America’s three key US equity benchmarks finished the week higher after the Department of Commerce unveiled its latest statistics showing that demand for durable goods was on the up.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.03% to 15,303, the Nasdaq Com jumped 0.12% to 3,459 and the S&P 500 lifted by 0.03% to end the day at 1,650.

Markets had time to digest new data released by the Department of Commerce showing an upturn in demand for manufactured goods auguring well for the economic outlook. The Commerce department’s latest figures showed that new orders for manufactured durable goods increased by 3.3% in April to $222.6bn. Excluding transportation, new orders increased by 1.3%. Overall shipments decreased by 0.6% and capital goods shipments fell by 3.3%. Unfilled orders increased by 0.3%, and inventories rose by 0.4%.

Risers and fallersThe biggest riser on the S&P 500 on Friday was Intuitive Surgical, whose shares had advanced by 4.82% to $501.53 at the close of trading. The group is a key player in robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery and its da Vinci Surgical System technology enables surgeons to perform open heart surgery through 1-2cm incisions. The rise in share price did not coincide with a company announcement.

Procter & Gamble was the second largest riser on the index one day after the multinational announced that Alan George Lafley had rejoined the company as President and Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect. Lafley joined Procter & Gamble in 1977 and served as President and Chief Executive Officer from 2000 to 2009. He succeeds Robert A McDonald, who is retiring from the company on June 30th, 2013, after 33 years of service.

Thermo Fisher Scientific was the sixth highest riser one day after it announced that its board of directors had declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 per share.

Shares in clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch were down 8.0% at the close of trading to $50.02. This coincided with the group’s publication of its unaudited first quarter results which reflected a net loss of $7.2m and net loss per basic and diluted share of $0.09 for the 13 weeks ended May 4th, 2013. This compared to a net loss of $21.3m and net loss per basic and diluted share of $0.25 for the 13 weeks ended April 28th, 2012.

Another faller on was Sears Holdings Corporation. Its shares dipped one day after it unveiled its first quarter 2013 results which included a net loss attributable to its’ shareholders of $279m, or $2.63 loss per diluted share, compared to net income of $189m, or $1.78 earnings per diluted share, in the prior year quarter. Eddie Lampert, Sears Holdings’ Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented at the time of the results, saying the group’s ‘recent financial performance has not been acceptable’.

Crude futures downFront month West Texas crude futures are now down 0.426 to the $93.850 per barrel mark on the NYMEX.

US 10 year bonds slid one basis point to end the day at 2.01%

MF

S&P 500 – Risers
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $501.53 +4.82%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $81.88 +4.04%
Omnicom Group Inc. (OMC) $63.58 +3.35%
Constellation Brands Inc. Class A (STZ) $53.00 +2.16%
Pentair Ltd – Reg (PNR) $57.47 +1.84%
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO) $87.22 +1.79%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $11.59 +1.76%
Sherwin-Williams Co. (SHW) $189.20 +1.68%
Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (IPG) $14.56 +1.61%
Public Storage (PSA) $162.59 +1.58%

S&P 500 – Fallers
Dean Foods Co. (DF) $10.10 -50.51%
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) $50.25 -13.62%
GameStop Corp. (GME) $32.11 -10.83%
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) $50.02 -8.00%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $43.25 -5.34%
Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) $28.26 -3.12%
Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) $55.44 -2.79%
L Brands Inc (LTD) $49.79 -2.73%
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $24.21 -2.61%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $27.17 -2.30%

Dow Jones I.A – Risers
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $81.88 +4.04%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $77.31 +1.28%
American Express Co. (AXP) $75.27 +0.78%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $42.24 +0.74%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $53.66 +0.58%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $65.49 +0.40%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $34.27 +0.35%
Boeing Co. (BA) $100.00 +0.25%
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $13.24 +0.23%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $83.60 +0.12%

Dow Jones I.A – Fallers
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $24.21 -2.61%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $51.39 -0.96%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $86.21 -0.85%
McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) $100.29 -0.73%
Alcoa Inc. (AA) $8.48 -0.70%
General Electric Co. (GE) $23.53 -0.55%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $23.92 -0.53%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $62.06 -0.48%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $95.04 -0.47%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $86.82 -0.45%

