Sharewatch: Pearson Falls On Dollar Exposure
High dollar exposure weighed heavily on Pearson as the company revealed that the greenback’s decline (it is currently trading at 11 year lows against sterling) would reduce its share price by 2p. The stock was seen down 1.44%.
Elsewhere, BSkyB was seen in focus after the European Commission announced that it had reached a provisional agreement with the broadcaster and the Premiere League regarding the rights to the 2004-2005, 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons.
Under the deal BSkyB has agreed to sub-licence eight matches to another broadcaster, but will retain the remaining 130 per season on an exclusive basis.
BSkyB was seen up 0.52% and is set to rise further today following bullish comments from Morgan Stanley, where analysts declared: “Under this deal for three and a half more years, Sky more or less preserves its exclusivity.”
Broader market sentiment was mixed yesterday after Monday’s brief surge in stocks following the capture of Saddam Hussein turned out to be little more than a dead cat bounce. Mixed economic indicators from the US and continued weakness in the dollar also served to ensure minimal Christmas cheer in the market.
The closing prices of media company shares on Tuesday were:
