S&P Futures

HSBC Awaiting data but expected to produce it's biggest ever profits

Pearson are very bullish regarding the future as they posted a 2.8 percent rise in profit to 410 million on turnover down six percent to 4.05 billion pounds ahead of market forecast. They said the sales at the Penguin  book range was suffering. A net deficit was expected so a good result.

GKN posted an eight percent fall in annual profit to 246 million pounds at the top end of forecasts and said despite improving markets competitive pressures remain intense.

Wolfson Microelectronics supplier of parts for DVD players and cameras reported maiden profits as a listed company of $12.5 million for 2003, a 247 percent increase on the previous year in line with forecasts. 2004 has started with a strong backlog of orders and healthy demand for its products

British Vita furniture foam maker reported a 16 percent fall in annual profit to 61.5 million pounds withi market expectations.

ISIS Asset Management fund firm posted an expected 14.8 percent rise in profits for the year to 24.8 million pounds helped by cost cutting and firmer stock markets

Persimmon homes reported a 32 percent rise to 352.5 million pounds in annual profit that beat forecasts of 341.5 million.

Aggregate Industries reported a four percent rise in annual profit 140.1 million pounds at the lower end of forecasts of 147 million.

Invensys said it had raised the size of its new credit facilities by 50 million pounds as it priced its 475 million euro ($593 million) and $550 million senior notes.

Exel storage and delivery firm posted a better-than-expected 9.7 percent rise in 2003 profit to 148.4 million pounds and said it was well placed to make good underlying sales and profit progress this year.

Inchcape car dealer reported profits of 135.8 million pounds at the top of expectations and was upbeat about prospects for the current year despite the weakness of the U.S. dollar.

Close Brothers merchant bank reported a 46%increase in first-half profits to 57.8 million pounds, ahead of expectations, and said the outlook for its investment banking unit was much improved.

 Benchmark Group (I), Close Brothers (I), Aggregate Industries (F), Aggreko(F), British Polythene(F). British Vita (F), Exel (F), GKN (F), Hammerson (F), HSBC (F), Imprint (F), Inchcape (F), LogicaCMG (F), Management Consulting Group (F), Nestor Healthcare (F), Pearson (F), Persimmon (F), StatPro (F), Systems Union (F), Vitec Group (F), Wolfson(F), Microelectronics (F)

Feb manufacturing sector PMI (09:30) Jan Consumer Credit (09:30) Jan Final M4/M4 lending (09:30)

1.30pm Personal Income 1.30pm Personal Spending 3.00pm Construction Spending 3.00pm ISM Index

5.00pm Auto Sales 5.00pm Truck Sales

Croc@SnappyTrader.com  WWW.SnappyTrader.com

 Benchmark Group (I), Close Brothers (I), Aggregate Industries (F), Aggreko(F), British Polythene(F). British Vita (F), Exel (F), GKN (F), Hammerson (F), HSBC (F), Imprint (F), Inchcape (F), LogicaCMG (F), Management Consulting Group (F), Nestor Healthcare (F), Pearson (F), Persimmon (F), StatPro (F), Systems Union (F), Vitec Group (F), Wolfson(F), Microelectronics (F)

Feb manufacturing sector PMI (09:30) Jan Consumer Credit (09:30) Jan Final M4/M4 lending (09:30)

1.30pm Personal Income 1.30pm Personal Spending 3.00pm Construction Spending 3.00pm ISM Index

5.00pm Auto Sales 5.00pm Truck Sales

Axon (I), Dechra Pharmaceuticals (I), White Young Green (I)Acambis (F), Ben Bailey (F), Biofocus (F), Brit Insurance (F), Britannic Group (F), Communisis (F), CRH (F), Fyffes (F), Genetix Group (F), Informa (F), KBC Advanced Technologies (F), Lavendon Group (F), LogicaCMG (F), Meggitt (F), Psion (F), Retail Decisions (F), Robert Walters (F), Savills (F), Schroders (F), Serco (F), Taylor Woodrow (F), White Young Green (F)

GW Pharmaceuticals (AGM). Singer & Friedlander AIM VCT (AGM)

CBI quarterly distributive trades survey Feb construction sector PMI (09:30)

Biogen(Q4), Pall Corp (Q2)

