Friday, July 5, 2013

London Markets: FTSE 100 holds higher; Goldman eyes 7,100 target

By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

MADRID (MarketWatch) ? London stocks rose on Friday as investors basked in the afterglow of a statement by the Bank of England that many read as confirmation of a continuing easy monetary stance, and as Goldman Sachs put a year-end target of 7,100 on the FTSE 100.

But gains were not as pronounced as the day prior, as investors awaited key U.S. nonfarm payroll data. The FTSE 100 index /quotes/zigman/3173262 UK:UKX +0.10% ?logged its best one-day and percentage gains since autumn 2011, rising 3%, or 191.80 points, to 6,421.67.

Europe?s Week Ahead: Look to China

The debate over when the U.S. Federal Reserve will start to withdraw liquidity will continue to rage, especially with the European Central Bank and the Bank of England turning more dovish. But the focus will shift to China and the impact it is having on global growth.

On Friday, the index was up 0.4% to 6,445.62, as several miners stepped back from lofty prior-day gains. Shares of Rio Tinto PLC /quotes/zigman/182541/quotes/nls/rio RIO -0.57% ?? /quotes/zigman/155899 UK:RIO -2.79% fell 1.8%, BHP Billiton PLC /quotes/zigman/270355/quotes/nls/bhp BHP -2.16% ? /quotes/zigman/184879 UK:BLT -2.34% ?declined 1.6% and Glencore Xstrata PLC /quotes/zigman/5131911 UK:GLEN -3.17% ?dropped 2.8%. Shares of Randgold Resources Ltd. /quotes/zigman/349729 UK:RRS -3.21% ?fell 1.5% even as Nomura lifted shares to neutral from reduce.

Shares of Whitbread PLC /quotes/zigman/445964 UK:WTB -2.97% ?fell over 3% after UBS strategists cut shares to neutral from buy, after an investment day. ?While we view the new brand and international expansion plans positively, we do not think these initiatives change the near-term outlook,? said Jarrod Castle, analyst at UBS.

On the upside, GlaxoSmithKline PLC /quotes/zigman/146635/quotes/nls/gsk GSK +0.52% ? /quotes/zigman/263563 UK:GSK +1.20% ?rose 1.2% and Diageo PLC /quotes/zigman/208874 UK:DGE +0.94% ?gained over 1%. Barclays PLC /quotes/zigman/301787 UK:BARC +0.48% ? /quotes/zigman/152323/quotes/nls/bcs BCS +1.06% ?was also up over 1%.

Goldman Sachs said in a note on Friday that it was advising going long U.K. equities and targeting 7,100 for the FTSE 100. The investment bank gave three reasons for its view: first, the U.K. economy looks to be on an upswing and second, monetary policy looks set to ease further, especially after Thursday?s dovish statement from the Bank of England, led by new Governor Mark Carney.

?Third, our forecasts also envisage a gradual stabilization in euro area growth in the second half of the year. As one of the U.K.?s largest trading partners, the gradual improvement in growth here should also be a tailwind for the U.K. economy and U.K. markets,? said economist Noah Weisberger in a note.

/quotes/zigman/3173262

UK : FTSE Indices

Volume: 0.00

July 5, 2013 2:05p

/quotes/zigman/182541/quotes/nls/rio

US : U.S.: NYSE

Volume: 1.41M

July 3, 2013 1:03p

Rev. per Employee

$716,974

/quotes/zigman/155899

UK : U.K.: London

Volume: 2.31M

July 5, 2013 2:05p

Market Cap

?38.95 billion

Rev. per Employee

?451,624

/quotes/zigman/270355/quotes/nls/bhp

US : U.S.: NYSE

Volume: 1.60M

July 3, 2013 1:00p

/quotes/zigman/184879

UK : U.K.: London

Volume: 2.89M

July 5, 2013 2:05p

Market Cap

?36.53 billion

Rev. per Employee

?911,375

/quotes/zigman/5131911

UK : U.K.: London

Volume: 13.30M

July 5, 2013 2:05p

Market Cap

?36.44 billion

/quotes/zigman/349729

UK : U.K.: London

4,163.00 p

-138.00 -3.21%

Volume: 220,321

July 5, 2013 2:05p

Rev. per Employee

?73,346

/quotes/zigman/445964

UK : U.K.: London

Volume: 491,961

July 5, 2013 2:03p

Rev. per Employee

?60,209

/quotes/zigman/146635/quotes/nls/gsk

US : U.S.: NYSE

Volume: 1.14M

July 3, 2013 1:02p

Market Cap

$126.62 billion

Rev. per Employee

$417,244

/quotes/zigman/263563

UK : U.K.: London

Volume: 4.21M

July 5, 2013 2:05p

Market Cap

?84.05 billion

Rev. per Employee

?263,972

/quotes/zigman/208874

UK : U.K.: London

Volume: 2.18M

July 5, 2013 2:05p

Market Cap

?49.39 billion

Rev. per Employee

?429,761

/quotes/zigman/301787

UK : U.K.: London

Volume: 26.50M

July 5, 2013 2:05p

Market Cap

?37.66 billion

Rev. per Employee

?191,494

/quotes/zigman/152323/quotes/nls/bcs

US : U.S.: NYSE

Volume: 1.46M

July 3, 2013 1:02p

Rev. per Employee

$302,169

Barbara Kollmeyer is an editor for MarketWatch in Madrid. Follow her on Twitter @MWBarbaraKollmeyer.

Source: http://feeds.marketwatch.com/~r/marketwatch/financial/~3/BrubqgJ-qAk/story.asp

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