LONDON BRIEFING: Miners Keep Market Rally Going

LONDON (Alliance News) - London shares have started the new quarter on the front foot Thursday, adding to the rebound in prices seen on Wednesday.

Miners lead FTSE 100 gainers, with Glencore again topping the winners list, up 4.7%, followed by Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.

Publisher Pearson is up 2.5%, after Citigroup resumed coverage of the stock at Buy.

Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 1.1% at 6,130.93
FTSE 250: up 0.9% at 16,831.63
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.2% at 726.63
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Hang Seng: market closed for holiday.
Nikkei 225: closed up 1.9% at 17,722.42
DJIA: closed up 1.5% at 16,284.70
S&P 500: closed up 1.9% at 1,920.03
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GBP: down at USD1.5115
EUR: down at USD1.1144

GOLD: down at USD1,111.00 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD48.89 a barrel

(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Thursday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times in BST)

08:30 Switzerland SVME - Purchasing Managers' Index
08:45 Italy Markit Manufacturing PMI
08:50 France Markit Manufacturing PMI
08:55 Germany Markit Manufacturing PMI
09:00 Italy Public Deficit/GDP
09:00 EU Markit Manufacturing PMI
09:30 UK Markit Manufacturing PMI
12:30 US Challenger Job Cuts
13:30 US Initial and Continuing Jobless Claims
14:30 Canada RBC Manufacturing PMI
14:45 US Markit Manufacturing PMI
15:00 US ISM Manufacturing PMI
15:00 US Construction Spending
15:30 US EIA Natural Gas Storage
18:30 US Total Vehicle Sales
19:30 US FOMC Member Williams speech
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China's manufacturing conditions deteriorated the most in six-and-a-half years in September as orders declined sharply on weak foreign demand, results of a private sector survey revealed. The final manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index dropped to 47.2 in September from 47.3 in August, survey data from the Caixin Insight Group and Markit showed. That was the lowest reading since March 2009. Meanwhile, the official manufacturing PMI rose moderately to 49.8 in September from 49.7 in August, reflecting marginal improvement in production and new orders. The divergence between the two PMIs is because activity among the large state-owned firms that are more heavily represented in the official index will have been boosted most by the recent pick-up in fiscal spending and infrastructure investment, Julian Evans-Pritchard, an economist at Capital Economics, said. The official non-manufacturing PMI came in at 53.4 in September, the same reading as seen in prior month. The Caixin composite PMI fell to 48 in September from 48.8, separate survey results showed. The services PMI dropped to 50.5 from 51.5 a month ago.
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An index measuring business sentiment in Japan weakened in the third quarter of 2015, the Bank of Japan said in its quarterly Tankan business survey. The large manufacturers' index came in with a score of 12, missing forecasts for 13 and down from 15 in the previous quarter. The outlook came in with a score of 10, matching forecasts but down sharply from 16 in the three months prior. The survey is closely watched by the Bank of Japan for formulating policies.
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Ireland's manufacturing sector growth improved further in September on marked growth of new business, while the rate of expansion in production slowed to a 19-month low, survey figures from Markit Economics showed. The seasonally adjusted Investec purchasing managers' index rose marginally to to 53.8 in September from 53.6 in August.
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Global growth will probably be slower this year than in 2014, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said in Washington. Global growth hovered at 3.4% a year in 2013 and 2014, according to IMF estimates. Lagarde said she expects "only a modest acceleration" next year. "The prospect of rising interest rates in the US and China's slowdown are contributing to uncertainty and higher market volatility," she said in a speech at the Council of the Americas.
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Russia said it has begun airstrikes against the Islamic State terrorist group in war-torn Syria, but the Syrian opposition alleged that the raids had hit territory held by other rebel groups and killed civilians. In Washington, the White House said it was "too early" to say what targets the Russians sought to strike and which targets were hit, but that the Pentagon was looking into the Russian military activities. US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter said it appeared Russian airstrikes hit areas where there probably were not Islamic State forces. He called Russia's activity in Syria a "fallacy" that is "doomed to failure," but said it was still possible for Russia to play a constructive role in ending the fighting.
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The Afghan military retook control of the strategic northern city of Kunduz from Taliban forces overnight, officials said. "The only remaining parts to be cleared are the outskirts of Kunduz, which is going to be cleared of the insurgent presence soon," Hamdullah Danishi, the acting governor of Kunduz, told dpa.
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The US House of Representatives passed short-term spending legislation to fund the government through December 11, as lawmakers worked down to the wire to prevent a federal shutdown at midnight. The lower chamber voted 277-151 to pass the measure, hours after the Senate overwhelmingly approved the measure. The measure overcame efforts by conservative Republicans that would have forced the federal government to shut down unless the budget withdrew federal money from women's health provider Planned Parenthood.
