Markets
Europe
The FTSE-100 finished yesterday's session 0.13% lower at 7,168.01, whilst the FTSE AIM All-Share index was down 0.04% at 1,016.84. In continental Europe, the CAC-40 finished 0.60% lower at 5,109.24 whilst the DAX was down 0.70% at 12,196.50.
Wall Street
Last night in New York, the Dow gained 39.18 points, or 0.16%, to end the day at 24,640.45. The S&P 500 added 6.94 points, or 0.26%, to close at 2,662.94 and NASDAQ finished 31.55 points higher at 7,013.51.
Asia
In Asia this morning, the Nikkei 225 was down 63.12 points at 21,181.56 heading into the close. The Hang Seng was 357.44 points higher at 30,196.97 and the Shanghai Composite was up 8.06 points at 3,193.02.
Oil
At around 6:15am, WTI crude was unchanged at $59.19 per barrel and Brent was up 0.16% at $62.82 per barrel.
Headlines
Japan GDP slows to 0.5% in final quarter of 2017
Japan's economic growth slowed in the last three months of 2017 and missed expectations, preliminary official figures show. The world's third-largest economy expanded at an annualised rate of 0.5% in the quarter, against analyst forecasts of 0.9%. But it is still the country's eighth consecutive quarter of growth - the longest streak since the late 1980s. The GDP figures compare with annualised growth of 2.2% in the previous quarter. Annualised growth rates represent a value of growth if the quarter-on-previous quarter rate of change were maintained for a full year.
Source: BBC News
Company news
Galileo Resources (LON:GLR, 1.60p) – Speculative Buy
Galileo Resources announced yesterday encouraging initial results from its 51% owned Star Zinc project in Zambia. The Company has completed 750m of an estimated 1,750m drill campaign comprising 19 vertical and inclined holes up to a depth of 70m. Whilst assay results are still pending, 68% of the drill holes to date intersected high-grade zinc mineralisation based on hand-held XRF spectrometry. Highest point values obtained by the XRF was 52% Zn (willemite) and the averages of three point readings over mineralised intervals returned between 15% Zn and 28% Zn. Based on these initial results the mineralised zone has a strike length, to date, of 100m and remains open along strike and at depth. Galileo holds a 51% interest in the project with the right to increase to 85%. The Star Zinc project is a historical small-scale open pit that operated intermittently between 1950s and 1990s and has a non-compliant (historical) resource estimate of 275kt grading 20.2% Zn based on a cut-off grade of 14% Zn. The Star Zinc project has a four-year exploration permit and is currently under application for a further four-year period.
Our view: We are encouraged with the initial XRF data of up to 52% Zn and look forward to assay results in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we note that historical resource is based entirely vertical drill holes while Galileo has now drilled inclined holes which suggest that mineralisation may be associated with a series of E-W structures. We look forward to further exploration work as the Company continues delineate a 4.4km long geochemical anomaly defined by >100ppm Zn from XRF data. We also note that the Zn mineralisation is hosted in mainly limestone and this style of mineralisation may also contain anomalous silver contents. We maintain a speculative buy on the stock.
Beaufort Securities acts as corporate broker to Galileo Resources PLC
Hutchison China MediTech (LON:HCM, 4,490.00p) – Buy
Hutchison China MediTech (‘Chi-Med’), yesterday announced that it has completed the enrolment of 527 patients in China for pivotal Phase III trial of fruquintinib (jointly developed with Eli Lilly) in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (‘NSCLC’). Top-line data is expected to be reported in H2 2018.
Our view: Good progress for Chi-Med. This trials for NSCLC comes after the Phase II trials showed positive data with no unexpected safety issues. It is also worth noting that the same molecule (fruquintinib) has demonstrated positive results last year for the treatment of third-line colorectal cancer, which is now pending NDA approval in China. Chi-Med is scheduled to release its full year results on 12 March 2018 with a financial guidance includes revenue of US$225-240m, administrative expenses, interest & tax of US$18-19m and net loss of US$13-28m. We reiterate out Buy recommendation on the shares.