Nasdaq 100 – Risers
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $501.53 +4.82%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $96.45 +2.73%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $11.59 +1.76%
Expedia Inc. (EXPE) $59.04 +1.43%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $26.33 +1.19%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $65.84 +1.17%
Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB) $235.24 +1.13%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $114.39 +1.06%
Sirius XM Radio Inc (SIRI) $3.58 +0.99%
Liberty Global Inc. Series A (LBTYA) $75.56 +0.96%

Nasdaq 100 – Fallers
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) $50.25 -13.62%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $24.31 -2.98%
Randgold Resources Ltd. Ads (GOLD) $73.98 -2.90%
Expeditors International Of Washington Inc. (EXPD) $39.33 -2.02%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $31.17 -1.81%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $250.31 -1.79%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $55.91 -1.48%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $57.90 -1.46%
CH Robinson Worldwide Inc (CHRW) $58.70 -1.33%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $49.26 -1.28%

Markets will be particularly attentive to any possible remarks regarding the outlook for monetary policy from those Fed speakers who are scheduled to take to the podium throughout the week. At the time of writing these are the President of the Federal Reserve bank of Boston, Eric Rosengren, on Wednesday, and his peer at the Cleveland Fed, on Friday.

Last Wednesday Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S.Bernanke roiled markets when he stated that the monetary authority could – if the labour market were judged to be strong enough – commence tapering its quantitative easing programme (QE) in ‘the next few meetings (some media outlets cited him as saying in the next two meetings).’ If that were in three meetings’ time then the Fed would not start reducing its QE until September, at the earliest, versus some forecasts pointing to such a decision taking place more towards the end of the year or the beginning of 2014.

Thus, economists at Barclays Research on Friday told clients: ‘In our view, monetary policy is likely to remain very expansionary for a long period of time in advanced countries, especially as economic growth will probably remain subdued and inflation below target.’

Meantime, and over at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, Michael Hanson, US economist, is of the following opinion: ‘Our base case remains that a slowdown in growth and uncomfortably low inflation will defer tapering until next year.’

Eurozone money supply (M3) figures out on Wednesday will also be of interest.

Friday will see the University of Michigan publish its US consumer confidence gauge for the month of May, to be followed on the same day by the Chicago NAPM’s manufacturing sector purchasing managers’ survey.

As regards China, no major data releases are expected until Saturday 1st (official manufacturing PMI). However, ‘this might change though and in any case watch out for any comments from the Chinese authorities on current economic conditions,’ comments Investec.

In the UK, Bank of England lending data on Friday (for the month of April) will reveal whether mortgage approvals maintained their modest recovery in March, the above broker adds.

Lastly, on Friday the International Monetary Fund will discuss Greece’s third review and a barrage of economic indicators will be forthcoming in Japan.

Monday May 27

AGMS
Camkids Group, Lamprell

Tuesday May 28

INTERIMS
Victrex

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Miton Income Opportunities Trust

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Consumer Confidence (US) (15:00)

FINALS
Anglo Asian Mining, JSC Halyk Bank GDR (Reg S), Westminster Group

SPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Microgen

AGMS
Alba Mineral Resources, Barr (A.G.), Blackstar Group SE (DI), Concurrent Technologies, Foresight VCT, Global Energy Development, JSC Kazkommertsbank GDR (Reg S), Netplay TV, Revolymer, Smart Metering Systems, Tamar European Industrial Fund Ltd.