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The European Commission said it is launching the Capital Markets Union Action Plan which is expected to help build a true single market for capital across the 28 EU Member States. The Commission said the Capital Markets Union is a key pillar of the Investment Plan which aims to tackle investment shortages head-on by increasing and diversifying the funding sources for Europe's businesses and long-term projects. The Commission wants to make it easier for companies and infrastructure projects to get the finance they need, regardless of where they are located.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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TRADERS: NUMIS ADDS MELROSE, TULLOW OIL, MICRO FOCUS TO TOP PICKS
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TRADERS: MACQUARIE RAISES AMEC TO 'NEUTRAL' ('UNDERPERFORM')
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UBS RAISES DIAGEO TO 'BUY' ('NEUTRAL') - PRICE TARGET 2150 (1800) PENCE
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TRADERS: CITIGROUP RESUMES PEARSON WITH 'BUY' - TARGET 1,425 PENCE
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TRADERS: UBS INITIATES SABMILLER WITH 'NEUTRAL'
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TRADERS: UBS INITIATES BRITVIC WITH 'BUY'
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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The UK's digital economy minister has dealt a blow to a push by BT Group's rivals for the company to be forced to spin-off its Openreach infrastructure business, the Financial Times reported. Speaking to the FT, Ed Vaizey said he was a "sceptic" about the need to split BT from Openreach. "I think full separation would be an enormous undertaking, incredibly time consuming [and would have] lots of potential to backfire," he said. "Ofcom is looking at it, I am a sceptic but we will have to see what Ofcom comes out with."
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Traders have started quoting prices for Glencore debt in a way normally associated with lower-quality paper, or junk bonds, the Financial Times reported. The shift seen in pricing in the private over-the-counter markets in the past week came after wild swings in the share price of the multi-commodities miner and trading house, amid investor concerns about its ability to handle its debt obligations within a tough commodities market. Glencore currently has an investment grade rating from rating agencies, but dealers and investors this week said trading in its USD36 billion in bonds outstanding has moved to a cash basis, normally used for junk bonds which have a higher risk of default.
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Royal Dutch Shell has teamed up with the fastest-growing independent energy supplier in the UK to launch a new venture in Germany selling households gas and electricity under Shell’s brand, the Telegraph reported Wednesday. The deal marks First Utility’s first foray abroad after establishing itself as Britain’s biggest 'challenger' supplier to the traditional 'Big Six' suppliers. It is also thought to be the first time Shell, the global oil and gas giant, has struck a major household energy supplier partnership to sell electricity and gas under its name in Europe.
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WPP late Wednesday said it has entered into an irrevocable and non-discretionary arrangement with its broker, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, to repurchase shares on its behalf. WPP said the shares will be repurchased between October 1 and October 23 within "certain pre-set parameters" and held as treasury shares.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Cranswick said revenue in the first half of its financial year grew slightly ahead of the board's expectations and said it remains well-positioned to achieve further growth during the rest of the year. The pork and poultry producer said that total revenue in the six months to September 30 rose 10% on the same period the year before, driven by strong volume growth across most product categories and a positive contribution from poultry producer Benson Park which it bought last year.
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Property company LondonMetric Property said it has sold two retail parks in Milton Keynes and Southampton for a total of GBP43.4 million. LondonMetric said it has sold the Westcroft retail park in Milton Keynes for GBP27.2 million and the Mountbatten retail park in Southampton for GBP16.2 million. The sale prices reflect a blended net initial yield of 5.7% and both were bought by large UK institutional investors, which LondonMetric did not name.
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Investment and wealth management company Rathbone Brothers said it has struck a deal to buy the remaining 80.1% stake in Vision Independent Financial Planning Ltd and Castle Investment Solutions Ltd it did not already own. The consideration for the two businesses will comprise an initial cash payment of GBP5.0 million, with a further GBP8.0 million due based on Vision hitting growth and operational targets through to 2020.
