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08:53GMT 11Nov2009-E.ON, IPR rise on ugraded guidance, SSE falls
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Shares in utilities E.ON and International Power rise 2.4 percent and 4 percent respectively after they upgrade earnings guidance for the full-year.
Shares in Scottish & Southern fall 2.4 percent, however, after it maintains guidance for its full-year after posting first-half results.
"We like the fact the dividend is secure but there was nothing positive in the SSE statement this morning," says one analyst who did not wish to be named.
"On the other hand, IPR was a lot more positive, a rare piece of good news for UK utilities, and the stock looks quite cheap relative to other utilities."
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08:47GMT 11Nov2009-Micro Focus jumps on strong update
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Shares in Micro Focus jump 18.1 percent to a three-month high, topping the mid-cap leaderboard, after it says a strong performance from its recent acquisitions, Borland and Compuware's testing unit, will help first-half earnings beat expectations.
Broker Singer says the contribution of Borland and Compuware numbers alone could drive a 15 percent upgrade to estimates.
Rajeev Bahl at Piper Jaffray also sees the update as a trigger for continued upgrades. "With Micro Focus now having confirmed that core trading remains robust and that it is outperforming on acquisition integration we continue to view Micro Focus as a key sector holding," he says.
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08:35GMT 11Nov2009-Burberry up; HSBC upgrade helps
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Shares in Burberry rise 2 percent after HSBC upgrades the luxury retailer to "overweight" from "neutral", saying the firm has a compelling growth story in the luxury goods space.
The broker also increases its earnings per share estimates for Burberry by 15 percent for FY2010 and 20 percent for FY2011 following impressive top line growth and renegotiation of the Japanese licence agreement. HSBC also hikes the share's target price to 725 pence from 525 pence.
"The real interest in Burberry is its expected superior top line growth. While space expansion has no reason to slow significantly in the next 2-3 years, product diversification looks like an easy win and its unique British heritage positioning could help," analysts at HSBC write in a note.
Burberry could also benefit from M&A prospects and its currency position which is positive or neutral unlike its European peers, the broker says.
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08:32GMT 11Nov2009-Sainsbury up as H1 profit tops hopes
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Shares in Sainsbury rise 2.7 percent to 336.3 pence after Britain's third-biggest grocer posts first-half profits towards the top end of analysts' forecasts, although it does caution that the second-half will be tougher.
Freddie George, analyst at Seymour Pierce, says he is maintaining his 2009/10 profit forecast of 625 million pounds ($1.05 billion).
"Although the interim results came in at the top end of expectations there will be some nervousness arising from the company's recent sales performance," he says.
On Tuesday analysts said data for the last four weeks from market researcher TNS Worldpanel put Tesco's sales growth ahead of Sainsbury's.
Tesco shares are up 1 percent.
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08:30GMT 11Nov2009-FTSE small caps flat at the open
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The FTSE Small Cap Index is flat in early trade, underperforming the wider UK market which enjoys a bullish start to the session, with the FTSE 100 up 0.8 percent and the FTSE 250 rising 0.9 percent.
Newspaper distribution and aviation services firm John Menzies adds 7.8 percent after the company says it sees full-year results well above current market expectations.
British engineering company Corac Group Plc sheds over 19 percent after the company announces a further delay to the field trial of its downhole gas compressors (DGC), which had previously been targeted for the fourth quarter of 2009 but is now expected to go live in the second-half 2010.
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