This Morning in London blue-chip shares opened lower continuing yesterday's slide after Friday's rally proved unsustainable. With heavy falls on Wall Street last night adding to the gloom amid an in-line trading update from Barclays (BARC). By 9:30 the FTSE-100 index stood 16.4 points weaker at 6,164.1 having finished off 81.6 points during the previous session. The broader FTSE-250 was 118 lower at 10,334.9.
BROKER RECOMMENDATIONS
Altium Securities upgrades Aveva (AVV) to buy from hold with an £11 target, upgrades Keller (KLR) to buy from add with an £11.75 target, upgrades Diploma (DPLM) to add from hold, 975p, reiterates buy Game Group (GMG) 240p, has a buy and 500p target for Phoenix IT (PNX), an add for Mitie Group (MTO), raising target to 277p from 270p and a hold and 330p target for Britvic (BVIC).
Cazenove reiterates outperform for Barclays (BARC).
The broker has in-line stances on Standard Chartered (STAN) and HSBC (HSBA).
Citigroup downgrade Wellstream (WSM) to hold from buy.
Daniel Stewart has avoid advice for Debt Free Direct (DFD).
Evolution reiterates add WS Atkins (ATK), has an add for Big Yellow (BYG), an add and 900p target for De La Rue (DLAR), a buy and 400p target for Interior Services (ISG), a buy and 300p target for Mitie Group (MTO), a buy and 120p target for Northern Foods (NFDS) and a buy and 175p target for Tribal (TRB).
HSBC downgrades United Utilities (UU.) to neutral from overweight, raising target to 785p from 780p.
Investec reiterates buy Aquarius Platinum (AQP) with a £19 target.
KBC Peel Hunt has a buy for Big Yellow (BYG), a buy for JKX Oil & Gas (JKX), a sell for Kcom (KCOM), a hold for Morgan Sindall (MGNS), an add for Paragon (PAG) and a buy for WS Atkins (ATK).
Landsbanki downgrades RAB Capital (RAB) to hold from buy.
Numis has an add and £12.98 target for WS Atkins (ATK), a buy and £12.50 target for Aveva (AVV), a buy and 285p target for Debt Free Direct (DFD), a buy and 60p target for Intec Telecom (ITL), a buy and £16.50 target for Morgan Sindall (MGNS), a hold and 180p target for Qinetiq (QQ.), a buy and 250p target for Topps Tiles (TPT) and a buy and 295p target for Wilmington (WIL).
Panmure Gordon has a buy and 970p target for AB Foods (ABF), a buy and 550p target for BSS Group (BTSM), a buy and 955p target for De La Rue (DLAR), a buy and 800p target for Genus (GNS), a buy for Hyder Consulting (HYD), lifting target to 586p from 583p, a hold and 37p target for Intec Telecoms (ITL), a hold and 365p target for Marston's (MARS), a hold and 229p target for Misys (MSY), a sell and £14 target for Morgan Sindall (MGNS), a buy and 28p target for Portrait Software (PST), a buy for Prudential (PRU), cutting target to 810p from 915p, a buy for Topps Tiles (TPT), cutting target to 260p from 315p, a buy for VP Group (VP.), raising target to 505p from 484p and a buy and £13.20 target for WS Atkins (ATK).
Seymour Pierce reiterates buy Debts.co.uk (DETS), has a hold for Kcom Group (KCOM), a hold and 550p target for Rexam (REX) and an outperform for Topps Tiles (TPT).
UBS upgrades Misys (MSY) to neutral from sell, cutting target to 205p from 220p and downgrades AB Foods (ABF) to neutral from buy, cutting target to 955p from 990p.
NEWS ROUND-UP
Last Night in New York stocks fell sharply after a volatile session, as credit worries and continuing woes in the financial sector offset early upbeat signs about holiday shopping. Questions about federal help for ailing mortgage-lender Countrywide Financial were cited as accelerating losses in late trading and leading bonds to rally. There was also profit-taking from Friday, when stocks rallied in a shortened session as traders bet on upbeat holiday sales. The Dow Jones slid 237 points to 12,743, as 28 of its 30 components retreated. The S&P lost 33 points to 1,407, while the Nasdaq fell 55 points to 2,541.
On this day in:-
1997 - A House of Commons Committee rejected the Labour Government's arguments for exempting motor racing from the ban on tobacco-related sponsorship.
1975 - Ross McWhirter, co-editor with his twin brother Norris of the Guiness Book of Records, was shot dead by Irish terrorists, outside his home in London.
1970 - The Gay Liberation Movement held its first major rally in London.
1967 - French President Charles de Gaulle vetoed Great Britian's entry into the European Common Market.
1957 - Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru made an impassioned speech for nuclear disarmament in New Delhi. Nehru's leading role in the struggle for Indian independence earned him 9 jail terms from the Great British. Like his mentor, Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru fought Great British authority through acts of passive resistance. In 1929, Nehru became president of the Indian National Congress and declared that they would accept nothing less than full independence for India. When the nation finally achieved autonomy in 1947, he became India's first prime minister. He advocated nonalignment for India in the divided Cold War world, and sought diplomatic and nonviolent solutions in his conflicts with other nations. On 27th November 1957, he appealed to the United States and the USSR to end nuclear tests and begin disarmament, which, he said, would save humanity from the ultimate disaster. He died in 1964.
1942 - World War II: The French fleet was scuttled in Toulon Harbour to prevent the warships falling into German hands.
1919 - A meteor landed in Lake Michigan, USA.
1914 - Great Britain's first policewoman went on duty at Gratham in Lincolnshire.
