16th Feb 2015 17:12
LONDON (Alliance News) - UK shares ended mixed in a light day of trading Monday, with US markets closed for President's Day and with markets focused on the meeting of eurozone finance ministers to discuss Greek debt repayments that got underway during the afternoon trading session.
The FTSE 100 closed down 0.2% at 6,857.05, while the FTSE 250 closed up 0.1% at 16,861.24 and the AIM All-Share closed up 0.4% at 703.19.
European stocks traded down, with the CAC 40 in Paris closing off 0.2% at 4,751.72, and the DAX 30 down 0.4% at 10,923.23.
Germany is "very sceptical" that Greece and its eurozone partners will reach an agreement at the meeting in Brussels, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in a radio interview earlier in the day.
"From what I have heard about the technical talks that took place over the weekend, I am very sceptical. But we will receive a report today and then we'll see," Schaeuble told Deutschlandfunk radio ahead of a meeting of Eurogroup finance ministers.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "These obstinate comments aren’t a great sign for the Eurogroup actually reaching a deal. However, and this is the key factor, there isn’t much more time for these perambulations through hypothetical solutions; an agreement needs to be found."
Schaeuble added that he did not want Greece to leave the eurozone, and that Athens had to stick to the conditions of its bailout programme and implement planned reforms in order to become competitive.
Meanwhile, in an interview with German media, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he was "confident" of reaching agreement in negotiations, but reiterated the country would not accept harsh austerity measures in any debt pact.
On the UK corporate front, SABMiller, up 1.9%, was among the biggest gainers in the FTSE 100 after the Daily Mail's This is Money reported that 3G Capital, an investment firm run by a group of Brazilian investors, is understood to be considering making a GBP75 billion bid for the brewer.
But Nomura questioned the Daily Mail's report, saying: "We are sceptical." Nomura analyst Edward Mundy said such a deal is not typical of the Brazillian group. "The Brazilians historically have been value investors, buying undermanaged assets cheaply and running them better. SABMiller does not appear to fit this criteria – it is a well-run asset with a high valuation," Mundy said.
Centrica and SSE were among the worst blue-chip performers, down 2.9% and 2.0%, respectively, after the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change launched a new 'Power To Switch' campaign. The UK government said it has reformed the market by halving switching times, encouraging new suppliers into the market, and working with the UK gas and electricity regulator Ofgem to make energy bills clearer for customers.
In January, Ofgem urged consumers to switch to a fixed-price energy tariff, despite major firms committing to introducing price cuts to their variable tariffs in February, and said independent suppliers are offering the cheapest deals, rather than the so-called 'Big Six' suppliers, including Centrica's British Gas and SSE.
AstraZeneca was another big faller, down 1.8%, after saying on Friday that a US court has ruled its patent on its Pulmicort Repsules asthma treatment invalid, but said the decision will not impact its guidance for 2015. The pharmaceutical group also said the decision does not impact on the validity of its patents for the product in other countries.
In the FTSE 250, Jimmy Choo was among the biggest gainers, up 4.0%, after it was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral by HSBC.
Hunting also ended among the best mid-cap performers, up 2.9%, after starting the day sharply lower on a mostly downbeat trading update. The energy services group said Monday it does not expect to feel the full impact of lower oil prices until the second quarter of 2015, but said it is possible that some businesses will report growth in the year ahead, while others will be affected by the wider sector downturn.
Later in the morning, Numis upgraded its recommendation on Hunting to Buy from Reduce, while maintaining its price target at 554p, saying the world oil price has stopped its "free-fall".
Fidessa Group, down 2.6%, was amongst the worst FTSE 250 performers. The financial trading systems company reported a fall in profit for 2014, exacerbated by the strength of sterling, but raised its annual dividend by 3% to 38.1 pence per share and kept its special dividend flat at 45.0 pence, while the group also said it expects a gradual increase in its growth rate in 2015.
In the AIM All-Share, Tri-Star Resources shares jumped 54%, after the company said Oman-based Strategic & Precious Metals Processing has signed a financing deal with local lender Bank Nizwa. Tri-Star owns a 40% stake in Strategic & Precious Metals Processing.
In the economic calendar Tuesday, the UK Consumer, Retail and Producer Price indices are due at 0930 GMT, while German economic sentiment ZEW survey scheduled for 1000 GMT. In the US, the NY Empire State Manufacturing Index is at 1330 GMT, the US Redbook index at 1355 GMT, and the NAHB Housing Market Index at 1500 GMT.
In the UK corporate calendar Tuesday, InterContinental Hotels Group reports full-year results, as does John Wood Group, Dragon Oil, Brammer and Pendragon. Monitise and Hargreaves Services are expected to provide their half-year results.
By Daniel Ruiz; [email protected]
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