STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Homag plunges on preliminary FY results
STOCKS NEWS Reuters Results diary
Stocks on the move [HOT-RTRS] Real-time Equity News [E] [WEU/EQUITY]
08:21GMT 18Feb2009-Homag plunges on preliminary FY results
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German engineering company Homag (HG1G.DE) drops 10.3 percent, the biggest decliner in Frankfurt's smallcap index .SDAXI, after the company said late on Tuesday its full-year sales came in at 856 million euros ($1.08 billion), up 2.3 percent from last year, but below the company's target of about 6 percent.
"Worse than expected preliminary FY08 numbers should weigh on stock," a local trader says.
The company also says it expects a weak first and second quarter of 2009.
For more double click on [ID:nEQfoulfyu] ($1=.7908 Euro)
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08:44GMT 18Feb2009--FTSE Small Caps fall in early trade
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The FTSE Small Cap Index .FTSC is down 0.1 percent in early trade, as the FTSE 100 .FTSE rises 0.3 percent, while the FTSE Mid Caps .FTMC index falls 0.1 percent.
European Nickel (ENK.L) soars more than 51 percent after announcing it has secured the approval of the forestry permit for its Caldag nickel laterite project in Turkey.
"This excellent (and long awaited) news should allow the company to regain positive share price and operations momentum this year," says Brock Salier, analyst at Ambrian.
Hotelier Millennium & Copthorne (MLC.L) falls 5 percent after saying it would halve its 2008 dividend payout to preserve cash.
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08:29GMT 18Feb2009-Commerzbank rises on smaller than expected Q4 loss
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Shares in Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) rise 4.8 percent, topping the DAX .GDAXI leaderboard of German blue-chip shares and also outpacing the DJ Stoxx European bank index .SX7P, after reporting a smaller than expected fourth-quarter loss.
"Positively, net interest income and costs were better than expected," Equinet says in a note.
"The main positives were higher-than-expected net interest income, which came from good growth in client lending and deposit gathering, and lower staff costs, as previously accrued bonus provisions could be written back -- Commerzbank will pay virtually no bonus to its staff," Kepler says in a note.
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08:27GMT 18Feb2009-Neuropharm plunges as lead drug misses
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Shares in autism specialist Neuropharm (NPH.L) nosedive 66 percent as it announces that its lead drug failed to show it works significantly better then a placebo.
"The failure of a well-designed U.S. Phase III trial makes it unlikely that NPL-2008 will receive U.S. regulatory approval for autism, unless further analysis of the primary and secondary endpoints shows statistically significant differences," say analysts at house broker Piper Jaffray in a note to clients.
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08:08GMT 18Feb2009-SocGen rises after keeping dividend
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Shares in French bank Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) gain 6 percent, topping the CAC 40's .FCHI leaderboard, after posting a profit for the fourth-quarter, rising its dividend and saying its tier-1 ratio, a key measure in the banking industry, is 8.8 percent.
"The dividend was a bit above our estimates and the Tier 1 ratio still looks OK," one analyst says.
"The dividend is the only positive surprise, while the quality of the figures is disappointing," one trader says.
SocGen stock, which tumbled nearly 10 percent on Tuesday, is still down 34 percent in 2009, while the DJ Stoxx banking index .SX7P has lost 21 percent so far this year.
After 5 minutes of trading, the volume on SocGen shares already represents 13 percent of the stock's 90-day average daily volume, compared with 2 percent for France's CAC 40 .FCHI.
For more on SocGen results, click on: [ID:nLH365048]
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07:33GMT 18Feb2009-GPC Biotech seen rocketing on merger plans
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Shares in German biotech company GPC Biotech GPCG.DE are indicated 29.9 percent higher at 0.97 euros, after the company announces a proposed merger with privately held Agennix, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2009.
"This is a clear boost for the share, which is always strongly reacting to news," a Frankfurt-based trader says.
"The company also says that the merger ratio translates into a value of 1.26 euros per share of GPC Biotech, which helps."
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07:10GMT 18Feb2009-Futures mixed, banks eyed
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Futures for the DJ Euro STOXX 50 STXEc1 and Germany's DAX FDXc1 are down 0.35 percent while futures for France's CAC .FCHI are flat. A lower opening would put the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 on track for its third straight day of losses.
U.S. stocks slid within striking distance of the November bear-market low on Tuesday as grim manufacturing data signaled the recession is worsening and warnings on risks facing European banks underscored the continuing toll of the financial crisis.
French bank Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) has reported a net profit of 87 million euros for the fourth quarter, below analysts' forecasts. The company said it expects the market environment to remain challenging throughout 2009.
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EUROPEAN COMPANIES
Societe Generale Q4 (SOGN.PA)
Heineken FY (HEIN.AS)
ING Groep Q4 (ING.AS)
Carlsberg Q4 (CARLb.CO)
Atos Origin FY (ATOS.PA)
Safran Q4 (SAF.PA)
Commerzbank Q4 (CBKG.DE)
Merck Q4 (MRCG.DE)
DSM FY (DSMN.AS)
Norsk Hydro Q4 (NHY.OL)
Renewable Energy Q4 (REC.OL)
Portugal Telecom FY (PTC.LS)
Lundin Petroleum Q4 (LUPE.ST)
Swedish Match Q4 (SWMA.ST)
Acergy Q4 (ACY.OL)
Puma FY (PUMG.DE)
Synthes FY (SYST.VX)
U.S. COMPANIES
Analog Devices Inc. Q1 (ADI)
Deere & Co. Q1 (DE)
Hewlett-Packard Q1 (HPQ)
Whole Foods Market Q1 (WFMI.O)
CBS Corporation Q4 (CBS)
Comcast Corporation Q4 (CMCSA.O)
Constellation Energy Group Q4 (CEG)
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Q4 (GT)
Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. Q4 (HST)
MACRO (GMT)
1100 GB CBI Orders Feb
1200 US MBA Mortgage Data Jan
1330 US Building Permits Jan
1330 US Housing Starts Jan
1415 US Industrial Production Jan
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