UK stocks continue to advance

UK stocks continue to advance after a report showed economic growth accelerated in the second quarter, more than initially forecast. Investors will now focus on the state of the US housing market with US New Home Sales figures at three o’clock.

Gold remained little changed, trading near a two month high in New York as investors bet the US Federal Reserve will reduce stimulus against more physical demand.

Data from Germany this morning showed that Gross domestic product climbed 0.7 percent in the period, matching estimates. The growth was driven by consumption and a rebound in investment.

Bank of Atlanta president Dennis Lockhart has said he will support a slowdown in bond purchases in September as long as economic reports remain strong. This gives of the impression that individuals are now coming round to the idea of the Fed slowing down their Quantitative Easing program.

Risers

Croda
Topping the list of FTSE 100 risers, Croda International has received a stock rating upgrade to “buy” at Deutsche Bank. The broker believes top line growth is set to resume. It points out Croda has pursued a successful strategy for over a decade although the expansion in revenues has slowed over the past year and lagged some of its consumer-focused peers in the sector.

Antofagasta
Antofagasta stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Westhouse Securities in a research note issued to investors today. They currently have a $15.33 target price on the stock. Westhouse Securities’ price objective points to a potential upside of 7.93% from the stock’s previous close.

Prudential
Analysts at Deutsche Bank boosted their price target on shares of Prudential plc from $19.40 to $20.18 in a research report issued to clients and investors today. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 15.08% from the stock’s previous close.

Ophir Energy
Alan Booth, an Independent Non-Executive Director at FTSE 250-listed oil and gas group Ophir Energy, raised his holding in the company just a week after the firm disappointed the market with its first-half report. Booth, who was appointed to the board in April, is now one of four directors at Africa-focused Ophir who have raised their stakes since the results, taking advantage of the stock’s recent slump to build positions and show confidence in their company. Since the results were announced on August 15th, the share price has fallen by over 20%.

Rare Earth Minerals
Rare Earth Minerals has raised gross proceeds of £750,000 in a placing to investors of 150 million new shares at 0.5p each, together with a warrant for every two placing shares subscribed. Each warrant entitles the holder to subscribe for one share at a price of 0.5p each before Aug. 31, 2014. The funds raised would be used by Rare Earth Minerals to exercise its option to acquire a further 20% holding in the Fleur-El Sauz project, increasing its interest from 10% to 30% once the maiden resource statement, which is expected imminently, is published.

Fallers

Amec
The Kentz board has rejected approaches from AMEC (AMEC) and M&W Group, the only "firm" proposal being from AMEC at 565p to 580p in cash with M&W pitching lower. Yet the markets maintaining Kentz's price at about 575p indicates belief this may be a typical starter in takeover negotiations, leaving room to increase terms nearer the maximum price possible to exact value.

Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Banking Group is unlikely to recover all of its £80m lending to RSM Tenon after the accountancy firm's trading entities were sold to mid-market rival Baker Tilly in a pre-pack deal. Additionally, Lloyds has sold off its German life insurance business Heidelberger Leben in an attempt to meet new regulations. The London-based financial institution raised €300 million (£257 million) from the sale.

Afren
London-listed company Afren saw profits slide during the first half of the year as increased costs and expenses offset higher revenues. For the six months to 30 June Afren posted a profit of $78.5 million, down from a profit of $101.9 million booked during the same period last year. The fall in profits came despite a rise in revenue to $796.8 million, up 2% from the $778.4 million generated in the first half of 2012. Eating away at the increased revenue however was a rise in the cost of sales, from $367.7 million to $419.5 million, which resulted in gross profits sliding 8% to $377.3 million.

Kazakhmys
COPPER miner Kazakhmys yesterday said it had taken a $823m (£528m) hit from the sale of its 26 per cent stake in peer ENRC, as it posted a first-half loss of $962m.The FTSE 250-listed firm plunged into the red from a $122m profit in the same period last year and announced that it had scrapped this year’s dividend.

DDD group
Registering the largest losses amongst AIM shares, 3D solutions group DDD expects first half revenues to be approximately $2.4m compared with 2012's $4.0m. DDD says this is due to a fall in demand for its 2D to 3D conversion software as the global PC market continues to decline.