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Advanced Medical Solutions Group, APR Energy, Capita, Churchill China, Impax Environmental Markets, Microgen, UBM

Wednesday May 29

INTERIMS
Brewin Dolphin Holdings

INTERIM EX-DIVIDEND DATE
A&J Mucklow Group, Baronsmead VCT, Baronsmead VCT 2, Britvic, GCP Infrastructure Investments Ltd, Keystone Inv Trust, Marston’s, Matchtech Group, Town Centre Securities

QUARTERLY EX-DIVIDEND DATE
Anglogold Ashanti Ltd., Canaccord Financial Inc., Canadian General Investments Ltd., Duet Real Estate Finance Ltd, Energy XXI (Bermuda) (Di), Premier Energy & Water Trust

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Consumer Price Index (GER) (07:00)
Crude Oil Inventories (US) (15:30)
International Reserves (EU) (11:00)
M3 Money Supply (EU) (09:00)
Unemployment Rate (GER) (08:55)

FINALS
Digital Barriers, Iomart Group, Mckay Securities, Scapa Group, Telford Homes, Torotrak, Volex

SPECIAL EX-DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Abbey Protection, Ashley (Laura) Holding, Spirax-Sarco Engineering

AGMS
Bango, Desire Petroleum, Frenkel Topping Group, Good Energy Group, Irish Continental Group Units, Judges Scientific, Kenmare Resources, Lonrho, Open Joint Stock Company Nomos Bank GDR (REG S), SQS Software Quality Systems AG

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
CBI Distributive Trades Surveys (11:00)

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Central Asia Metals, Legal & General Group

FINAL EX-DIVIDEND DATE
Amec, BlackRock Smaller Companies Trust, BrainJuicer Group, British American Inv Trust, Cable & Wireless Communications, Cayenne Trust, Cello Group, Dillistone Group, Downing Planned Exit VCT 6, Downing Planned Exit VCT 7, Downing Planned Exit VCT 8, Downing Planned Exit VCT 9, Games Workshop Group, Graphite Enterprise Trust, Great Portland Estates, Hill & Smith Holdings, Hilton Food Group, Huntsworth, Investec Structured Products Calculus VCT, Investec Structured Products Calculus VCT ‘C’ Shares, JZ Capital Partners Ltd, Kakuzi Ltd., Marks & Spencer Group, Martin Currie Global Portfolio Trust, Mecom Group, Networkers International, NMC Health, Pacific Assets Trust, Premier Farnell, Rotala, Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust, Slingsby H.C, Spectris, Staffline Group, Tarsus Group, TLA Worldwide

Q1
Espirito Santo Financial Group SA

Thursday May 30

INTERIMS
Standard Life European Private Equity Trust

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Wetherspoon (J.D.)

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Business Climate Indicator (EU) (10:00)
Economic Sentiment Indicator (EU) (10:00)
GDP (Preliminary) (US) (13:30)
Initial Jobless Claims (US) (13:30)
Pending Homes Sales (US) (15:00)
PMI Retail (EU) (09:00)
PMI Retail (GER) (08:55)

GMS
Telefonica SA

FINALS
Tate & Lyle

AGMS
Archipelago Resources, F&C Private Equity Trust, Hochschild Mining, Inch Kenneth Kajang Rubber, Mallett, MCB Finance Group, Metminco Ltd., Northbridge Industrial Services, Northbridge Industrial Services, Parity Group, Restore, Tangiers Petroleum Ltd (DI)

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Kingfisher

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Maven Income & Growth 3 VCT, Pendragon, Randgold Resources Ltd., Reckitt Benckiser Group, Travis Perkins, TT Electronics

Q1
Public Power GDR SA (Reg S)

Friday May 31

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Mcbride, Next Fifteen Communications

QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE
City of London Inv Trust

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Balance of Payments (GER) (07:00)
Chicago PMI (US) (13:45)
Consumer Price Index (EU) (10:00)
Retail Sales (GER) (07:00)
U. of Michigan Confidence (US) (15:00)
Unemployment Rate (EU) (10:00)

FINALS
Fastjet, LondonMetric Property

SPECIAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
ITV

AGMS
Caledonia Mining Corporation, Leyshon Resources Ltd., New Britain Palm Oil Ltd. (DI), PXP Vietnam Fund Ltd., Telefonica SA

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS
Consumer Credit (09:30)
M4 Money Supply (09:30)
M4 Sterling Lending (09:30)
Mortgage Approvals (09:30)
Trends in Lending (09:30)

