Glance-STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Afren higher on farm-out agreement

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11:19GMT 20Nov2008-Afren higher on farm
out agreement

Shares in Afren Plc, the African-focused oil exploration group, rise 8.4 percent after it farms-out a 20 percent stake in its Keta Block in Ghana to Mitsui in return for 'a significant contribution' to the forthcoming Cuda -1X exploration well.

Research house Tristone says the Cuda well marks a step-up in Afren's drilling programme and has set a 130 pence price target for the stock.

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11:20GMT 20Nov2008
Deceuninck rebounds, PVC price fall supports

Shares in Belgian PVC window frame maker Deceuninck jump Thursday in thin trading, likely correcting after 11.7 percent loss sustained on Wednesday and possibly bolstered by the fall of PVC prices.

Shares are up 7.7 percent at 5.71 euros, making them the strongest on Euronext Brussels, which is broadly down.

Petercam analyst Emmanuel Carlier says current market volatility and the grim outlook for the construction sector somewhat undercut the significance of Deceuninck's gains.

However, Wednesday's sharp fall may have been too far. This, on top of falling PVC prices, could be spurring Thursday's apparent comeback. 'Maybe we saw a bit of an overreaction yesterday,' he says.

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11:10GMT 20Nov2008
PayPoint falls on revenue concerns

Shares in PayPoint Plc, the electronic payments firm, fall 9.7 percent as concerns over future revenue and profits growth overshadow an in-line set of interim figures. Pretax profits for the six months were up 6.0 percent to 15.3 million pounds on total revenues of 109.3 million.

Stockbroker WH Ireland says given the onset of recession in the UK, it expects both revenues and profits to come under pressure in 2009. Accordingly, it is downgrading its forecasts by around 5.0 percent and its investment recommendation from 'buy' to 'market perform'.

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11:09GMT 20Nov2008
Workspace gains after interims; Investec 'buy'

Shares in Workspace Group gain 6.7 percent after interim results in which the provider of flexible business accommodation says occupancy is at 84.1 percent in the second quarter, stable from previous quarter.

'Workspace's operating performance has remained strong and we believe its model of affordable, flexible space and proven ability to manage churn is resilient,' says Investec Securities in a note, keeping its 'buy' rating on the company.

'In the short term, debt is reducing, supported by contracted disposals, and costs are being cut,' says the broker.

'These measures will provide, in our view, sufficient headroom on covenants, leaving the long-term potential intact,' Investec adds.

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10:53GMT 20Nov2008
UK retailers rally on data, H1 results

Shares in British retailers surge after UK retail sales fall just 0.1 percent in October as car maintenance and cycles store group Halfords and baby goods retailer Mothercare defy the gloom on the high street by delivering robust half-year results

Europe's biggest home improvement firm Kingfisher, clothes and food retailer Marks & Spencer and fashion and homewares store group Next all rise between 1.6 percent and 3.4 percent on the news after suffering alongside the FTSE 100 index which ended 4.8 percent lower on Wednesday.

Halfords and Mothercare rise 6.2 percent and 4.8 percent respectively, while electical goods retailer Kesa jumps 6.6 percent. Argos and Homebase owner Home Retail Group leaps 5.6 percent as department store chain Debenhams accelerates 8.4 percent.

'The retail sector is doing well after Halfords and Mothercare showed that things might not be as bad as they seem on the high street. They have shown what can be done and given the sector some hope and the other stocks seem to have responded to that,' say traders at KBC Hunt.

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10:47GMT 20Nov2008 UK life insurers lower on US weakness

Shares in British life insurers drop heavily, tracking falls in their U.S. counterparts on Wednesday, with continued selling by mutual funds as clients liquidate their holdings adding to the downward momentum, analysts say.

Shares in Aviva, Legal & General and Prudential are down by between 8.9 percent and 14.7 percent.

'U.S. insurers have been very weak recently, and there's always a read across,' says MF Global analyst Peter Eliot.

The Dow Jones index of U.S. insurance stocks closed 10.7 percent lower on Wednesday amid fresh concerns over the sector's large exposure to commercial mortgage investments.

Sales of UK insurance stocks are being driven in part by mutual funds whose customers are asking for their money back, ING analyst Kevin Ryan says.

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