Market Snapshot
European equity markets started higher but traded flat at midday today amidst few financial and economic news.
Picking up on Wall Street’s rise at the end of last week, Asian indices closed on a two-year high today. Japan’s Nikkei rallied 1.4%; Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and mainland China’s Shanghai Composite rose 1% and 1.4%, respectively.
In the UK, acquisition news and upbeat broker comments were the main market drivers. At midday, the FTSE 100 index had declined 0.1% and stood at 5,592 points. The FTSE 250 index gained 0.4% to 10,579.
The European market should get a boost in afternoon deals as futures point to a strong start on Wall Street. The US national activity index will be released by the Fed of Chicago later today, giving more insight into whether the US economy is back on track and where the signs of recovery and recession are to be found.
Market Movers – Risers
Unilever (ULVR), up 2.12%: Company increases presence in North America by buying US rival Alberto Culver Co (ACV) for $3.7 billion in cash.
Autonomy Corporation (AU), up 1.19%: Started at overweight by Barclays Capital
Market Movers – Fallers
Wolseley (WOS), down 1.5%: Annual results show unclear outlook and company to move to Switzerland for tax reasons.
AstraZeneca (AZN), down 0.8%: AstraZeneca’s Zibotentan fails trial and joins a list of drugs facing market setbacks recently.