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE
Alkane Energy, BG Group, Bilfinger Berger Global Infrastructure Sicav S.A.(DI), Cobham, Croda International, CSR, Dunedin Income Growth Inv Trust, Elementis, EP Global Opportunities Trust, F&C Private Equity Trust, Ferrexpo, Glanbia, Henderson Group, Henderson Private Equity Inv Trust, Henry Boot, Highcroft Investment, InterContinental Hotels Group, IS Solutions, ITV, Keller Group, Morgan Advance Materials , Ocean Wilsons Holdings Ltd., Old Mutual, Regus, Senior, SIG, Smart Metering Systems, SQS Software Quality Systems AG, Weir Group

Q1
Frontline Ld

Market commentary is a tad divided regarding the direction which equities will take in the very short-term. Of interest however, the FT’s James Mackintosh points out how the rise in sovereign bond yields may have detracted from defensive stocks’ allure – curiously, they have led in the recent stock market up-trend, as they have been acting as substitutes for fixed income instruments.

Worries about the Federal Reserve scaling back its asset purchase programme prematurely and a negative reading of factory activity in China saw markets across the globe tumble on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 falling 2.1% and Japan’s Nikkei dropping a massive 7.3%.

Investors were also casting a wary eye towards Japan’s government bond markets, despite Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s pledge on Friday morning that the monetary authority will take all the steps necessary to quell the recent volatility in the same. Some market commentary pointed out the risk that such violent movements in bond yields could seriously hamper the central bank of Japan’s attempts to reflate the economy.

Linked to all of the above, and reflective of the diminished risk-appetite, the Japanese Yen continued to strengthen Friday and by the close was changing hands at 101.06 Yen in its cross versus the US dollar.

Even so, many saw these recent sharp swings in global stocks as near inevitable, with investors looking to book profits after the strong gains seen by equity markets so far this year – before yesterday’s slump the FTSE 100 had risen nearly 16% since the start of 2013.

Back in the UK, Bank of England Markets Director Paul Fisher, one of the central bank’s rate-setters, said he favours small additional amounts of bond purchases over time as opposed to the US Federal Reserve’s commitment to longer-term stimulus.

You go first, investors say

ENRC and Polymetal were among the worst performers as they tracked metals prices lower, followed closely behind by RBS and HSBC. Even Standard Chartered registered losses despite Investec labelling the stock as one of the cheapest in the UK banking sector. In that same vein, in afternoon trading UBS raised its view on the UK banking sector to outperform from neutral.

HSBC was the main drag on the benchmark for a good part of the session due to reports that its $1.9bn settlement with US authorities, over money laundering, may have stalled.

Smiths Group, the global technology firm, was slightly higher after saying that its full-year guidance remains unchanged after underlying revenues and profits in the first three quarters were ahead of last year.

According to top investors in water-company Severn Trent any take-over offer would have to be greater than £23 per share for it to have any chance of success, Reuters reported.

Retail group Next was a heavy faller after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock from ‘equal weight’ to ‘underweight’, saying it prefers sector peer Marks & Spencer.

International Airlines Group was a top faller throughout the latter half of the session after a British Airways flying out London’s Heathrow airport was forced to turn back due to a technical fault.

BT Group was downgraded by analysts at JP Morgan Cazenove to neutral from outperform.

IT infrastructure firm Computacenter rose after giving details of a £75m cash return for investors.

Engineering data and IT group AVEVA extended gains after yesterday’s results in which it revealed a £100m cash return to shareholders. Credit Suisse raised its target price for the shares this morning.

FTSE 100 – Risers
Shire Plc (SHP) 2,168.00p +1.59%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,355.00p +1.50%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,071.00p +1.42%
Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,407.00p +1.22%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,166.00p +1.04%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,298.00p +0.93%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 479.10p +0.86%
National Grid (NG.) 836.00p +0.78%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 475.00p +0.61%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 194.55p +0.52%

FTSE 100 – Fallers
Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 254.80p -4.03%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 327.00p -3.02%
Polymetal International (POLY) 648.50p -2.48%
Next (NXT) 4,580.00p -2.37%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 726.00p -2.13%
BT Group (BT.A) 307.70p -2.04%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 273.00p -1.97%
BG Group (BG.) 1,194.00p -1.85%
Evraz (EVR) 146.30p -1.75%
ITV (ITV) 130.10p -1.74%

