Advertisement
UK markets closed
  • NIKKEI 225

    40,168.07
    -594.66 (-1.46%)
     
  • HANG SENG

    16,541.42
    +148.58 (+0.91%)
     
  • CRUDE OIL

    82.99
    +1.64 (+2.02%)
     
  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,242.80
    +30.10 (+1.36%)
     
  • DOW

    39,803.46
    +43.38 (+0.11%)
     
  • Bitcoin GBP

    56,194.16
    +1,767.96 (+3.25%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • NASDAQ Composite

    16,381.19
    -18.33 (-0.11%)
     
  • UK FTSE All Share

    4,338.05
    +12.12 (+0.28%)
     

LIVE MARKETS-Finding opportunities among the disrupted

* European shares edge higher

* FTSE retreats

* Tech leads gains

Jan 18 (Reuters) - Welcome to the home for real time coverage of European equity markets

brought to you by Reuters stocks reporters and anchored today by Julien Ponthus. Reach him on

Messenger to share your thoughts on market moves: julien.ponthus.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net

FINDING OPPORTUNITIES AMONG THE DISRUPTED (1215 GMT)

Much has been made of the wave of disruption impacting almost every sector, but it can be a

challenge for income investors to own such stocks, which tend to be in the initial growth stage

and focusing more on reinvesting profits than handing them to shareholders.

ADVERTISEMENT

David Smith, manager of Janus Henderson's High Income Trust, is looking at companies at the

receiving end of disruption that are showing signs of moving with the times.

Smith singles out Johnson Matthey (LSE: JMAT.L - news) as a stock whose valuation has been hit by the

rise of EVs, but points to the firm's increasing investment in R&D and its EV battery

technology.

Smith also highlights British American Tobacco (Kuala Lumpur: 4162.KL - news) as another firm with an attractive

valuation and which is focusing its efforts on next-generation products which heat tobacco

without burning it.

"It’s important to remember ... that management teams of the disrupted companies won’t

necessarily stand still and the good ones will correctly balance investment to protect their

businesses with dividends successfully," Smith says in a note.

According the fund's factsheet from Nov 30, BAT was Smith's biggest position.

(Kit Rees)

*****

THE CARILLION RIPPLE EFFECT CONTINUES (1110 GMT)

In the wake of Carillion (Frankfurt: 924047 - news) 's collapse, the UK's National Audit Office (NAO) released

a report today saying that privately funding public projects may not offer value for money.

Analysts at Jefferies think that the report is "a potential lightning rod for criticism of

PFI, and, therefore, the funds," referring to the Private Finance Initiative.

"While there are no direct implications for the day-to-day operation of the funds, as there

is limited involvement in the procurement of new UK projects, the ultimate result of this

scrutiny remains unclear," analysts at Jefferies write.

But they also add that the most likely scenario under a potential Labour government is a

review of PFI and the selective renegotiation of certain contracts.

Projects belonging to the John Laing Infrastructure Fund and HICL Infrastructure

Company are mentioned in the report. Their shares are both down more than 1 percent

today.

(Kit Rees)

*****

THREE GOOD REASONS TO EXPECT MORE M&A (1040 GMT)

After two rather soft years, M&A has livened up trading this month and Gérald Moser, head of

equity strategy at Credit Suisse Wealth Management, thinks it's just the start.

He has three good reasons to believe so:

1) Cash levels as a percentage of market cap are at a record high in the US and also at

healthy levels in Europe. Cash has been the preferred method of payment in M&A, being used in 50

percent of the deals, far ahead of stock, debt or a combination of the two.

2) Volatility levels are close to record lows, suggesting stable financial markets. This

usually bodes well for M&A activity.

3) The growth outlook is the best since 2009–2010, the immediate aftermath of the financial

crisis. While companies have used cash mainly to return money to shareholders through dividends

and share buybacks in the last few years, the strong growth outlook should encourage them to

look for growth opportunities and therefore consider M&A.

(Danilo Masoni)

*****

TOLD YOU SO! FRENCH WATCHDOG BERATES FRENCH TV STAR AFTER BITCOIN SLUMP (0945 GMT)

Remember how French financial authorities including the head of the country's central bank

took up arms when reality TV star Nabilla Benattia encouraged her fans to invest in bitcoin?

Well, the slump in the cryptocurrency has brought them a "told you so" opportunity which

they were quick to seize.

"The followers of Nabilla who would have invested at the time she encouraged them to would

have made a very substantial loss, about a third," Robert Ophele, head of the French financial

markets authority (AMF), said yesterday.

