TMCnet News
Market report [Northern Echo (England)](Northern Echo (England) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) AWELCOME rally on the FTSE 100 Index yesterday was led by Vodafone as world markets bounced back from the recent heavy sell- off. The mobile phone giant climbed four per cent after chief executive Vittorio Colao reassured the City over the company's performance in emerging markets, contributing to a surge on the wider top tier. London's FTSE 100 Index closed 100.4 points up at 6558.3 - a gain of 1.6 per cent - spurred on by better-than-expected unemployment benefit claims figures in the America, which set the tone for today's key US jobs report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lifted around 150 points in early trading amid buoyant sentiment following a difficult start to the year, with markets across Europe also responding with a 1.5 per cent hike on Germany's Dax and the Cac 40 in France ahead 1.7 per cent. But it was a dire day for micro-blogging website Twitter as it saw $7bn ([pounds]4bn) wiped off its value after its first set of results as a public company disappointed investors and sparked aWall Street backlash. Shares fell by asmuch as 24 per cent in New York after the figures raised fears over slowing growth, with a lower-than- expected rise in users over the quarter to December 31. In a busy session for corporate updates, pharmaceuticals company AstraZeneca was among the biggest FTSE 100 fallers amid its continuing battle against the impact of generic competition on some of its best-selling drugs. The Cheshire-based firm trimmed earnings and sales guidance ahead of competition in the US for another of its top-sellers, popular heartburn and ulcer drug Nexium, from May. It now expects sales this year to suffer falls in the low to mid- single digits, with earnings also likely to be impacted. (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |