UK stocks : FTSEurofirst 300 up 1.2 pct
days but found resistance around it 14-day moving average of 175.75.
RESISTANCE
While the broader FTSEurofirst 300 finished the session strongly, the index fell for the second week in succession, edging further away from 2-year highs which is proving a tough resistance level.
"On a personal level if you are the man on the street would you looking to be buying into this move? It is a tough decision but if you believe in the macro data that we are seeing then things care coming together which will aid the recovery further," a London-based trader said.
Improving global data could help companies keep up with their recent reratings, which in terms of price-to-earnings ration (PE) of 12 times are now at post credit crises highs.
Heavyweight mobile telecoms firm Vodafone climbed 1.2 percent after BofA Merrill Lynch upgraded the company to "buy" from "neutral" noting consensus earnings downgrades are slowing and could potentially of a merger or takeover in the future.
With PEs at mutli-year highs companies are under pressure to meet expectations.
56 percent of companies in Europe have so far met or beaten earnings expectations in the fourth-quarter, although year-on-year fourth-quarter earnings have contracted 22.5 percent, according to Thomson Reuters (TRS) data.
Those corporate which disappoint at the earnings level continue to be punished by the market. Those that have missed earnings expectation have underperformed by an average of 2 percent, according to TRS data.
Swedish medical technology group Getinge shed 4.8 percent after it pushed back its profit margin target by one to two years.
Imperial Tobacco
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