FTSE 250 – Risers
BTG (BTG) 353.70p +4.18%
Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 489.60p +4.17%
Aveva Group (AVV) 2,390.00p +3.78%
Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 44.00p +3.02%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,287.00p +2.96%
Britvic (BVIC) 519.00p +2.06%
St James’s Place (STJ) 584.00p +1.92%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 412.90p +1.72%
Ted Baker (TED) 1,490.00p +1.50%
Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 338.00p +1.47%

FTSE 250 – Fallers
Halfords Group (HFD) 300.00p -9.99%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 1,006.00p -7.71%
FirstGroup (FGP) 127.40p -5.35%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 263.50p -4.74%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 247.30p -4.48%
Kazakhmys (KAZ) 326.10p -4.34%
Rank Group (RNK) 146.20p -4.13%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 190.30p -3.89%
African Barrick Gold (ABG) 130.30p -3.70%
Pace (PIC) 250.00p -3.62%

FTSE TechMARK – Risers
Parity Group (PTY) 32.00p +13.27%
Emblaze Ltd. (BLZ) 50.00p +9.29%
DRS Data & Research Services (DRS) 21.50p +2.38%
Optos (OPTS) 135.00p +2.08%
Vectura Group (VEC) 88.00p +1.15%
Sepura (SEPU) 115.00p +0.88%
Filtronic (FTC) 62.00p +0.81%
Xaar (XAR) 634.50p +0.71%
XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 1,229.00p +0.16%
Innovation Group (TIG) 27.25p 0.00%

FTSE TechMARK – Fallers
Vislink (VLK) 30.25p -2.81%
RM (RM.) 72.25p -2.36%
Skyepharma (SKP) 48.25p -1.78%
Ricardo (RCDO) 400.00p -0.99%
NCC Group (NCC) 111.00p -0.89%
Consort Medical (CSRT) 768.00p -0.84%
Wolfson Microelectronics (WLF) 220.50p -0.45%
Torotrak (TRK) 29.38p -0.42%
Kofax (KFX) 325.00p -0.31%
Innovation Group (TIG) 27.25p 0.00%

AB

FTSE 100: -2.54%
Dax-30: -0.32%
Cac-40: -0.59%
FTSE Mibtel 30: -0.26%
Ibex 35: -0.80%
Stoxx 600: -0.55%

European equities dragged Friday as economists feared a gyrating Japanese government debt posed a threat to the country’s recovery.

Japanese 10-year bond yields have made huge swings in the past six months.

On Thursday the yield jumped over 1.05 for the first time in over a year.

In the first week of the year, 10-year government bonds climbed in yield to nearly 0.85% from early December lows of 0.69%. It then plunged to 0.44% in early April only to dramatically increase again to the 12-month high on Thursday.

A continued volatility is expected to weigh on the future of the nation’s economy and the government stands to lose credibility.

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda addressed the concerns Friday, saying that it is ‘extremely desirable’ for the country’s debt market to be stable.

Global stocks week have also been rattled over speculation the US Federal Reserve may begin to taper off monetary stimulus.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested the US central bank could begin cutting back on its $85bn monthly bond purchases in the next few meetings.

However, he also warned that tightening monetary policy too soon could hamper recovery given the high rates of unemployment and government spending.

Markets.com Chief Economist Bill Hubard said markets have overreacted to Bernanke’s comments because they either ‘either mis-interpreted or interpreted what they wanted due to the most incredible move in equities’, according to an interview with Sharecast.

Europe needs a more European UK, says ECB’s Draghi

European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi has stressed that Europe and the UK should have a tighter union.

In a speech at the City of London Corporation, he said Europe needed a more ‘European UK as much as the UK needs a more British Europe’.

He insisted that Britain and the euro area share the common interest of achieving stability in the economy, particularly in financial markets.

Draghi argued that both regions would only exit the crisis through an increased co-ordinated effort and looked to assure the audience of the benefits of a larger integration, especially in the financial sector.

German business confidence beats forecasts

German business confidence rose better than expected in May, data revealed Friday.

The Ifo business-climate index climbed to 105.7 points after two consecutive months of declines. It beat the 104.5 consensus and the previous month’s reading of 104.4.