"She (Munich: SOQ.MU - news) 's the proof one should not venture recklessly into these kinds of investments", he

added.

Here's Ophele making these comments to French news channel BFM Business:

(Julien Ponthus)

*****

TOP MOVERS A LA CARTE: EARNINGS PROVIDE SUPPORT (0826 GMT)

The broader market is inching up around 30 minutes after the opening bell, masking bigger

moves for single stocks, with a series of well-received earnings updates providing support.

Top gainers on the STOXX 600 are Geberit (IOB: 0QQ2.IL - news) , Balfour Beatty (Other OTC: BAFBF - news) and Carrefour (Swiss: CA.SW - news)

, all up more than 2 percent after their updates, while Britvic (Stuttgart: A0HMX9 - news) , Infineon

and Hargreaves were supported by upbeat broker notes.

Among the losers are utility SSE (LSE: SSE.L - news) after reports that a UK price cap law should be

passed by the summer, while a downgrade hit Rightmove (LSE: RMV.L - news) and BPER Banca fell

after a Reuters story raised fresh worries over Italian banks' bad loans.

British drugs company BTG (Frankfurt: 908827 - news) is down 5 percent after a U.S. patent on J&J's Zytiga was

invalidated. BTG earns royalties on the drug.

Engineering company GKN (Frankfurt: 694194 - news) ratcheted up the rhetoric over the hostile bid from Melrose (LSE: 136541.L - news)

, calling its offer "misleading", accusing Melrose of offering a "fake premium" and

saying the combination would bring no industrial synergies. Investors are betting on some sort

of deal: GKN shares were trading at 447 pence, compared to Melrose's offer worth 430.1 pence,

based on the suitor's Jan. 16 closing price.

(Danilo Masoni)

*****

OPENING SNAPSHOT: HIGHER (0807 GMT)

European shares have opened higher in a bounce inspired by another record close at Wall

Street. Here is your snapshot:

(Danilo Masoni)

*****

THREE HOT "SPECIAL SITS" (0754 GMT)

Here's the latest on 3 hot European "special sits":

* Activist investor Sachem Head is asking Whitbread (Frankfurt: WHF4.F - news) to consider splitting the Costa Coffee

chain away from its hotels and restaurant businesses

* Steinhoff: Jayendra Naidoo resigns as a member of the supervisory board.

* The largest shareholder in Belgian biotech group Ablynx (LSE: 0HNK.L - news) said the 2.6 billion euro offer

made by Denmark's Novo Nordisk (LSE: 0QIU.L - news) is too low but that it is willing to consider a higher offer.

(Julien Ponthus)

*****

BULLISH SECTOR, BULLISH HEADLINES (0720 GMT)

With (Other OTC: WWTH - news) an 8.8 percent rise since the beginning of the year, European car makers are the best -

by far - performing sector, something you can get a sense of when reading this morning's

headlines.

In a nutshell, while Renault (LSE: 0NQF.L - news) and Volkswagen (IOB: 0P6N.IL - news) are fighting over who can claim the crown of the

world's leading automobile group, Peugeot (Other OTC: PUGOF - news) is planning to use the know-how of former

Opel engineers acquired from General Motors (NYSE: GM - news) to re-enter the U.S. market.

At the opposite end, retail, which is up a slim 0.75 percent in comparison with 2.3 percent

for the STOXX 600, is enjoying less glamourous headlines, with France's Carrefour (LSE: 0NPH.L - news) cutting its

profit forecast for the second time in six months before presenting a new strategic plan

. That comes a day after another French supermarket group, Casino, disappointed

analysts with its 2017 profit growth guidance in its core French business.

(Julien Ponthus)

*****

FUTURES POINT TO POSITIVE OPEN FOR EUROPEAN SHARES (0706 GMT)

Futures seem to confirm that European shares are set to join their U.S. and Asian peers' in

a global rally.

(Julien Ponthus)

*****

MORNING CALL: EUROPEAN SHARES SET TO JOIN GLOBAL RALLY (0617 GMT)

Good morning and welcome to Live Markets. It seems European shares are set to join the

global rally, which has lifted the Dow above 26,000 points and boosted Asian shares to new

highs.

Financial spreadbetters expect Frankfurt's DAX to open 76 points higher, Paris' CAC up 26

points and London's FTSE 8 points higher.

(Julien Ponthus)

*****

(Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Helen Reid, Kit Rees and Julien Ponthus)