Good morning traders!

In Asia today, the Hang Seng ended the morning down 309.11 points at 26,159.02,
while the Nikkei closed down 138.16 points at 13,972.63.

New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, fell
1 cent to $94.19 per barrel.

Happy trading!

G.

Australian shares close lower led by property trust sector - UPDATE

TFN UK calendar and forecasts for today

OUTLOOK Northern Foods trading could be hit by poor M&S sales

London shares outlook - lower, awaiting UK CPI, Tesco Christmas sales figures

BROKERWATCH Legal & General cut to 'hold' vs 'buy' at Deutsche Bank, target 147pThomson Financial UK at a glance share guide

The Tuesday Press Roundup

BROKERWATCH Kingfisher at 'neutral' vs 'overweight' at JP Morgan, target to 144p

BROKERWATCH Sainsbury upgraded to buy vs neutral at Goldman Sachs, target cut

Tesco (TSCO) have announced like-for-like sales growth at 3.1% missing analysts' expectations - consensus was 3.5%-4.1%. Non-food and international sales did well. One analyst is suggesting a opening drop of 8-9%, Cantor is calling a 20p drop. The CFO is cautious on outlook.

Taylor Wimpey (TW.) is in-line with expectations, Cantor are calling it higher. Debenhams (DEB) are reporting strong Christmas trading, up 2.2% like-for-like, but for the 18-week period they were flat. They are cautious on outlook. Cantor is calling it 3p higher. Game Group (GMG) say like-for-like sales are up 31.9%. Venture Production (VPC) say they've encountered some problems in their trading statement, net daily production is down 7.7%. Autonomy's (AU.) deals of the day are with AT&T and BHP Billiton. The Northern Rock (NRK) EGM is today.

Among the small caps, solar cell manufacturer Jetion Holdings (JHL) say they are trading slightly ahead of expectations, but in the best traditions of London-list Chinese stocks, it looks like everyone already knew. Orwellian technology group Appian Technology (APN) has done deals worth 410k with British police forces. Leyshon Resources (LRL) have announced encouraging drilling results.

BP. have been downgraded to underweight from equal-weight by Lehman Brothers. British Land (BLND) have been downgraded to sell from hold in an SG Securities note on the sector. Legal & General (LGEN) have been downgraded to hold from buy with a 147 target by Deutsche Bank. Kingfisher (KGF) has been downgraded to neutral from overweight with a 144 target by JP Morgan. Sainsbury (SBRY) has been upgraded to buy from neutral with a reduced target of 440 from 465 by Goldman Sachs.

The FTSE is currently being called down 17 at 6,199 by CMC. Dow futures are currently being called down 59 at 12,719 after yesterday's 171 point rise. Asian markets have been very weak again.

STOCKWATCH Tesco seen down as much as 8 pct as sales miss analyst forecastsBROKERWATCH BP cut to 'underweight' from 'equal-weight' at Lehman Brothers

BROKERWATCH Fonciere des Murs, Metrovacesa, British Land downgraded at SG Secs

London shares open down; Tesco falls on below forecast sales growth, CPI awaited

UK smallcap opening - Yoomedia sharply higher on order win

UK smallcap opening - Mediazest firms on contract win

UK smallcap opening - Dmatek higher on upbeat trading update

UK smallcap opening - Dialight advances post trading update

STOCKWATCH Vedanta higher; upgraded to 'buy' in sector review at ABN Amro

UK smallcap opening - i-mate falls after downbeat trading update

UK smallcap opening - Davenham falls after ACP Capital withdraws offer for coUK smallcap opening - Mobile Streams falls on downbeat trading statement