The Ifo current assessment indicator also improved to 110 from a revised 107.3. Economists had expected the number to remain unchanged at 107.2.

Raiffeisen Bank’s CEO offers to quit

Raiffeisen Bank International’s shares retreated after Chief Executive Officer Herbert Stepic offered to quit after officials began a probe into his investments through offshore accounts.

Next dropped as Morgan Stanley lowered its rating of the UK retailer’s stocks to ‘sell’.

Telecom Italia declined after delaying a decision to spin off its fixed-line network.

International Consolidated Airlines Group tumbled after its British Airways unit suspended short-haul services from London’s Heathrow following an engine fire.

Other asset classes decline

The euro/dollar slid 0.09% to the 1.2922 dollar mark.

Front month Brent crude futures edged down $0.382 to $102.050 per barrel on the ICE.

US: 1.99% (-2bp)
UK: 1.88% (-3bp)
Germany: 1.43% (-2bp)
France: 1.94% (no change)
Spain: 4.32% (2bp)
Italy: 4.06% (3bp)

In the US, bonds contracted by two basis points to 1.99% as data from the US Department of Commerce showed that new orders for manufactured durable goods increased by 3.3% in April to $222.6bn. Excluding transportation, new orders increased by 1.3%. Overall shipments decreased by 0.6% and capital goods shipments fell by 3.3%. Unfilled orders increased by 0.3%, and inventories rose by 0.4%.

In the UK, bond yields fell by three basis points to 1.88% after the British Bankers Association unveiled data showing that new household borrowing totalled more than £16bn in April. The monthly level was described by the Association’s Statistics Director David Dooks as ‘fairly constant’. Low consumer confidence was described as depressing demand for new borrowing and consumers were found to be continuing to save, with deposits rising by 5.5% over the year to April.

In Germany, bond yields fell by two basis points to 1.43% after the Ifo Business Climate Index for industry and trade in Germany rose again after two consecutive declines. The Munich-based research institute, said that Germany-based firms were ‘clearly more satisfied with their current business situation’ than in the previous month. The institute predicted that the outlook for future business would be unchanged and slightly positive in the months ahead.

In France, bond yields were unchanged at 1.94% as INSEE, the national statistics institute, published research showing that business leaders felt he industrial economic situation in France was improving in May. The synthetic index measuring directors of French firms’ views of manufacturing activity recorded a reading of 92, up from 88 in April and 91 in March. Meanwhile, in the retail trade and in the trade and repair of motor vehicles, INSEE’s composite indicator stabilised significantly under its long term average. Slightly fewer business leaders than those surveyed by INSEE in April reported a decrease in their past sales.

In Spain, bond yields expanded by two basis points to 4.32% as the annual rate of the Industrial Price Index was recorded at -0.5%, five tenths bellow that registered in March. The data, published by Spain’s national statistics institute, posted the monthly variation rate of the industrial price index (IPRI) at -1.1%. This marked the first negative annual rate of the IPRI since November 2009.

Further afield, in Italy, bond yields rose by three basis points to 4.06% as the confidence climate index decreased from 86.3 to 85.9. Italian statistics institute Istat reported that the reduction was due to the decrease in the economic and future climate from 73.3 to 70.5 and from 80.8 to 80.6, respectively. The balance concerning expectations on unemployment also decreased from 109 to 105.

MF

1518: Markets continue to trade lower after a poor start on Wall Street with airline IAG now providing a drag after one its jetliners carrying 75 passengers had to make an emergency landing at Heathrow. Video has shown that smoke coming from one of the plane’s engines. The plane was evacuated and no one has been reported as injured. The FTSE 100 is down 52 points at 6,645.

1506: Any bid for British water company Severn Trent would have to be pitched at 23 pounds per share or more to have any chance of success, top investors said after an approach for the company earlier this month.

1330: US durable goods orders grew by 3.3 per cent month-on-month in April (Consensus: 1.5 per cent). Orders for non-defence capital goods increased by 1.2 per cent. FTSE 100 down 30 to 6,669.