5.00pm Auto Sales 5.00pm Truck Sales  

A&J Mucklow (I), Next (I), Quayle Munro (I), Wetherspoon (I), Biotrace (F), Devro (F), Flying Brands (F), Friends Provident (F), Gallaher (F), Glanbia (F), Harrier Group (F), ITV (F), Lorien (F), Marlborough Stirling (F), Oxford Biomedica (F), Rathbone Bros (F), RMC (F), SHLGroup (F), Stilo (F), Wetherspoon (F)

(Tentative) Rolls-Royce (F), (Tentative) SMG (F)

UK Feb service sector PMI (09:30)

AutoZone (Q2), Costco (Q2), Toys R Us (Q4)

3.00pm ISM Services 7.00pm Fed's Beige Book

Ex Dividend,Pence, Yield %:  Avesco 2p 3.89%, Carclo 0.4p 3.68%, Cassidy Brothers 0.75p 6.47%, Colefax Group 1.34p 4.07%, Courts 1.10P 2.04%, EMI Group 2p 3.20%, Intelek 0.12p 1.6%, MITIE Group 1.10p 1.86%, Park Group 0.33p 2.48%, Peel Holdings 4.80p 1.73%, Cussons 8.05p 2.60%, Scottish & Southern Energy 11.30p 5.26%, First Choice Holidays 3.40p 3.44%, Reckitt Benckiser 14.00p 2.01%, Imperial Chemical Industries 3.50p 2.71%, Parkdean Holidays 3.00p 2.12%, Terrace Hill Group 0.15p 0.98%, Crest Nicholson 7.50p 3.09%, Eurocopy EUP 1.13p 4.00 %, Domino Printing Sciences 3.09p 2.45%, Electronic Data Processing 1.66p 3.59%, London Scottish Bank 4.30p 4.84%, Sanctuary Group 0.40p 0.76%,

Country and Metropolitan (I), Eidos (I), Arriva (F), Axis-Shield (F), Fayrewood (F), Hunting (F), Hydro Intl (F), Kidde (F), Mowlem J (F), P & O (F), Rexam (F), Senior Engineering (F), Tarsus Group (F), Wellington Underwriting (F), William Hill (F), Yule Catto (F)

(Tentative) George Wimpey (F), (Tentative) Friends Provident (F)

BoE`s MPC interest rate announcement

Citizens Communications (Q4), Dillard's (Q4), Staples (Q4), Symbol Technologies (Q4) 1.30pm Initial Claims 1.30pm Productivity-Rev.

3.00pm Factory Orders  

Rexel (F) LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (F) Vallourec (F), Alten (F)

J D Wetherspoon (I), Financial Objects (F), Greggs (F), Marshalls (F), Whitbread (F)

Netcentric Systems (AGM)

UK Jan Motor Vehicle Production (09:30)

1.30pm Average Workweek 1.30pm Hourly Earnings 1.30pm Nonfarm Payrolls 1.30pm Unemployment Rate  

Carrefour (F) Suez Lyonnaise (F) Essilor International (F) Havas Advertising (F) Pinault-Printemps (F)

Provisional Calendar For UK Equities  The Week Following  8th - 12th March

ICM Computer (I), Microgen (I), Town Centre Securities (I), BioProgress (F), Bovis Homes (F), Candover Investment (F), Fisher James & Sons (F), IDN Telecom (F), IMI (F), Intertek Testing Services (F), John Wood Group (F), Lloyds TSB (F), Taylor Nelson (F), Travis Perkins (F), WSP Group

Hays (I), Linx Printing (I), Redrow (I), Aegis (F), Group (F), Afa Systems (F), Cairn Energy (F), Countrywide Assured (F), Ennstone (F), French Connectio (F), Litho Supplies(F), Lookers (F), Metalrax Group (F), Peterhouse Group (F), SIG (F), Wyevale Garden Centres (F)

Smiths Group (I), Amlin (F), Balfour Beatty (F), Carillion (F), Concurrent Technologies (F), Countrywide Assured (F), Future Network (F), Interserve (F), Schroder Ventures IT (F), SMG (F), Centrica (AGM)

Ex Dividends: Albion 4.30p, Blick 9.50p, Cosalt 12.50p, Reuters Group 6.15p, Rio Tinto18.68p, Royal Bank of Scotland 6.15p, Windsor 1.45p

