07:39GMT 04Sept2008-SQS Software up after H1; Altium keeps "buy"

Shares in SQS Software Quality Systems rise 4.3 percent to 317 pence after interim results from the company, with Altium Securities reiterating its "buy" recommendation and 400 pence target price in response.
The independent software testing and quality management services provider unveils a 45 percent rise in adjusted profit before tax and says it has made a strong start to trading in the second half and that it expects to exceed current market forecasts for the full year.
Altium upgrades its EPS estimates for full-years 2008 and 2009 by 3 percent and 4 percent, respectively.
The broker argues that software testing is at the non-discretionary end of the IT spending spectrum and that, as a result, SQS should be relatively insulated from any slowdown in spending.
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07:37GMT 04Sept2008-Friends Prov shares gain on break-up talk

Friends Provident shares gain 2.4 percent after the Financial Times reports that Clive Cowdery, the insurance entrepeneur who founded Resolution, is eyeing Friends as a takeover target.
Friends Provident declines to comment, while Resolution says: "It'd be wrong to think any one company is being singled out."
Traders are sceptical about the longer lasting impact of the deal.
"There has been a lot of this type of speculation and it looks to me like market chatter, so longer term investors should wait and see if there is any substance to it," a trader says.

Reuters Messaging RM://simon.falush.reuters.com@reuters.net
07:31GMT 04Sept2008-Unilever leaps as Polman welcomed as new CEO

Shares in Unilever leap more than 6 percent to top the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of leading European shares after the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods group names Paul Polman, an industry veteran who missed out on the top job at Swiss food group Nestle last year, as chief executive.

"They've really scored a home run here," says Investec analyst Martin Deboo, noting Polman's extensive experience at both Nestle and Procter & Gamble, Unilever's main competitors in food and personal care respectively. "Polman's strategy remains to be seen but we expect the focus of the group to shift away from big restructuring towards more aggressive commercial targets," says Numis Securities analysts in a research note, pointing out that Polman's reluctance to make a big acquisition at Nestle means Unilever is unlikely to pursue Colgate-Palmolive <CL.N> under his leadership.
Unilever shares have traded as high as 1,592 pence in London and 20.06 euros in Amsterdam.
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07:28MT 04Sept2008-Whitbread rises after trading update

Shares in Whitbread rise 3.8 percent, the second biggest gainer on the FTSE 100 <.FTSE>, after Britain's largest hotel and restaurants operator says like-for-like sales up 7 percent in the 24 weeks to Aug. 14, boosted by a strong performance from Premier Inn.
"We are encouraged that the core business is showing no signs of slowdown. This confirms our view that budget hotels should be relatively resilient in a consumer downturn," Cazenove says in a note.
"Overall we believe Whitbread has strong growth prospects via the roll out of new rooms towards its 55,000 room target by 2013. It also has a strong balance sheet, with interest cover of more than 12x and net debt/EBITDA of 1.6x. Furthermore FY09 should see the benefit of 25 million pounds cost savings identified last year," the broker says, adding it has an "outperform" rating on the stock.
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07:15GMT 04Sept2008-K+S slides after promotion to top German index

Shares in fertilisers maker K+S fall 3.2 percent on news after the market's close on Wednesday that the stock will join Germany's to-30 DAX index <.GDAXI> effective Sept. 22.
"Promoted DAX companies have underperformed by an average of 4.3 percent in the four weeks after the announcement date. Many investors could use the promotion as an argument for profit taking," DZ Bank analyst Christian Kahler says.
K+S is the leading loser in Frankfurt's mid-cap index <.MDAXI>, which is 0.3 percent lower.
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06:27GMT 04Sept2008-Futures flat to lower; ECB, BoE eyed

European stock index futures are flat to lower in early trade amid growth worries, with the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 futures <STXEc1> and DAX futures <FDXc1> down 0.1-0.2 percent and CAC futures <FCEc1> flat.
Investors have their sights firmly trained on interest rate verdicts from the European Central Bank, due at 1145 GMT and the Bank of England, due at 1100 GMT.
The European Central Bank and the Bank of England are expected to leave interest rates unchanged, and market players expect the BoE to cut later this year and the ECB possibly next year.
Unilever <ULVR.L> is in focus after announcing the appointment of a new CEO, and British Energy <BGY.L> after the Wall Street Journal reported that EDF <EDF.PA> had taken early steps to sweetening its bid for British Energy.

Major companies due to report on Thursday:

Whitbread <WTB.L> Trading update

US companies to report:

Ciena Corp <CIEN.O>

Macro:

0645 GMT French jobless data
1000 GMT German industrial orders for July
1100 GMT Bank of England interest rate decision
1145 GMT European Central Bank rate decision
1230 GMT ECB president news conference
1215 GMT US ADP National Employment
1230 GMT US Jobless claims
1230 GMT US productivity, revised Q2
1400 GMT US ISM non-manufacturing PMI, business activity

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Keywords: MARKETS EUROPE STOCKSNEWS tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomsonreuters.com wj

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