1306: Market commentary is a tad divided regarding the direction which equities will take in the very short-term. Of interest however, the FT’s James Mackintosh points out how the rise in sovereign bond yields may have detracted from defensive stocks’ allure – curiously, they have led in the recent stock market up-trend, as they have been acting as substitutes for fixed income instruments. Nevertheless, Mackintosh adds that: ‘Barring any further bad news, a 5-10 per cent fall looks like a short-term buying opportunity.’ FTSE 100 down 35 to 6,662.

1214: Stocks continue to trade lower despite soothing words on the global monetary policy front from the Bank of England’s Paul Fisher and US St.Louis Fed President James Bullard. Smiths Group is now leading gains on the Footsie after earlier on having reiterated its earnings guidance. Next has been knocked lower by a downgrade out of analysts at Morgan Stanley, to underweight, who have also recommended to clients rotating into shares of Marks&Spencer. FTSE 100 down 45 to 6,651.

1015: The FTSE has edged into negative territory, extending yesterday’s heavy losses. Miners provided a drag as they tracked metal prices lower, while on the second tier index Ocado has continued to weigh heavily, after its head, Tim Steiner, reportedly said Waitrose boss, Mark Price, has given him the cold shoulder after the on-line grocer made a deal with rival Morrison Supermarkets. The FTSE is down 10 points at 6,687.

0930: The BBA has reported that gross mortgage borrowing in April totalled 7.8bn pounds, falling slightly short of the recent monthly average.

0920: The FTSE is currently flat, with sentiment still fragile following a plunge the day before as traders reacted to concerns about stimulus measures in the US and a slowdown in China. Today’s spotlight will shine on economic data, which includes mortgage lending figures from the BBA and US durable goods orders. Company wise, Next is leading the fallers after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to underweight with a target price of 3,920p.

Sales rose to £3,769,263 (2011: £3,673,747), contributing to pre-tax profits of £290,338 (2011 Profit: £361,226).

The group said trading had been ‘solid’ and that this has continued ino 2013.

During 2012, the company has continued to be supported by the Israeli Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) in relation to some elements of research & development. In 2012, the resources provided by the OCS were £108,173.

The group’s cash balances at December 31st 2012 totalled £1,069,661 (2011: £543,684).

Looking ahead, the group said: ‘Our focus remains on increasing our presence within the telecom sector both geographically and technologically.

‘We are a profitable company with a growing team of technical experts that has again proven its ability to provide innovative messaging services that add value to our blue chip customers, thus positioning the Company for continued growth.’

The share price ended the day up 6.25% at 0.85p.

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IT infrastructure firm Computacenter rose after giving details of a £75m cash return for investors.

Dairy Crest was also up after Investec moved its target price from 466p to 480p, reiterating an add rating.

Meanwhile, Close Brothers fell after reporting third quarter that was slightly lower than last year.

FTSE 250 – Risers
Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 486.60p +3.53%
Aveva Group (AVV) 2,379.00p +3.30%
BTG (BTG) 350.60p +3.27%
Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 43.97p +2.95%
Britvic (BVIC) 521.50p +2.56%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 414.00p +2.00%
St James’s Place (STJ) 584.00p +1.92%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,274.00p +1.92%
Ted Baker (TED) 1,492.00p +1.63%
Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 337.70p +1.38%

FTSE 250 – Fallers
Halfords Group (HFD) 304.10p -8.76%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 1,005.00p -7.80%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 263.00p -4.92%
Kazakhmys (KAZ) 328.00p -3.78%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 168.90p -3.71%
Pace (PIC) 250.00p -3.62%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 191.10p -3.48%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 650.50p -3.27%
African Barrick Gold (ABG) 130.90p -3.25%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 250.70p -3.17%

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Dow Jones Industrials: -0.46%
Nasdaq Composite: -0.82%
S&P 500: -0.58%

The major US equity market averages are now moving moderately lower.

That follows another rambunctious Asian trading session, with investors fixated on whether the Bank of Japan can successfully quell recent volatility in its government bond markets.

The Japanese Yen continued to strengthen and was recently trading hands at 101.06 Yen in its cross versus the US dollar.

