FTSE 100 close: BT and ITV lead fallers
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Market watcher: Will shares hold onto gains?
After a 2% fall yesterday and trading around its opening level all day, the FTSE 100 index took a late skip forwards of 31.2 points to close at 4,362.6. The Dow Jones was 38.7 points ahead at 8,323.6 when London closed.
'There has been little on the domestic economic calendar today and that's going to remain the case until next week,' commented Jimmy Yates, head of equities at CMC Markets.
'After a busy week in corporate news, tomorrow is looking a little quieter, with Ladbrokes likely to be the highlight here but in summary the fact we have avoided a day of panic selling may be sufficient to offer up a little reassurance to investors.'
Investors were not impressed with BT Group, which revealed the mounting cost of its failing Global Services division and a new round of 15,000 job cuts. A write-down of £1.3bn on the ailing IT networking unit will see BT to a £134m for the full year.
The firm will also cut its dividend and that icing on the cake saw shares fall 6p to 88.4p
Other fallers were holiday company Thomas Cook, which fell 18p to 228.25p despite producing half-year results in line with market expectations. Analysts voiced concern about a rise in net debt and the prospect of higher interest charges. Rival TUI Travel moved in the opposite direction, up 12.5p to 254.75p.
Otherwise, miners and energy firms dominated the fallers board, with Lonmin off 21p to 1,203p, Anglo American down 29p at 1443p and BP 6.25p lower at 504.25p.
Banks rebounded from a recent round of profit-taking and led the leaders' board with high volumes of shares traded. Barclays, boosted by an upgrade from Morgan Stanley, saw a near-5% gain, or 10.25p to 253p. This was followed by Royal Bank of Scotland, which rose 1.5p to 39.5p, and Lloyds Banking Group, up 3.2p to 87.8p.
Engineer Invensys was the top Footsie riser, with a 13% gain of 26.2p to 224p after beating profits expectations and resuming the payment of a final dividend.
'The market is still rewarding companies where there's robust financial management, and commitment to progressive dividend policy,' said Jeremy Batstone-Carr, analysts at Charles Stanley.
And construction group Balfour Beatty said trading remained strong in all of its divisions, helped by public sector work, helping shares climb 12p to 348.75p.
Outside the Footsie, shares in ITV were one of the top fallers after it reported a 14% slide in first quarter revenues.
ITV, which holds its annual shareholder meeting in London today, reported group revenues of £425m for the first three months of the year, down from £492m a year ago.
Tough conditions are forecast to see net advertising revenues fall 16% this month and worsen in May to a drop of 18%, according to ITV. The broadcaster's plans to strip out another £40m in cost savings could not sway investors' opinion, and shares fell 1.5p to 31p.
Enterprise Inns rallied after the slump seen yesterday in the wake of MPs' calls for a competition inquiry into the pubco model. Shares were up 23.25p at 141p.
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