There was some relief for investors in the hard-hit property sector today. Hammerson is up nearly 6.5% after a positive broker note and news that Marks & Spencer will form part of its proposed Eastgate scheme in Leeds.
Hammerson was also lifted by Lehman Brothers, which reckons the slump in the property sector is overdone. "We believe momentum has swung too far and the sector is set to rebound," said the bank. "We prefer quality names like Hammerson (target price £13.67) and Land Securities (Target price £18.52)."
Hammerson is now sitting 56.5p higher at 990p while Land Securities is 77p higher at £15.39. Liberty International and British Land are also up around 4%. Housebuilders have also bounced, with Persimmon 35.5p better at 727p and Berkeley Group 72p ahead at £10.15.
Retailers, once more, were in focus as dealers await the remaining Christmas sales figures. Debenhams, which reports tomorrow, jumped 7.5p to 75.25p, but supermarket group Tesco lost 8.25p to 417.75p. Tesco's figures are also due tomorrow, and with most other supermarkets having done okay over Christmas, investors have started to ponder the almost unthinkable: could Tesco disappoint?
Morgan Stanley is not helping the shares. It has downgraded from overweight to underweight and cut its price target from 480p to 375p. It said: "We don't question Tesco's defensiveness, growth or quality. We share the consensus view that Tesco
is a great business. We don't expect it to miss earnings and in the very long term we expect it to continue to outperform.
"However, even great companies don't outperform every year, and Tesco has underperformed the FTSE 100 in three of the last 10 years. We think that 2008 will prove to be another such year.
"With the Tesco P/E rating (relative to the UK market) driven to an all-time high in the recent flight to defensives, we expect the shares to de-rate from here."
Among the retailers reporting today, ScS Upholstery lost nearly 10% after warning of a disappointing start to the January sales, while JJB Sports fell 2.25% on news of a fall in second half profits.
Elsewhere Forth Ports added 155p to £20.93 on confirmation that Australia's Babcock & Brown had taken a 20.4% stake. Forth said the move "demonstrates their recognition of the company as an attractive investment with excellent prospects". Some, however,believe it could be the prelude to a possible takeover.
And fuel cell group Ceres Power jumped 31% as British Gas owner Centrica, down 5.75p to 335.75p, agreed to buy a 10% stake for £20m.
Overall the market is just about keeping its head above water, with the FTSE 100 11.8 points better at 6213.8.
