Good morning traders!

In Asia today, the Hang Seng ended the morning down 93.06 points at 14,829.16 and the Nikkei was last down 34.13 points at 12,419.01, both mirroring the weakness of the Dow's last session.

New York's main oil contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October, was trading at $70.36 a barrel, up 55 cents from its finish in New York of $69.81.

Some early broker notes:-

Invensys upgraded to 'neutral' vs 'sell' at Merrill Lynch

CAMBRIDGE ANTIBODY CUT TO 'NEUTRAL' VS 'OUTPERFORM' AT CSFB

CRH UPGRADED TO 'OUTPERFORM' VS 'NEUTRAL' AT CSFB

HAMMERSON UPGRADED TO 'BUY' VS 'NEUTRAL' AT UBS

Happy trading!

G.

LONDON (AFX) - The FTSE 100 was seen edging into the red at the open, mirroring a bleak performance in US indices after oil prices surged as damage from Hurricane Katrina looks worse than initially anticipated, said dealers.
IG Index was indicating the UK market to open around 2 points lower after closing 27.7 higher last night at 5,255.8.

MARKETS
FTSE 100 5,255.8, up 27.7
FTSE 250 7,722.4, up 21.9
DJIA 10,412.80, down 50.20
Nasdaq Comp 2,129.76, down 7.89
S&P 500 1,208.40, down 3.90
Tokyo: Nikkei closed at 12,413.60, down 39.54
Hang Seng midday 14,829.16, down 93.06
Gold 430.55 usd (438.90 usd)
Oil - Brent Oct 67.57 usd (64.87 usd)

TRADING STATEMENTS
C&C Group
Matalan

ECONOMICS
UK Gfk Aug consumer confidence survey (0930 GMT)

TODAY'S PRESS
* Storm loss worse than feared; oil surges after US hurricane; concerns raised over cost of insurance; at least 80 people believed to be dead in Mississippi - FT
* Microsoft preparing to introduce an internet telephone service allowing calls from PCs to fixed-line or mobile telephones, extending the rapid advances by internet rivals such as Yahoo and Google into the communications business - FT
* GoLower, a privately-held company that sells low sugar snack bars, considering a public offering as early as spring 2006 in what could be the first of other listings from an emerging group of "virtual" food businesses - FT
* Sir Gerry Robinson appears to be reconsidering plans to build for RENTOKIL INITIAL after signalling that the support services company's pension deficit may be a significant stumbling block - Times
* Steve Forbes, the billionaire business publisher, warns oil will drop to 35 usd within a year - Telegraph

PRESS COMMENT
FT
THE LEX COLUMN comments on HAMMERSON (little reason for Hammerson to trade at a 14 pct discount to NAV when the sector average is nearer 10 pct), Skandia/OLD MUTUAL (another 5-10 pct increase (in Old Mutual's offer) should turn this hug into a mutual cuddle), CRH (shareholders stand to benefit from substantial buyback firepower even if deal flow remains muted for a couple of years), Hedge funds (whatever facts emerge from Bayou, investors should do their own checking) - BUNZL (look overvalued) - FILTRONA (potential investors might want to wait for any weakness and buy into that)
Times
DIRECTORS' DEALINGS: MICHAEL PAGE (director sells just under 100,000 stg-worth of shares) - TEMPUS: HAMMERSON (worth buying as a long-term investment), BUNZL (not cheap, but well worth holding), CRH (worth holding for the long term)
Telegraph
QUESTOR: BUNZL (worth holding), FILTRONA (if the share price does dip at all it's worth a look), HAMMERSON (no better than a hold)
Guardian
SHED (large stock overhang cleared)
Independent
THE INVESTMENT COLUMN: UTEK CORPORATION (buy), MEARS (just too pricey)
Mail
QXL RICARDO (vague rumours of another bid approach)
Express
SHARE WHISPER: PILKINGTON (Nippon Sheet Glass a likely predator) - WHO'S DEALING: MICE GROUP (director buys 15,000 shares at 33.39 pence)

Good morning all.

Midday Market Wrap

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Afternoon All.

End of day market wrap