Market overview: US data boosts stocks

14th Nov 2014 09:14

1630:Close Shares of Aggreko led gains on the top flight index after pleasing investors with its trading update. Tesco and Sainsbury also did well, with the former having received an upgrade out of HSBC. Large gains were also to be seen in Petrofac and Aberdeen Asset Management. Boosting stocks on Friday were stronger than forecast figures on US retail sales and consumer confidence. Front month Brent crude futures also managed to bounce back from the weakness seen in the previous day. They rose 1.5% to $78.7 per barrel on the ICE. FTSE 100 ended the day higher by 19 points to 6,654. 1535: Shares of Salamander are rocketing after announcing that it has received a buy-out bid from CEPSA and Strategic Energy of 121p per share in cash and one contingent value right.1455: The University of Michigan November consumer-confidence index jumped to 89.4 from 86.9 in October, well ahead of the 87.5 forecast. The index is now at its highest level since mid-2007.1330: US retail sales volumes grew by 0.3% month-on-month in October according to the US Department of Commerce. That was a tenth of a percentage point more than expected by economists. If sales of both automobiles and gasoline are removed then sales increased by 0.6% month-on-month (consensus: 0.4%). The previous month´s gain was revised higher to show a rise of 0.1%, instead of the 0.1% drop initially estimated.1243: Dairy Crest is among the best performers on the FTSE 350 today, up 3.5%, after Credit Suisse upgraded the stock from 'underperform' to 'neutral' and sparked speculation about a potential takeover of the firm. The bank said that Dairy Crest's recent deal to sell its dairies business to Muller could leave the smaller, more focused firm "vulnerable" to interest from third parties.1002: Shares of Tesco continue to bounce back but as technical analysts at Digital Look the first serious signal of possible medium-term strength will not come until the 230.2p mark is cleared on an end-of-day basis.1000: The Eurozone´s gross domestic product expanded at a 0.2% quarter-on-quarter pace in the third quarter, one tenth of a percentage point more than had been expected.0913: After a small upwards feint UK stocks have drifted slightly into the red. Brent crude futures are eseentially unchanged, down by 0.1% to $77.41 per barrel on the ICE, following yesterday´s large losses. To take note of, the drop in crude prices on Thursday came on the back of higher than usual trading volumes. Aggreko is doing best on the Footsie, the temporary power provider has reiterated its full-year forecasts this morning. Tesco is right behind, boosted by positive comments out of HSBC. GDP data out this morning in France and Germany is elliciting a mixed reaction from market observers. A barrage of economic indicators is due out later in the day Stateside. FTSE 100 down 17 points to 6,618.