STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Petrofac up; Morgan Stanley initiates

STOCKS NEWS Reuters Results diary

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13:57GMT 05Feb2009-Petrofac up; Morgan Stanley initiates

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Shares in Petrofac (PFC.L) gain 5.4 percent as Morgan Stanley starts coverage of the oil services firm with an "overweight" rating and a price target of 570 pence.

The broker says it expects Petrofac's earnings to prove more resilient than those of its peers in the current downturn in the oilfield service market due to its sizeable order backlog, and exposure to Middle Eastern gas projects and the relatively stable operations services market.

Morgan Stanley sas given that the Don oil fields in the UK North Seaare are set to come on-stream in th first half of 2009, it thinks Petrofac is one of the few firms it expect to grow earnings in 2008-10.

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12:41GMT 05Feb2009-UK REITs fall; rate cut ignored

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UK property stocks are lower as the latest moves by the central bank to cut rates fails to dispel fears of further pain in commercial real estate, with the FTSE 350 Real Estate Index .FTNMX8730 down 3.1 percent.

The Bank of England cut interest rates by half a percentage point to a new record low of 1.0 percent on Thursday as it aims to help the British economy by getting consumers and companies to spend again. [ID:nLAC003121]

The two largest UK-listed real estate investment firms Land Securities (LAND.L) and British Land (BLND.L) trade down 5.3 percent and 4.6 percent respectively.

Shares of Hammerson (HMSO.L) are down 3.5 percent, while Derwent London's (DLN.L) stock price lose 2.8 percent.

"Deflation, rising unemployment and the general economic outlook do make a case for today's sizeable 0.5 percent rate cut," said Jennet Siebrits, Head of Residential Research at property broker CB Richard Ellis.

"However, the complexity of the UK's current economic situation means this cut is unlikely to have the desired impact, or indeed the effect it would have had in past recessions," said Siebrits.

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12:37GMT 05Feb2009-Charter weak as UBS downgrades to "sell"

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Shares in Charter CHTR.L shed 5.9 percent as UBS cuts its rating to "sell" from "neutral" in a review of the UK capital goods sector.

The broker also reduces its target price for Charter to 300 pence from 375.

UBS says it sees Charter's core welding business, ESAB as vulnerable given the severity of decline in industrial production and the industry's low barriers to entry.

The broker concludes that Charter's relative valuation is not particularly compelling versus sector peers.

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12:34GMT 05Feb2009-FTSE Small Caps rise 0.2 percent midday

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FTSE Small Caps .FTSC move into positive territory in midday trade, up 0.2 percent, as the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee reduces interest rates by 50 basis points to 1.0 percent.

UK small caps just outperform the wider UK market, with the FTSE 100 index .FTSE down 0.7 percent and the FTSE 250 Index .FTMC up 0.2 percent.

Alumasc (ALUG.L) jump 11 percent, as the supplier of engineering and building products reveals a relatively slight 3 percent fall in first half underlying pretax profit, with a broker pointing to strength in its sustainable building business division.

Latchways (LATC.L) dive 14.3 percent as the the provider of fall protection systems and access solutions says it is now seeing the impact of the global downturn and predicts group profits to be slightly below last year's, prompting Brewin Dolphin to cut earnings forecasts.

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12:11GMT 05Feb2009-YouGov plummets on profit warning

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Shares in YouGov (YOU.L) slump 48.8 percent as the online market research company warns its full-year profit will be "significantly" below market expectations, prompting Investec Securities to place its earnings forecasts under review.

"Another profit warning is a surprise given the work the company has put into financial controls, and is clearly disappointing," Investec says in a note.

"The key issue is UK growth which has not delivered against a ramped-up cost base," the broker adds.

For more double click on [ID:nBNG434456]

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11:56GMT 5Feb2009-Impregilo up on tender rules, contract

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Shares in Impregilo (IPGI.MI) are up almost 4 percent on expectations new motorway tender bid rules in Italy could benefit the company and news it is shortlisted for a contract in Abu Dhabi.

"The company could see a positive moment," a trader says, referring to the changes in tender bid rules currently under discussion in parliament.

News that Impregilo has been shortlisted for a $2.7 billion highway tender in Abu Dhabi is also offering support.

"We consider (this) good sector news for both Impregilo and (Italian engineering group) Trevi (TFI.MI) since it confirms that the infrastructure boom in the Middle east is not yet finished," Cassa Lombarda says in a note.

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11:54GMT 05feb2009-Laurent-Perrier weaker after sales drop

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Shares in champagne maker Laurent-Perrier (LPER.PA) fall by as much as almost 3 percent after the company posts a 26 percent decline in third-quarter sales to 69.8 million euros ($91 million).

Portzamparc analysts write the figures confirm "an unfavourable sector trend aggravated by a policy of raising prices for the Laurent Perrier brand".

The stock is down 1.1 percent at 43.50 euros by 1130 GMT, after earlier falling to 42.71 euros. The company has a market capitalisation of around 260 million euros.

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