The corporate ‘news-flow’ was quite weak on Friday morning, with weak quarterly results or financial guidance out from a raft of retailers, including several of the country’s best known chains, such as Sears, Gap, Abercrombie&Fitch and Salesforce.

Procter&Gamble was an outstanding gainer after the company announced that it is to replace Chief Executive Officer Bob McDonald with his predecessor, A.G. Lafle.

US durable goods orders grew by 3.3% month-on-month in April (Consensus: 1.5%). Orders for non-defence capital goods increased by 1.2% on the month.

Of possible interest, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 2013 Atlantic hurricane season outlook, issued today, this year will see an active or extremely active hurricane season.

Yields on ten year Treasury bonds are now down by 1 basis point, to the 2.01% mark.

Front month West Texas crude futures are now falling by 0.68% to the 93.60 dollar per barrel mark on the NYMEX, as traders react to worries about the outlook for demand.

S&P 500 – Risers
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $503.16 +5.16%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $81.54 +3.61%
Alpha Natural Res (ANR) $7.32 +3.54%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $18.70 +1.08%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $65.78 +1.08%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $4.05 +1.00%
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF) $20.76 +0.68%
Regions Financial Corp. (RF) $9.05 +0.61%
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $51.89 +0.60%
Target Corp. (TGT) $69.08 +0.60%

S&P 500 – Fallers
Dean Foods Co. (DF) $9.86 -51.69%
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) $48.18 -17.17%
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) $49.07 -9.75%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $42.11 -7.84%
GameStop Corp. (GME) $33.94 -5.73%
Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) $55.33 -2.98%
Forest Laboratories Inc. (FRX) $38.46 -2.71%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $40.28 -2.60%
Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) $24.15 -2.54%
Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) $115.90 -2.40%

Dow Jones I.A – Risers
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $81.54 +3.61%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $76.65 +0.42%

Dow Jones I.A – Fallers
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $24.44 -1.69%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $23.66 -1.64%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $46.68 -1.37%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $28.80 -1.06%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $82.66 -1.01%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $94.56 -0.97%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $86.11 -0.97%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $64.60 -0.97%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $51.39 -0.96%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $54.84 -0.92%

Nasdaq 100 – Risers
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $503.16 +5.16%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $95.38 +1.59%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $65.78 +1.08%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $113.82 +0.56%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $444.10 +0.44%
News Corp. Class A (NWSA) $32.98 +0.33%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $55.65 +0.31%
BMC Software Inc. (BMC) $45.38 +0.30%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $29.41 +0.16%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $26.05 +0.12%

Nasdaq 100 – Fallers
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) $48.18 -17.17%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $249.03 -2.29%
Expeditors International Of Washington Inc. (EXPD) $39.23 -2.27%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $55.58 -2.06%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $22.59 -2.04%
Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $33.59 -1.87%
CH Robinson Worldwide Inc (CHRW) $58.45 -1.75%
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $34.76 -1.67%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $23.66 -1.64%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $35.88 -1.59%

AB

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)’s mobile banking application was down Friday morning in another IT failure following a major glitch last year, pushing shares firmly into the red.

Next shares took a hit when Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to underweight with a target price of 3,920p.

Meanwhile, Smiths Group, the global technology firm, was making gains after it said that its full-year guidance remains unchanged after underlying revenues and profits in the first three quarters were ahead of last year.

FTSE 100 – Risers
Shire Plc (SHP) 2,165.00p +1.45%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,353.00p +1.35%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,063.00p +1.03%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,162.00p +0.69%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 478.10p +0.65%
Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,393.00p +0.63%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,294.00p +0.62%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 474.90p +0.59%
Serco Group (SRP) 630.50p +0.48%
Pearson (PSON) 1,222.00p +0.41%

FTSE 100 – Fallers
Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 256.20p -3.50%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 326.00p -3.32%
Next (NXT) 4,567.00p -2.64%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 272.00p -2.33%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,491.00p -2.04%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 3,152.00p -1.99%
BT Group (BT.A) 307.90p -1.97%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 727.50p -1.93%
Aggreko (AGK) 1,726.00p -1.82%
ITV (ITV) 130.00p -1.81%

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