UK Market News

Friday May 16, 07:35 AM
Thomson Financial UK at a glance share guide

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Leading shares look set to open firmer as Wall Street closed higher on Thursday, with investors likely to concentrate on British Airways (LSE: BAY.L - news) as it unveils full year figures Friday.

Spread bettors IG Index expect the FTSE 100 index to open 8 points higher at 6,259 after closing up 35.8 points at 6,251.8.

MARKETS

FTSE 100 6,251.8, up 35.8

FTSE 250 (news) 10,338.9, up 63.6

DJIA 12,992.70, up 94.30

Nasdaq Comp 2,533.73, up 37.03

S&P 500 1,423.57, up 14.91

Tokyo: Nikkei (news) closes at 14,219.48, down 32.26

Hang Seng (news) midday 25,675.51, up 161.80

Gold $886.80 ($868.70)

Oil - Brent Jun $121.25 ($121.86)

TODAY'S PRESS

* Banks eye 90 billion pounds in swaps; liquidity scheme's cap could be blown; lenders in talks on top-quality collateral - FT

* Gordon Brown agrees to let the cash-strapped Ministry of Defence free up hundreds of millions of pounds by breaking one of its main accounting rules so it can finally give the go-ahead to a 4 billion pounds contract for two aircraft carriers - FT

* Pressure on Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways, set to intensify as he announces a further profit warning Friday and faces a pilots' strike within ten days that could ground the airline - Times (1832.HK - news)

* Blackstone (NYSE: BX - news) looks to buy back into property it sold at market's height - FT

* Energias de Portugal to list up to a quarter of its renewable energy division - FT

* Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: 91ID.L - news) 's 7 billion pounds auction of its U.K. insurance business receives a lukewarm response, with Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway pulling out of the bidding; there are doubts, too, about the level of interest of Germany's Allianz - FT

* Prudential eyes Equitable Life's with-profit fund - FT

* Staff braced for thousands of job cuts at Thomson Reuters (TRI.TO - news) - Independent

* One in ten staff at Crest Nicholson (LSE: CRST.L - news) is to be made redundant as the housing market crisis intensifies - Telegraph

PRESS COMMENT

THE LEX COLUMN comments on Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) ' silence, Icahn vs Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO - news) (with logic on his side, Mr Icahn at least has a shot at victory) Residential Capital's bondholders, Parmalat (Milan: PLT.MI - news) warning - MARKETS - LONDON: AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN.L - news) (talk it is weighing merits of a tie-up with Schering Plough (NYSE: SGP - news) ), Bovis Homes (further talk of predatory interest from Persimmon (LSE: PSN.L - news) ), Expro International (LSE: EXR.L - news) (counter bid hopes; reports claim Halliburton (NYSE: HAL - news) could launch a knock-out offer of 16 pounds a share as early as next week), IG Group (talk of strong trading); SMALL CAPS: Impax (rumours that BNP Paribas (Paris: FR0000131104 - news) might make an offer for the rest of the company), RCG (talk it is set to buy a majority interest in Vast Base Technology, a stadium security group)

Times

Tempus: Henderson Group (LSE: HGI.L - news) (no more than a hold), BT Group (LSE: BT-A.L - news) (a solid buy), Luminar (buy) - Rumour of the day: DermaSalve Science (talk of stakebuilding by an overseas investor)

Independent

THE INVESTMENT COLUMN: Balfour Beatty (LSE: BBY.L - news) (hold), Aer Lingus (LSE: AERL.L - news) (sell), Informa (hold)

Express

SHARE WHISPER: DermaSalve (gossips say it may have a large order in the pipeline)

Telegraph

QUESTOR: Vedanta Resources (LSE: VED.L - news) (hold), Invensys (LSE: ISYS.L - news) (buy) - THE MARKET: ICAP (LSE: IAP.L - news) (rumours resurface it is being eyed up by IntercontinentalExchange, the U.S. futures and derivatives giant)

Investors Chronicle

TIPS - LARGE COMPANIES: Phorm (sell), Delek Global Real Estate (LSE: DGRE.L - news) (buy), Hampson (buy); TIPS - SMALLER COMPANIES: Faroe Petroleum (LSE: GB0033032904.L - news) (buy), GTL Resources (LSE: 105821.L - news) (sell), Lidco (LSE: LID.L - news) (buy); TIPS -UPDATES: Accident Exchange (LSE: ACE.L - news) (buy), Carphone Warehouse (LSE: CPW.L - news) (sell), Keller (buy), Northern Petroleum (LSE: NOP.L - news) (buy), Serco (buy), Renishaw (LSE: RSW.L - news) (buy)

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

FRIDAY MAY 16

INTERIMS

Holidaybreak (LSE: HBR.L - news)

FINALS

British Airways

Freedom4 Communications

AGMs

Charter

Computacenter (LSE: CCC.L - news)

Foseco (LSE: FOSE.L - news)

Galiform (LSE: GFRM.L - news)