Market news round up, upgrades & downgrades courtesy of Cantor Index

Cantor Opening Call The FTSE is called to open flat to just a touch higher this morning

UK Corporate Announcements Home Retail details total Argos sales gained 4.3% to £501m,  ahead of the forecasts, while Homebase fell 2.8% also just inside Ocado announces 12 week gross sales of £185.5m up 14.4% and confirms that it is in talks with Morrison over a possible technology pact and that no certainty a pact will be reached and details the talks did not involve Morrison taking a stake in Ocado WM Morrison reports full year revenues of £18.1bn just ahead of the forecasts and a full year underlying pre-tax profit of £901m from £885m and details it is to start online food sales Investec details that full year operating profit has gained 20% from last year with wealth management experiencing strong net inflows Playtech announces full year sales revenues of €317m with sales up 53% and stays highly confident on its prospects for 2013 and beyond Trinity Mirror announces full year revenues of £706m, ahead of the forecasts of £694m seen, and states that the trading environment stays difficult Savills announces full year revenues gained 12% and an underlying pre-tax profit of £60.8m

UK Market News The FT writes that Qatar is in talks to invest around £10bn in UK infrastructure The UK government is to get a net £17bn from Bank of England transfers from the asset purchasing program according to a BofE model According to the FT Vodafone is looking to ends its F1 sponsorship of around $75m and has cited the violence around the Bahrain grand prix last year as a major factor Ocado may be in talks about a potential joint venture with Morrison Booker’s acquisition of Makro cleared by UK Competition Body

UK Analyst Changes Az Electronic Materials Rated New Buy At Liberum, Pt 440P Clarkson Cut To Neutral Vs Overweight At Jpmorgan Faroe Petroleum Rated New Buy At Liberum, Pt 198P ICAP Added to UBS’s Least Preferred List, Cuts Schroders Thomas Cook Group Pt Raised To 150P Vs 100P At Morgan Stanley Thomas Cook Raised To Equalweight Vs Underweight At Barclays

UK Insider Buying Aviva Plc, (AV/), 1 insider(s) bought 150000 shares, £3.21 Electrocomponents Plc, (ECM), 1 insider(s) bought 7525 shares, £2.65 Intu Properties Plc, (INTU), 1 insider(s) bought 60000 shares, £3.28 Laird Plc, (LRD), 1 insider(s) bought 10000 shares, £2.35 Purecircle Ltd, (PURE), 1 insider(s) bought 40000 shares, £2.55 Quarto Group Inc, (QRT), 1 insider(s) bought 10000 shares, £1.49

UK Insider Selling 4Imprint Group Plc, (FOUR),  insider(s) sold 3200 shares, £4.48 Polar Capital Holding, (POLR), 3 insider(s) sold 1508000 shares, £2.65 Provident Financial P, (PFG),  insider(s) sold 5000 shares, £16.45

FTSE 100 Movers

Major European Companies Reporting Assicurazioni Generali SpA, R, 0.954,  Deutsche Lufthansa AG, R, 0.512,  Gemalto NV, R, 2.992,  HeidelbergCement AG, R, 2.726,  K+S AG, R, 2.945,  Koninklijke Boskalis Westminster NV, R, 2.268,  Royal Imtech NV, R, 1.645,  Rubis SCA, R, 2.906,  SGL Carbon SE, R, 0.797,  Subsea 7 SA, Q4, 0.332,  ThromboGenics NV, R, 1.024,  WM Morrison Supermarkets PLC, R, 0.265

European Market Summary EU leaders gather in Brussels today Telecom Italia is reportedly running into trouble in its efforts to sell its fixed line network as the economy comes back into focus following the general election Ireland’s hopes of exiting the EU/IMF bailout were lifted yesterday by the positive market response to its €5bn 10 year bond auction yesterday SAP has moved past the likes of Volkswagen and Siemens to become Germany’s largest company by market cap, despite having revenues of some 10% of VW ASM International has raised €422m from a unit stake sale Lego has moved past Mattel as the world’s most valuable toymaker

Major US Stock Movers After Hours Blackberry gained 2.4% after hours as it announced that customers have ordered 1m smart phones American Safety Insurance gained 4% as it announces that it is considering its strategic options and has hired Bank of America Men’s Warehouse moved 10% higher overnight as it announces higher than expected numbers, a £200m share buyback, and is to move to giving annual guidance

US Market News The head of Google’s Android unit has stepped down, and move as yet to an unspecified role Puerto Rico has cut its rating cut to BBB- and its outlook cut to negative Blackstone has borrowed £2bn from US banks and invested it into distressed US property, which it intends to rent out

Overnight Market News The CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing has stated that China will allow its currency to free float within 5 years A farm in Jiaxing has admitted to dumping dead pigs into the Huangpu river after 70,000 died during a harsh bout of weather New Zealand maintained its benchmark interest rate at 2.5% overnight The Aussie dollar gained after employment gained the most since 2000 and ahead of the expectations

Economic Data Due 12:30 US February PPI, 0.6% exp. 0.2% previous 12:30 US Initial Jobless Claims, 340k prev.

Economic Events EU Leaders summit in Brussels

US Initial Jobless Claims

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