14.03.14 Friday Morning

Markets around the globe began the week on quite negative ground as China’s exports fell unexpectedly last month sending global bourses lower into the red and also fuelled fears which have stayed with investors throughout the week. The concerns in China have affected risk-averse traders all week, causing them to pull their positions and seek safe havens such as Gold or Yen which is partially why we have seen a continuous decline throughout the week. Chinese CPI was lower than expected at 2.0% and they also reported a 23 billion deficit. Alongside this, increased tensions between Russia and the West have also sparked fears with investors – especially towards the end of the week with Russia beginning a new military exercise near the Ukraine border. With still no signs of backing down, we look set for another volatile week of trading as the Crimean referendum takes place on Sunday.

This week has brought numerous high profile IPO’s which have been extremely popular by investors who want to get their hands on a potential bargain. Both Pets at Home and Poundland have listed their shares publically during midweek. Pets at Home set their price at 245p per share valuing the company at £1.23bn and Poundland set its price at 300p, valuing them at £750m. Shares in Poundland rocketed 33% on its debut to highs of around 400p, significantly higher than the 250-300p price range the discount retailer had set. As Poundland enjoyed a fantastic market debut, things were slightly different with Pets at Home as their share price dropped over 2% as the market opened trading around 238p a share. BooHoo.com made its AIM market debut on Friday with a great start to trading for the Manchester-based online fashion retailer. Shares soared 54% during Friday morning trading, priced at around 77p – significantly higher valued than its initial offering price of 50p.

It has been a considerably bad week for Copper, sinking dramatically throughout the week due to fears on China’s slowing economy. The fall from Monday will see the biggest weekly drop in London Copper since April 2013, hitting 44-month lows during midweek of $6376.25 per tonne. The worry’s in China are directly affecting the Copper market as it is said China makes up around 40% of global Copper demand. The Chinese economy is not only affecting Copper – mining stocks have continued to decide throughout the week

Morrison’s share price tumbled over 22p from the open on Thursday after the supermarket announced a pretax loss of £176m in the 12 months to Feb 2, 2014. This loss is a significant change in direction from the £879m profit the company recorded only a year earlier. The bad news prompted a sector-wide sell off with both Sainsbury’s and Tesco dropping a significant amount off their share price. The bad news for Morrison’s continued into Friday with the supermarket reporting they have suffered from a payroll data theft that includes staff bank details.

Looking towards next week, we have quite a hectic calendar to keep traders busy and markets volatile. All eyes will be on Wednesday’s FOMC statement where the monetary policy will be communicated to investors, often causing frenzy in global markets.

Stock of the week – Morrison’s

Morrison’s haven’t had the best of weeks – announcing on Thursday a pretax loss of £176m for the 12 months to Feb 2, 2014. This is a huge turnaround from the profit reported a year earlier of £879m. Morrison’s are set to invest £1bn in price cuts, a move which could spark a price war amongst its biggest competitors.

Economic Data:

Monday:

•	EUR – CPI
•	EUR – Core CPI

Tuesday:

•	USD – Building Permits
•	USD – Core CPI
•	GBP – BOE Gov Carney Speaks

Wednesday:

•	GBP – Claimant Count Change 
•	GBP – MPC Asset Purchase Facility Vote
•	GBP – MPC Official Bank Rate Votes
•	GBP – Unemployment Rate
•	USD – FOMC Economic Projections
•	USD – FOMC Statement

Thursday:

•	CHF – Libor Rate
•	CHF – SNB Monetary Policy Assessment
•	USD – Existing Home Sales
•	USD – Philly Fed Manufacturing Index

Friday:

•	CAD – Core CPI 
•	CAD – Core Retail Sales

Company Earnings:

Monday:

•	Brady PLC – Prelim 2013 Earnings
•	Smart Metering Systems - Prelim 2013 Earnings
•	Hydrogen Group - Prelim 2013 Earnings
•	Navigator Holdings – Q1 2014 Earnings

Tuesdays:

•	UTV Media - Prelim 2013 Earnings
•	IG Group – Interim Management Statement
•	Gem Diamonds – FY 2013 Earnings
•	Cairn Energy - Prelim 2013 Earnings
•	Spirit Pub Company – 28 Week Trading Update
•	SDL PLC - Prelim 2013 Earnings
•	Antofagasta - Prelim 2013 Earnings
•	Bioquell PLC - Prelim 2013 Earnings
•	Source Biosciences PLC - Prelim 2013 Earnings
•	Xaar PLC - Prelim 2013 Earnings
•	Berkeley Group Holdings – Interim Management Statement

Wednesday:

•	Partnership Assurance Group - Prelim 2013 Earnings

Thursday:

•	Cello Group – FY 2013 Earnings
•	Ophir Energy - Prelim 2013 Earnings
•	Sopheon PLC - Prelim 2013 Earnings
•	Premier Farnell – FY 2013 Earnings