LONDON (ShareCast) - - Shell makes near-£1bn bid for Cove Energy.
- Markets digest Greek bailout, China data.
- Ex-div stocks provide a drag.

The FTSE 100 slipped slightly into the red in the opening hour on Wednesday as investors continue to digest the Greek bailout approved on Monday night. Meanwhile, Chinese manufacturing data has shown an improvement but still shows that the industry is contracting.

Eurozone finance minsters have granted Greece its next €130bn in aid, a move that was crucial to help the heavily-indebted nation avoid a near-term disorderly default. However, the market reaction to the long-awaited deal was rather muted though - the Footsie fell 0.29% yesterday - with doubts still remaining over the nation's longer-term outlook.

Bank of England policy-maker Charlie Bean last night said that while the Greek agreement is "welcome", there still remains “a possibility that events could unfold in a disorderly and damaging fashion at some stage in the future."

The HSBC China purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the month of January rose to 49.7 points, above the reading of 48.8 seen in the month before, according to preliminary data just released by the lender.

However, the new export orders sub-index is said to have changed direction and begun to contract. China’s exports and imports fell for the first time in more than two years last month, and today's data is seen as validating worries regarding weakness in the external environment. Some economists believe that will lead to economic growth falling below the 8% mark in the first three months of the year.

In other news, Brent crude futures continue to rise, now well past the $120-a-barrel price, as the Greek deal and jitters about supply disruptions from Iran fuel gains.

In domestic news, the minutes of the February meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee will be released this morning.

ROYAL DUTCH TO SHELL OUT FOR COVE ENERGY

Shares in AIM-listed Cove Energy jumped after Anglo-Dutch integrated oil company Royal Dutch Shell launched a bid of 195p per share. The deal values the east Africa-focused company at £992.4m, a 73.3% premium to the closing price of 112.5p on January 4th (the last day before Cove put itself up for sale).

Amongst other things, Cove has a 8.5% stake in the Rovuma Offshore Area 1, Mozambique, operated by Anadarko. Merchant Securities analyst Brendan Long has said this morning that the bid has a strong read-across for companies "that have discovered or are exploring for oil and gas resources that share a similar geological themes, often with higher equity stakes in the assets."

Long highlights six companies - Rockhopper Exploration, Ophir Energy, Falklands Oil & Gas, Chariot Oil & Gas, Borders & Southern Petroleum and Tower Resources - all of which were rising strongly this morning.

REXAM RISES STRONGLY, EX-DIV STOCKS PROVIDE A DRAG

Consumer packaging firm Rexam was a high riser early on after it saw underlying profits growth race ahead of sluggish sales growth on the back of a better than expected performance in its Beverage Cans business, primarily in Europe.

Banks were performing strongly with RBS and Lloyds gaining 1.4% and 0.8%, respectively. Mining peers Evraz, Glencore, Xstrata, Rio Tinto and Vedanta Resources were also on the up as metals prices continue to rise strongly on the back of yesterday's surge.

Cillit Bang maker Reckitt Benckiser was one of the heaviest fallers after going ex-dividend today. Banking giant Barclays and cruise operator Carnival were also lower after trading without the right to their latest quarterly dividends.

FTSE 250: GALLIFORD TRY, HAYS, LOGICA RISE STRONGLY EARLY ON

Housebuilding and construction firm Galliford Try doubled its interim dividend and delivered strong profit growth. Pre-tax profit rose to £32.2m for the half year ended 31 December 2011 from £17m the same time a year earlier. Group revenue climbed to £746.8m from £575.9m previously.

Recruitment firm Hays jumped despite paring its dividend to 0.83p from 1.85p per share the year before. Nevertheless, net fees in the second half of 2011 rose 15%, or 11% in a like-for-like (LFL) basis to £373.8m from £326.1m at the half-way stage in 2010.

After a couple of warnings last year about weakening revenues it was with some relief that Logica, a provider of computer programming contractors, said its 2011 results were in line with guidance it issued in mid-December.

BC

FTSE 100 - Risers
Rexam (REX) 400.60p +4.21%
Essar Energy (ESSR) 125.00p +1.63%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 28.61p +1.42%
Meggitt (MGGT) 385.00p +1.13%
Capita (CPI) 653.00p +1.01%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,581.00p +0.96%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 36.03p +0.78%
Evraz (EVR) 415.50p +0.68%
BG Group (BG.) 1,490.50p +0.68%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,054.00p +0.67%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Carnival (CCL) 1,896.00p -2.37%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 347.30p -2.14%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,503.00p -2.10%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 166.70p -1.88%
Barclays (BARC) 243.75p -1.61%
Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 711.50p -1.59%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,417.00p -1.53%
Tesco (TSCO) 318.60p -1.27%
CRH (CRH) 1,344.00p -1.18%
WPP (WPP) 791.50p -1.00%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Galliford Try (GFRD) 549.50p +9.68%
Hays (HAS) 88.15p +8.83%
Logica (LOG) 87.85p +7.92%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 390.20p +6.76%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,071.00p +5.93%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 135.60p +4.55%
Bumi (BUMI) 776.50p +4.09%
Soco International (SIA) 327.00p +3.28%
Afren (AFR) 136.90p +3.17%
Great Portland Estates (GPOR) 359.00p +3.01%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Home Retail Group (HOME) 105.00p -3.67%
Kenmare Resources (KMR) 59.50p -3.25%
Allied Gold Mining (ALD) 116.10p -3.17%
COLT Group SA (COLT) 94.20p -2.89%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 100.00p -2.82%
BBA Aviation (BBA) 203.80p -2.30%
Supergroup (SGP) 545.50p -2.24%
African Barrick Gold (ABG) 451.20p -2.23%
Drax Group (DRX) 507.00p -2.22%
Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 26.56p -1.70%

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