Markets Overview:

UK 100 called to open flat this morning at 7520; This comes on the back of a volatile trading session yesterday which saw the UK listed blue chip banks (an investor favourite) falling as much as 5%. This followed on from a 10% gain on Friday and a 5% gain on Monday, could we see these fall again? Or, could this be an opportunity for investors to pick up on the pull back? A question which is also apt for UK 100 health care provider NMC Health, mid afternoon yesterday, shares were trading -45%, at close -32%, will this morning see more of a fall or, a continued recovery? Overnight trading in Asia saw stocks taking a breather as Japanese exports shrunk for 12th consecutive month. The Nikkei closing at 23,956 (-109 points) falling back below 24,000. The Hang Seng closed at 27,804 (-40 points). The U.S trading session had seen all three major indices closing in the green, on the eve of what is expected to see Donald Trump being impeached. The Dow Jones closed at 28,267 (+31 points), the Nasdaq closing at 8,823 (+10 points) and the S&P 500 closing at 3,192 (+1 point). Crude oil overnight broke through the $66 per barrel level to sit at $66.065 at time of writing, focus may be on UK listed oilies today. For the 4th consecutive trading session gold settled at $1477 per Troy ounce.

In corporate news this morning:

Anglo American announces the value of rough diamond sales (Global Sightholder Sales and Auctions) for De Beers' tenth sales cycle of 2019, amounting to $425 million.

Ferguson today announces the appointment of Simon Oakland as interim Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") of Wolseley

NMC Health this morning responded to the publication of the report from Muddy Waters on 17 December 2019 and the resultant share price reaction (-32% on the day).  They said NMC understands its regulatory disclosure obligations and has nothing to add to disclosures already made. It has already responded to many of the allegations made in the report over the past 12 months,

Pearson agrees to sell remaining 25% stake in Penguin Random House to Bertelsmann, generating net proceeds of approximately $675m (£530m), and announces a return of £350m to shareholders through a share buyback.  

Staffline the recruitment and training group this morning reported that trading performance in Q4 has been below the Board's expectations, with lower than anticipated demand from end customers.  During November, customer demand was down approximately 16% from the prior year.

Source: Bloomberg, FT, Reuters, DJ Newswires, AlphaTerminal

Upgrades/Downgrades:

Cairn Energy Upgraded to Overweight/ in-line by Morgan Stanley (Bloomberg: 15 buys/ 3 Holds/ 1 Sell)

Hammerson Downgraded to Hold by Peel Hunt (Bloomberg: 6 buys/ 9 holds/ 6 sells)

In Focus Today:

ECB President Lagarde Speech

Tomorrow's Ex-Dividends:

UK 100

Burberry Group - 0.8%

United Utilities - 1.7%

Countryside Properties - 2.4%

Sirius Retail Estate - 1.8%

RHI Magnesita - 1.1%

Mercantile - 0.6%

(Full list available on Week in advance)

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