Alfred (F), McAlpine (F), Alvis (F), Amec (F), Amlin (F), Biocompatibles (F), Cattles Holdings (F), Flomerics Group (F), Incisive Media (F), Johnson Service Group (F), Laird Group (F), Lambert Howarth Group (F), Royal and Sun Alliance (F), Shire Pharmaceuticals (F), Sportech(F), First Choice (AGM), Lpa Group (AGM),

Fairplace Consulting (I), Heywood Williams (F), Keller Group (F), T Clarke (F)

Trading Thoughts For The Week Ahead  1st -5th March

Technology stocks provide interest in the week ahead with results from Logica, Psion & NXT however the most important result of the week will be from the UK's biggest bank HSBC. Three house builders report this week, Persimmon, Ben Bailey & Taylor Woodrow. With the Nationwide reporting that house prices soared during February at their fastest rate in nearly two years look for bumper results.

MondayHSBC should set the direction of the FTSE when it releases its expected final profits up 33% to some 7.5b. This will be a little confusing as profits will be boosted some 15% by the takeover of U.S. consumer finance group Household International. There should be updates on China's economy, global interest rates and the US dollar.Pearson the owner of the Financial Times is expected to report a 4% rise in profit to 410m after previously saying that it was confident about its full year prospects. The impact of the weaker US dollar and lower profits from the professional education division may have held back profits.Persimmon: The continuing rise in house prices is expected to give the company a sparkling set of results. They made a positive pre-close trading update on Friday that stated property sales and demand had been robust since June. Pre-tax profits are expected to rise 28% to 344m in 2003. For the future the strength of Persimmon's balance sheet may meen they are on the acquisition trail to turn them into a FTSE100 company. Also look out for news on the outlook for the industry over the next 12 months. GKN will probably show the problems facing the engineering sector when it announces a 9% fall in pre-tax profits to 242m. However it has a good track record of exceeding estimates so it could be a good buy at 8am.  

Tuesday

Logica's shares have gone up 300% since its 90p lows so the annual results should show if the gains were justified. After cost cutting the city will be looking for at least profit of 96m. However I feel that it will need excellent results to hang on to its current share price.Ben Bailey and Taylor Woodrow report after Persimmon gives direction the day before.Psion the company sitting on a large cash pile but with hardly any business left after unloading Symbian report finals. The city will be looking for future direction from the company.  

Wednesday

ITV will deliver its first results following the merger of Carlton Communications and Granada. Attention will focus on the outlook for 2004 advertising revenues as the group benefits from the Olympic Games and the European football championships. Look for combined profits of 250m in the 12 months against 230m a year ago Thursday

NXT the loss-making flat speaker designer may surprise as sales growth is expected to be strong as the product begins to take off!P&O's decision to reduce its share in container shipping business P&O Nedlloyd will have a negative affect on full year profits. But the market is expecting a jump in profits to 88m from 19m a year ago after a strong performance at its container ports arm.

Thoughts

With little in the way of big earnings announcements the U.S year long rally appears to have temporarily run out of steam. By Friday the Nasdaq had made it 6 out of 6 in declines and the DOW hit its second week of losses. Looking forward to next week there is almost a total lack of U.S corporate earnings news or economic data to move the market. On the other hand in the UK we have a monster week ahead with the HSBC result getting us out of the blocks first thing on Monday morning. During the last year the Dow Jones has been rising far faster the than the FTSE but this divergence may have come to an end. For the last few weeks this has reversed and as can be seen in the 10 day chart the FTSE has now become the leading partner. This type of chart has been excellent for me in predicting the intraday support & resistance levels on the indices and the underlying tracker stocks. A typical example was the FTSE on Friday where it predicted where the rally would hit the ceiling and then where it would find the floor later on in the day.

Finally when I was hunting for a 'Chart of the week' I also had a look at the 7 year DOW channel from 7800 to 11,000. Sometimes it is better to get thing back into perspective by looking at the long term viewpoint. Firstly I noticed the current rise over the last year is not unusual and it is almost identical to the rise in 1998/1999. Secondly it was followed by 'flatlining' for nearly 2 years at the 11,000 resistance point.  So perhaps for us traders it may be a little early to start sharpening our bear claws!

Wishing you all the best for the week ahead and as always I look forward to your thoughts and comments

David

David@SnappyTrader.com  www.SnappyTrader.com

All the above comments are purely a personal opinion and no investment advice is intended.  Please do your own research.

