US stocks are trading down this afternoon

US stocks are trading down this afternoon with investors presumably positioning themselves for tomorrow’s Fed policy meeting. General consensus seems to be that the Fed will avoid tapering now until March following the recent government shutdown, disappointing September jobs data and the more dovish Yellen being announced as the next Chairwoman of the Federal Reserve. Expect volatility over the next couple of days as speculators attempt to forecast the outcome of the meeting and overreact to any announcements made.

Pending home sales came in worse than expected at 3:00 pm, actual results were -5.6% as opposed to the forecast 0.5% this is biggest slump in three years and further adds to a month of disappointing data. Bears will see this as further evidence that the economy is not yet in a position to introduce tapering and will position accordingly. It also would suggest that the positive economic data seen earlier in the year was in fact a false positive and further validates the Fed’s previous decision not to start tapering.

Risers:

Aggreko, +3.56%

Aggreko tops the FTSE 100 this morning on the back of increased third quarter revenues. Whilst trading was in-line with expectations, the mobile power company said that its underlying revenues and trading margins in the three months to 30^th September were slightly ahead of the same period last year, excluding revenues from the London Olympics, which stood at £37m.

 

Randgold Resources, +1.98%

The  gold miner operating mainly in Mali is trading higher this morning on the back of news that the firm plans on “aggressively exploring” further opportunities in the Ivory Coast. Randgold owns and operates Cote d’Ivoire’s largest gold mine at Tongon, which went into production at the end of 2010 and has already delivered over 600,000 ounces of gold.

 

Brewin Dolphin Holding, +0.96%

Stock analysts at N+1 Singer assumed coverage on shares of Brewin Dolphin Holdings in a report issued today. The firm set a “buy” rating and a 305p price target on the stock. N+1 Singer’s price target indicates a potential upside of 8.35% from the stock’s previous close.

 

Playtech, +1.81%

Playtech was upgraded by stock analysts at Numis Securities to a “hold” rating in a report issued today. The firm currently has a 725p price objective on the stock. Numis Securities price target suggests a potential downside of 2.82% from the company’s current price.

 

Kolar Gold, +30%

Rising the most amongst AIM listed equities, Kolar Gold  shares shot up on this morning after its plans to build one of India's first private gold mines took a step further. Its partner company GMSI has received the final state government approval for the Jonnagiri mining lease. It is a 30 year licence with an option to extend for a further 20 years. 

 

Fallers:

 

Intercontinental Hotels Group, -1.93%

Weighing on the FTSE 100, shares in Intercontinental Hotels have plummeted after the company announced disappointing growth in revenue in the U.S sector. Blamed on the certain timing of holidays, revenue per room available has slowed. However, the company have moved to insist that current trading trends bode well for the year ahead.

 

Tullow Oil, -1.74%

Tullow Oil has temporarily suspended all operations in Block 10BB and Block 13T in Northern Kenya due to labour unrest. The company said its decision to suspend exploration and appraisal operations was taken to prevent further escalation of strikes while it tries to resolve the issue.

 

Phoenix Group, -1.59%

Phoenix IT Group warned its earnings this year would take an estimated 2m pound knock after one of its suppliers said they were ending their contract with the company. The managed hosting and cloud services group said it was working to mitigate the effect of this and was putting in place alternative arrangements to minimise any disruption to its customers.

 

Strategic Natural Resources, -17.57%

Shedding the most value amongst AIM listed stocks, Strategic Natural Resources shares have slumped after subsidiary, Elitheni Coal, entered advanced talks with a number of South African miners about providing it with short-term funding through a debt-for-equity swap, and is confident it can successfully conclude a deal by the end of the week. The unit, in which Strategic Natural Resources owns a 74% stake, is very short of working capital, and may have to slow its mining operations even if does a short-term funding deal while it tries to sort out a longer-term deal.

 

Globo, -9.26%

Fast growing mobile software firm Globo is to publish additional information relating to its accounts in response to queries from investors. The group revealed that feedback from recent private investor presentations alerted it to the need to provide clarification on its working capital model and the impact of the disposal late last year of 51% of its Greek subsidiary, Globo Technologies.