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UK stock market morning note (March 08, 2013)

The FTSE 100 is called to open higher this morning following the positive performances on Wall Street and in Asia although gains may be limited as investors look ahead to the release of the US non-farm payrolls data at lunchtime. Overnight we had domestic economic data from Markit showing that the measure of permanent job placements grew at its slowest rate since September 2012 with the reading coming in at 52.7 in February, although still above the key 50 mark. Asian markets rose following the release of Chinese trade balance figures showing that the balance fell less than expected to 15.2bn from 29.2bn. Commodity prices are flat to slightly firmer and on the foreign exchanges, the pound is lower against the dollar and virtually unchanged against the euro. It is a quieter end to the week for corporate news.


Company Announcements

esure IPO Indicative Price Range. The price range for the offer has been set at 240p to 310p per share with the issue of new shares expected to raise GBP50m in proceeds which will be used to repay debt. The expected market cap on admission will be GBP1.14bn based on the mid-point of the indicative price range. This is expected to make it eligble for inclusion in the FTSE 250 Index in due course. Admission is expected to occur and unconditional dealings in the shares on or around 27 March 2013.  

Vodafone New Zealand Police Deal. It has secured a 10 year outsourcing deal with the police force to become its partner for mobile communications.