Sunday Newspapers

A number of prominent former directors of Leeds United face possible disqualification if the football club is forced into administration. The club, which has debts of ?80m-plus, failed to secure an extension to a standstill agreement with bondholders on Friday. Wine drinkers could have to swallow higher prices from next month if Chancellor Gordon Brown listens to a call from a drinks trade organisation. The British Beer and Pub Association has called for the government to impose higher taxes on wine, reports the Financial Times.

Invensys, investors have taken up only 70% of the new shares offered as part of the financial restructuring at leaving Deutsche with 141m stake.

 FEARS are growing of an early rise in interest rates by the Bank of England, whose monetary policy committee (MPC) meets this week. Some analysts are warning that the Bank could surprise the markets by putting up rates on Thursday, after evidence of rising house prices and an upward revision to last years GDP growth from 2.1% to 2.3% that has reduced the economys spare capacity.

SUNDAY TIMES MMO2 switches from weakling to a force in mobile phones Mayflower arm for sale Radice plots revolution for dated M&S Deutsche left with 141m Invensys stake Ireland: Four Eircom bosses share 40m Gym eyes Burberry star

Vital Statistics Easynet Business on the box, Jarvis Alliance & Leicester chief banks gains Stelios finds the going is no longer Easynet Should you buy shares in Northgate? Should you buy shares in Vodafone? New age dawns for UK property, Hammerson

ITV Captains of industry summon investors to secret peace talks Trinity Mirror Stelios Haji-Ioannous working day Easynet Judgment Day: Should you buy shares in Northgate? Sharewatch: British Polythene WPP, Captains of industry summon investors to secret peace talks GUS, Captains of industry summon investors to secret peace talks GUS, Agenda: William Lewis: Where were the hedge funds at City powwow? Burt moves in without rocking the ITV boat Jurys Doyle Irish Agenda: Tax compliance is smallest worry

Working Space, Easynet Quote of the week

The future of M&S Anglo American GroupThe Anglo file on Trahar City comment: the black horse needs firm reins, Lloyds Shares versus deposits, Prudential Pearson in a pickle

OBSERVER Lloyds TSB circling for Egg swoop M&S's home front HSBC smashes profit record

HSBC Smart money on Barclays Hunters Leisure Under the hammer

Digital Classics Opera legends come together in Digital duet Smart money on Barclays WH Smith's struggle Raising the game at ITV  

MAIL ON SUNDAY Tough warning for ITV's Allen, Chairman demands better performance Norman eyes top job at Sainsbury, Fresh challenge for Asda saviour? Leeds United close to the brink, Creditors remove financial safety net

Terror fears boost Biotrace, Record sales for bio-warfare arm Greggs poised to beat forecasts Baker warmed by cooler weather

INDEPENDENT  Penalty fear for former Leeds chiefs

ITV The Week Ahead:

The Week Ahead: East or West, HSBC hopes to be best JD Wetherspoon The Week Ahead

SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY  Scots bank top for MBOs and buy-ins Best of times for Aviva and worst of times for the Pru Wolfson Microelectronics to wow City with strong profits and higher spending on research Aggreko to generate cuts in international power base

HSBC poised to break 6.2bn Royal Bank profits record

Aberdeen to meet FSA over split cap inquiry Record-breaking results at HSBC

INVESTORS CHRONICLE  Tips: Buy - Tesco (TSCO), HIT Entertainment (HTE), Tolent (TLT), Widney (WDNY) Sell - Business Post (BPG), Galahad Gold (GLA).Tips Updates: Freeport (FPR) (good value), Workspace (WKP) (Buy), Fountains (FNT) (keep buying), WS Atkins (ATK) (Buy) and Consolidated Minerals (CNM) (Buy).Brokers' Notes: Acambis (ACM) - Jeffries and Code Securities say (Buy). British Land (BLND) - Deutsche and ABN say (Buy)

SHARES MAGAZINE Plays of the Week: Buy - Charter (CHTR), ZincOx Resources (ZOX), City Lofts Group (CTF) and Micap (MIC).Play Updates: Buy - ASOS (ASC) and Petra Diamonds (PDL). Sell - Mayflower (MFW), Buy - Tesco (TSCO), HIT Entertainment (HTE), Tolent (TLT), Widney (WDNY), Sell - Business Post (BPG), Galahad Gold (GLA).

Croc@SnappyTrader.com  WWW.SnappyTrader.com