p at 249p as the retailer said UK like-for-like sales were down 5.3% in the last quarter to June 28 as consumer confidence levels have deteriorated markedly. Peers followed south, as Next was down 104p at 805.5p, Kingfisher down 8.3p at 98.4p, and supermarkets Sainsburys down 18p at 292p and Tesco down 12p at 351p.

Housebuilders and property had a poor morning so far, with Taylor Wimpey saying it was in talks to raise cash but wasn't having a good result, and has been unable to get a positive conclusion due to current market conditions. It added that it reckons the UK housing market will have a bad 2008 and that it can't see anything to change this in the short-term. Its order book was 1/3rd lower than this time last year too. Taylor Wimpey was down nearly 50% early doors, off 29p at 31p, whilst peers joined the slide. Barratts was down 14p at 43p, Persimmons down 58p at 233p, Bovis Homes down 49p at just shy of 269p, and Bellway Homes down 52p at 365p. Construction supplier Wolseley was down 52p at 308p.

On to the pharmas, where AstraZeneca was up 125p at 2,252p after confirming it no longer has to have a full trial to defend its Seroquel patent from generic company Teva Pharmaceutical Industries after all. Peer GlaxoSmithKline jumoped 23p to 1,126 as well.

Mining stocks did ok so far, with Kazakhmys up 20p at 1,477, Rio Tinto up 82p at 5,846p, and BHP up 20p at 1,861p.

Informa was up 35p at 414p after confirming it has been approached by a private equity consortium led by Providence Equity with a 506p a share offer.

Northgate was down 45p at 294p after a new Citigroup price target of 360p, down from 640p, after a review of the firm's results.

News from BoE said that cash withdrawls from home owners is down to £5.5 bln for the 1st quarter, down from £7.8 bln from the previous quarter.

Market Wrap, Tuesday 1st July 2008

The FTSE 100 closed down 146 points today at 5,479.9, whilst the FTSE 250 closed down 225 points at 8,920.8. The banks causing mots of the negative sentiment, and the Dow didn't help when that opened.

Over the pond, by the time London closed the DJI was down about 34 points at 1,316, whilst the S&P500 was very slightly up, probably half a point at 1,280, and the Nasdaq was down nearly 4 points at 2,289. Wall Street was lower on opening, but the better than expected manufacturing index rose to 50.2 in June, which is the highest level since January. Above 50 is always positive as it shows expansion.

Here in the UK the manufacturing sector PMI fell to 45.8 for June, which was down from the 49.5 May figure. In contrast the the above 50 signifying expansion, below 50 means contraction, and the UK manufacturing sector is contracting at its fastest rate since 2001.

Back here in London on the markets, it was the banks that pulled the FTSE down. Barclays closed down 10p at 281.5, Lloyds TSB down nearly 10p at 301, HBOS down 7p at 269p, and RBS down 11p at 204p.

With oil still over US$140 bbl, the users were hit. British Airways was down nearly 8p at 207.25p, whilst cruise ship firm Carnival fell 65p to close at 1,541.5p.

Diageo clossed down 24.5p at 899.25p after its peer, Fortune Brands, issued a profits warning.

Severn Trent closed down 12p at 1,271.5 after receiving a £2m fine and £200k costs after pleading guilty to charges of misreporting leakage data to the water regulator in 2001 and 2002.

International Power had a better day, closing up over 4p at 436.25p after Credit Suisse reitereated its 'outperform' stance and added the company to its Europe focus list.

Wolseley was down over 16p at 360p after Goldman Sachs decided to reiterate it's 'sell' stance and lowered its target to 346p from 465p, blaming earnings estimates.

BT Group closed up 2.1p at 202 after starting its share buy-back programme. Deutsche Telekom received a JP Morgan upgrade to 'overweight' from 'neutral'.

Vodafone received an upgarde by Exane BNP Paribas to 'outperform' from 'neutral', which initially boosted the price, but VOD closed down 1.95p at 147.25 by the end of the day.

The housebuilders had another poor day, with the UK housing market under pressure, with a real prolonged downturn being forecast, with a fall of 6.3% in prices over the last year. Taylor Wimpey closed down 2p at 60p, Bovis Homes down over 22p at just shy of 318p, Persimmons down 24.5p at 291.5, and Barratts down 1.25p at just shy of 57p.

HMV closed down 17p at 112.5p after an Altium Securities didn't like the posted full year results and said they were below expectations, and the reiterated its 'sell' stance and 87p target. Merrill Lynch also kept its 'underperform' stance and 120p target.

Hays closed down over 7p at 83.25p after a UBS downgrade to 'sell' from 'neutral', and a 85p target, down 115p.

Michael Page closed down 11p at 223.5p after UBS reitereated its 'sell' stance and lowered its target to 230p from 250p.

Care Home firm Southern Cross Healthcare closed down 35p to 95 aftera profit warning.

Autonomy closed up 23.5p at 930p after Morgan Stanley gave them a 10-quid target to accompany the 'overweight' stance.

Morning Market, Tuesday 1st July 2008

The FTSE was down 55 points this morning at 5,571, whilst the FTSE 250 was down 105 points at 9,043.

Last night over the pond, the DJI closed up 3.5 points at 11,350.0, whilst the S&P500 closed up just 1.62 points at 1,280, and the Nasdaq closed down nearly 23 points at 2,292.98. The Dow is down 20% from its October 2007 peak - a sign of recession. We are in a bear market. World economy, house prices, interest rates, credit crunch, oil price, higher commodity prices, food costs, etc etc. The outlook isn't good.

In the Far East today, the Nikkei 225 closed down 18.18 points at 13,463.20, whilst in Hong Kong the Hang Seng was closed for a holiday.

Staying in the Far East, the cost of the black stuff was above US$140 bbl.

Back here in Lodnon, the banks were under pressure yet again. Barclays was down 7p at 284.5p, Lloyds TSB down 8p at 303p, and RBS down 6p at 209p.

On to house prices, where Nationwide report that they are 6.3% lower than they were last June.

With oil at $140 a barrel, the users were hit. British Airways was down 7p at 208p as the cost of fuelling the fleet looks more and more expensive.

John Wood Group, the oil services firm, was up 1.5p at at 496p after a JP Morgan upgrade to 'neutral' from 'underweight' and 510p target, up from 390p. The company also announced this morning it has secured a US$3m contract with Italian energy group Edison.

Wolseley was down 11p at 365p after a downbeat note from Goldman Sachs, in which the broker reiterated its 'sell' stance and target to 346p, down from 465p.

On to housebuilders, where Barratts was up 6p at 64p after media reports a finacing deal is just about in place.

Carpetright was down 40p to 620p after after the floor coverings retailer gave a downbeat statment to accompany its results.

HMV was down 6p at 123.5p after its full-year results failed to impress, and Altium Securities said were below expectations, so reiterated its 'sell' stance and price target of 87p. Merrill Lynch also reiterated its 'underperform' stance and 120p target.

Northgate was down 17p at 336p after a 5% rise in profits for 2007/8 but added the now usual current market conditions will affect this year's performance.