Advancers

Wolverhampton & Dudley was the main talking point in London market on Thursday. Shares in the pub company, which also owns Marston brewery, rose 4.3% to a record high on speculation of a 20-pound-a-share private equity bid approach.

QinetiQ Group, the defence and security group, led the advancers. Its shares climbed 7.6% after half-year numbers met expectations and the company said it was confident of meeting full-year earnings forecasts.

Hanson, the building materials group, advanced 1.8% on fresh bid rumours. Traders said a leading broker house was pushing a story that Cemex, the Mexican company that owns RMC, could turn attention to Hanson.

Energy stocks were also in demand as crude futures rose to a two-month high of $63.49 a barrel. Cairn Energy firmed 2.2% and BG Group gained 2.2%. Despite the rising oil price British Airways also climbed 1.9% on consolidation hopes.

Decliners

Kingfisher, the parent company of DIY retailer B&Q, was the biggest FTSE 100 decliner. Its shares dropped 3.2% unsettled by the costs of its store refurbishment programme.

Northern Rock, off 1.5%, was also under pressure, after Credit Suisse downgraded the bank to underperform from neutral, citing increased competition and concerns that the mortgage market will sink in 2007.

Car dealership Pendragon slipped 2.6%, as Citigroup cut earnings forecasts in the wake of this week cautious comments on current trading.


9:00AM Stocks futures pointed higher, helped by Target and Limited Brands. U.S. stock futures gained, supported by better-than-expected November sales for Target and Limited Brands. However, at that point November retail sales were mixed and worries about department stores limited gains after sales at J.C. Penney Co. Inc. and Kohl''s Corp. disappointed investors. Target (TGT: chart) shares rose almost 1% before the opening bell after the company posted a 5.9% increase at stores open at least a year. Limited (LTD: chart) said sales at stores open at least a year jumped 12% in November. Shares of the company rose 2.3%. J.C. Penney and Kohl''s sales increases fell short of expectations. J.C. Penney (JCP: chart) shares fell 1.7%, while shares of Kohl''s (KSS: chart) slid 1.6%. Energy stocks were in focus for a second day as crude oil prices rose to a two-month high of $63.02 a barrel.

In economic news, the Commerce Department reported that consumer spending rebounded in October after two lackluster months, increasing by 0.2%. Spending was bolstered by solid growth in incomes, which rose by 0.4%, reflecting solid employment growth. According to another economic report, the number of initial jobless claims posted an unexpectedly large increase last week, rising by 34,000 to 357,000. Standard & Poor''s 500 futures were up 1 point, about even with fair value. Dow Jones industrial average futures were up 7 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 1.5 points.

Personal income rose less than expected.
Thursday morning, the Department of Commerce released its report on personal income and spending in the month of October. The report showed personal income rose slightly less than expected, while personal spending rose slightly more than expected. The report showed that personal income rose 0.4 percent in October after increasing by 0.5 percent in each of the three previous months. Economists had been expecting income to increase by another 0.5 percent. The increase in income came as private wage and salary disbursements increased $34.9 billion in October following an increase of $33.4 billion in September. Additionally, supplements to wages and salaries rose $7.5 billion in October after a $6.8 billion increase in September. The Commerce Department also said that personal spending rose 0.2 percent following a revised 0.2 percent decrease in September. Economists had expected spending to increase by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.1 increase originally reported for the previous month. Subsequently, the report also showed that personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income was a negative 0.6 percent in October, compared with a negative 0.7 percent in September.

Initial jobless claims advanced by 34,000.
The Department of Labor released its report on initial jobless claims in the week ended November 25 on Thursday, showing that jobless claims saw a significant increase. The increase came as a surprise to economists. The report showed that jobless claims rose to 357,000 from the previous week''s revised figure of 323,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to fall to 315,000 compared to the 321,000 originally reported for the previous week. The Labor Department also said that the less volatile 4-week moving average rose to 325,000, from the previous week''s revised average of 317,750. The report also showed that continuing claims in the week ended November 18 rose to 2.480 million from the preceding week''s revised level of 2.435 million.


8:00AM Retailers reported November same-store sales.
The U.S. largest retailers posted mostly disappointing sales results in November, reflecting sluggish sales in the first half of the month. Wal-Mart Stores, Costco Wholesale Club and J.C. Penney were among the early retailers, posting weaker-than-expected numbers. At the same time, retailers like Limited Brands and Target Corp reported better-than-expected monthly same-store sales.

Limited Brands Inc. (LTD: chart) reported November same-store sales increase of 12%, exceeding estimated figure of 7.8%. Target Corp. (TGT: chart) said that its November sales at stores open at least one year rose 5.9%, slightly above expectations of 5.7% increase. Total sales for the month rose 11.7% to $5.12 billion.

Nordstrom (JWN: chart) said Thursday that November same-store sales rose 5.4%, meeting analysts'' average estimate. Total sales gained 6.1% to $749.4 million.

Costco Wholesale Corp., (COST: chart), warehouse retailer, reported November same-store sales up 5%, slightly below estimates of 5.7%. Costco same-store revenue in November rose 4% in the U.S. and 10% internationally. Company’s total sales climbed 9% to $4.84 billion. Comparable-store sales for the 13 weeks through Nov. 26 climbed 4%, while total sales rose 8% to $14.99 billion. Bebe ((BEBE)0, women’s-wear retailer, also fell short of estimates, with same-store sales that were up 5.8% below the 7.9% expected

Wal-Mart (WMT: chart) said Thursday its November sales at U.S. stores open at least one year fell 0.1%. Analysts had been expecting the retailer to post flat same-store sales numbers. Total sales for the four weeks rose 11.9% to $28.57 billion from $25.53 billion. The world''''s biggest retailer projected flat to 1% higher comparable store sales in December.

Ann Taylor Stores Corp. (ANN: chart), women''''s clothing retailer, announced its November same-store sales fell 4.3%, down from the expected drop of 2.3%, blaming unusually warm weather for the season. Net sales rose 2.1% to $186.4 million. The Gap (GSP: chart) reported on Thursday that November same-store sales fell 8%, lower than the forecast for a drop of 5.4%.