London close: FTSE ends higher after US Fed comments

22nd Feb 2013 16:56

Markets returned to positive territory on Friday, with investors making the most of cheaper prices one day after the biggest single session decline this year. The index ended seven points up on the week.The main reason for the day's advance was the endorsement given by the President of the US Federal Reserve bank of St.Louis to the current generous monetary policy stance. Even more importantly, Bloomberg reported that Fed President Bernanke recently - in a meeting with dealers - talked down the risk of spawning asset bubbles.Adding to this, Germany's IFO business confidence index rose to 107.4 points in February versus a reading of 104.3 for the month before (Consensus: 104.9). It is also worth noting is the fact that the improvement was led by the expectations gauge, which shot up to 104.6 points, from 101.4 in the month before, alongside a robust reading for manufacturing. Also of interest, speeches from at least another two Fed policy-makers are scheduled for this evening. Turning to the Eurozone, the European Commission said Friday the region would not return to growth until next year. Europe's economy will shrink 0.3% this year after a 0.6% fall in 2012 as a result of unemployment rates and a lack of bank lending, according to the Commission. HMRC reveals 0.05% rise in property transactions between December 2012 and January 2013Ben Thompson, the Managing Director of Legal & General Mortgage Club, said of the statistics: "The data from the HMRC today is another indication that we are right to be cautiously optimistic about a recovery in the housing market especially as it reveals a 3.0% increase in residential transactions on the same period last year. "While constraints on credit do remain and we expect the volume of transactions to remain broadly flat over the course of 2013, things are slowly starting to claw their way back to something approaching 'normality.' "The findings of a recent report Legal & General carried out in conjunction with CEBR entitled 'A New Normal in the UK Housing Market' shows that at present the picture is regional and patchy but there are positive signs ahead. The value of the average home is expected to return to pre-crisis levels of £227,000 by the year 2015, and to reach £254,000 by 2017. "Our hope is that lenders will be seeking to do more business this year and that we will begin to see an upward and sustained momentum that will start to take us towards a healthier housing market overall."Nat Rothschild declares Bumi shareholder meeting a "humiliating setback"Nathaniel Rothschild's company NR Investments said Bumi plc faced a "humiliating setback" after shareholders threw out his proposal to oust members of the board.The co-founder of the Indonesian coal miner lost his bid to replace 12 of 14 members of the board at a highly anticipated meeting Thursday. FTSE 100Serco Group was a strong riser after Citigroup shifted its target price from 670p to 680p reiterating a buy recommendation. The sale of Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov's holding in Polyus Gold, a London-listed miner, has prompted speculation of a merger between Polyus and fellow miner Polymetal, causing the latter to become a high riser on the top tier index. Sage was another strong riser. The company said this morning that it has applied for an additional 0.5m shares to be addmitted to trading. Randgold Resources was once again taking a hit as the price of gold continued to slide. G4S was lower after HSBC downgraded the stock to underweight. FTSE 250Shares in Millennium & Copthorne Hotels dropped after it revealed that total full year revenue had declined by 6.4 per cent in 2012, despite an increase in revenue per available room (RevPAR). Total revenue fell from £820.5m to £768.3m, while RevPAR on a constant currency basis rose 3.9% from £64.81 to £67.32, primarily because of higher average room rate, with a good performance seen in Singapore, Rest of Asia and London. Revenue from hotels alone dropped 2.1%. FTSE 100 - RisersCRH (CRH) 1,394.00p +4.34%Polymetal International (POLY) 982.50p +3.86%Serco Group (SRP) 588.00p +3.52%Sage Group (SGE) 343.00p +3.03%IMI (IMI) 1,213.00p +2.80%Schroders (SDR) 2,016.00p +2.54%Intertek Group (ITRK) 3,396.00p +2.32%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 435.10p +2.30%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 345.00p +2.13%Melrose Industries (MRO) 250.90p +2.12%FTSE 100 - FallersGKN (GKN) 252.10p -1.29%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,476.00p -1.21%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,390.00p -1.10%G4S (GFS) 287.10p -0.93%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,488.00p -0.87%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 364.70p -0.63%Compass Group (CPG) 799.00p -0.62%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,830.00p -0.54%Pearson (PSON) 1,216.00p -0.49%Rexam (REX) 503.00p -0.49%FTSE 250 - RisersPersimmon (PSN) 909.50p +5.45%Filtrona PLC (FLTR) 618.00p +4.83%Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 391.10p +4.40%Michael Page International (MPI) 430.20p +3.46%FirstGroup (FGP) 186.00p +3.22%Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 79.40p +3.18%Telecity Group (TCY) 922.00p +3.13%Atkins (WS) (ATK) 894.50p +3.11%Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 515.00p +2.79%Senior (SNR) 221.30p +2.60%FTSE 250 - FallersBumi (BUMI) 360.10p -7.97%Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 531.00p -6.51%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 261.50p -5.12%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 367.60p -4.84%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 241.40p -3.98%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 26.55p -2.14%Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 90.20p -1.96%Drax Group (DRX) 632.00p -1.94%Halfords Group (HFD) 315.30p -1.87%Supergroup (SGP) 674.00p -1.68%