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COMPANIES - LONDON MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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NetScientific said it plans to raise up to GBP20.0 million through a placing and additional fundraising to speed up development of its two portfolio companies, Vortex Biosciences and Wanda, as it reported a widened pretax loss for the first half of 2015. The company reported a pretax loss for the half year to end-June of GBP5.4 million, widened from a pretax loss of GBP2.6 million a year before. NetScientific will raise GBP18.0 million through the placing of 15 million shares at 120 pence, in a placing conducted by Investec Bank and Liberum, and will raise a further GBP2.0 million through a private placing of 1.7 million shares at the same price.
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Gulf Keystone Petroleum said it has received the competent person's report on the reserve estimates for its oil assets in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, upgrading estimates. The report has upgraded the 1P reserve estimate for the Shaikan crude oil field by 55% compared to the March 2014 estimate to 306 million barrels of oil gross, from 198 million previously. The 2P reserve estimate has been more than doubled to 639 million barrels gross, from 299 million previously, which will significantly de-risk the commercial attraction of the field, Gulf Keystone said.
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Energy technology company Intelligent Energy Holdings said it has struck a deal to acquire the energy management business of GTL, which provides energy to telecommunications towers in India, as it said trading had accelerated in the second half of its financial year. Intelligent Energy said the acquisition of the business, for around GBP85 million, will strengthen is Distributed Power and Energy division and will provide the company with a customer base to which it can start rolling out its fuel-cell technology. Intelligent Energy said the deal provides a major platform for fuel cells to be deployed as a distributed power service. Intelligent Energy expects to earn around GBP120 million in revenue per annum and to make estimated earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation margins pre-financing of around 15% on the acquired business.
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Exhibitions company ITE Group reiterated its full year expectations, anticipating a fall in revenue compared to the previous year, as it said it traded in line with expectations in its fourth quarter. For the financial year to end-September, the company expects to post revenue of around GBP136 million, down from GBP174 million a year before.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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Volkswagen could face a series of multi-million dollar fines if it is found to have breached Australian consumer laws by making false claims about its vehicles, the corporate watchdog said. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Chairman Rod Sims said using devices aimed at defeating mandatory safety standards was prohibited under consumer law.
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Microsoft and Google have agreed to dismiss all patent-related lawsuits existing between the two companies, in what could be a sign that the period of aggressive patent wars is ending in the technology industry. The two firms have about 20 lawsuits over patents used in technologies such as mobile phones, Wi-Fi and Web video. The lawsuits being dismissed include those related to Google's former Motorola Mobility smartphone unit. It is not known whether money is involved as part of the agreement.
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Spanish oil major Repsol said it has agreed with Natural Gas Distribution and Redexis Gas the sale of part of its piped gas business. The various operations amount to a total of EUR651.5 millions, generating an estimated after-tax capital gain of EUR367 million. The agreements, which will be completed in early 2016, are subject to regulatory approvals.
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Oil giant Exxon Mobil said it has reached an agreement with PBF Energy for the sale and purchase of its refinery in Torrance, California, a lubricants distribution center at Vernon, products terminals at Vernon and Atwood, and associated California pipelines and other logistics assets, including facilities at the Southwest terminal.
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General Electric said it has reached separate agreements to sell its tank car fleet assets and railcar repair facilities to Marmon Holdings, a Berkshire Hathaway company, and its remaining railcar leasing business, General Electric Railcar Services, to Wells Fargo & Co. Terms of the deals were not disclosed. GE Railcar Services leases a broad range of railcars as well as locomotives to shippers and railroads across North America.
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Wal-Mart Stores is planning to cut approximately 500 positions at its headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, according to media reports. At present, more than 18,000 people are employed at the company's headquarter. In August, Wal-Mart reported a 15% drop in its second-quarter profit, hurt by a stronger dollar and wage hike costs. The company was reportedly reducing employee hours at some stores in the same month as part of efforts to cut costs.
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Northrop Grumman Systems Corp has been awarded a USD3.20 billion indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Global Hawk development, modernization, retrofit, and sustainment activities for all US Air Force variants.
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Thursday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Artemis Aplha Trust
Zoopla Property Group
SacOil
DJI Holdings
Punch Taverns
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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