U.S stock indices are ticking lower

U.S stock indices are ticking lower as we head towards the open as investors await tonight’s FOMC meeting minutes. There is a growing belief that the FOMC will decide to reduce its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases at its 17^th-18^th September meeting to somewhere in the region of $65 billion. The central bank has said it will keep benchmark interest rates near zero at least as long as unemployment is above 6.5 percent and inflation is no more than 2.5 percent.

 

We also have the U.S existing homes sales data due for release at 15:00 bst with analysts forecasting the annualized number of residential buildings that were sold during the previous month, excluding new construction, at 5.15 million. It's a leading indicator of economic health because the sale of a home triggers a wide-reaching ripple effect. For example, renovations are done by the new owners, a mortgage is sold by the financing bank, and brokers are paid to execute the transaction.

 

British manufacturers' order books looked in their best shape for two years in August, an industry survey showed on Wednesday, providing further evidence that the recovery is picking up steam. The Confederation of British Industry's total orders balance rose to zero from -12 in July. That beat expectations for a reading of -8 and was the highest since August 2011.

Risers

Rare Earth Minerals
Has received final analytical results for drill core from its Fleur-El Sauz Lithium Project in northern Mexico. The results provide continued firm evidence that Fleur-El Sauz has potential to be part of a major high grade lithium discovery

Hikma Pharmaceuticals
The pharmaceutical group, has raised its guidance to around 20% revenue growth for the full year after reporting a rise in first-half profit and revenue

Standard Life
Standard Life upgraded to neutral from underperform at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. They note the stock has fallen 11% in under two weeks since results. Credit Suisse also upgraded the stock, promoting it to neutral from underperform, raising its target price to 362p from 325p. They have noted that Standard Life’s weak headline profit and modest progression in cash generation in the recent 1H results appeared to be largely a function of lumpy and one-off items.

Glencore Xstrata
After reporting their first earnings report since the merger yesterday, Glencore Xstrata have rebounded slightly, trading up over 2 percent on the day as investors digest yesterday’s results. They announced a large write-off of $7.7bn in so-called goodwill asserts which could have spooked investors to dump the stock.

Brown (N) Group
Credit Suisse upgrades N Brown to outperform from neutral and raises price target to 620p from 455p. Notes the shares are up 45% year-to-date, but sees a long-term re-rating given the opportunity for the new management team to transform this traditional credit-driven mail order business into a more competitive and profitable company.

Fallers

Mariana Resources
The AIM listed exploration and development company with projects in Argentina, Peru and Chile, have announced they have raised £912,640 through a placing of 91.26 million new ordinary shares at 1 pence.

BHP Billiton
BHP reports annual profit which fell by almost a third, but still raked in $12 billion dollars for the past financial year. BHP Billiton placed a big bet on rising global demand for food, as a slump in commodity prices pushed the mining company’s profit down for a second straight year.

African Barrick Gold
The Board of African Barrick Gold today announced the appointment of Bradley A. Gordon as Chief Executive Officer. Brad succeeds Greg Hawkins, who has resigned to pursue other opportunities. As CEO, Brad will join the Board as an Executive Director. His appointment takes immediate effect