Date: Thursday 15 Dec 2011
- Market Movers
- techMARK 1,828.91 +0.70%
- FTSE 100 5,400.85 +0.63%
- FTSE 250 9,827.28 +0.85%
LONDON (ShareCast) - Footsie limped back above the 5,400 level in thin trade, with financial stocks leading the way.
OLD MUTUAL SURGES AFTER DISPOSAL
South African savings and insurance group Old Mutual was the best performing blue-chip after announcing that it is to sell its Nordic business Skandia AB for £2.1bn in an effort to “reduce complexity” and pay down debt.
Sector peers Standard Life, Legal & General and Prudential were also seeing buying interest from bargain hunters, as was fellow South African financial powerhouse Investec, but zombie life assurance fund acquirer Resolution led the fallers.
Elsewhere in the financial sector, stockbroker and wealth manager Hargreaves Lansdown was wanted, even though Citigroup downgraded the shares from "buy" to "neutral".
Stockbroker Collins Stewart Hawkpoint put in a late charge after agreeing to a bid from Candian financial services firm Canaccord.
Under the terms of the offer, which will be effected by a scheme of arrangement, acepting shareholders will be entitled to receive 57.6 pence in cash and 0.072607 Canaccord consideration shares for each Collins Stewart Hawkpoint share. The terms value each Collins Stewart share at around 96p.
Industrial engineer Weir rose after completing the acquisition of wellhead solutions provider Seaboard Holdings for $675m.
BIG FALLS IN THE SECOND TIER
Doorstep lending firm International Personal Finance (IPF) was friendless after it lower expectations for full-year results. The group said the current fluctuations will have a 14% negative impact on reported profits.
Shares in oilfield support services giant Wood Group dropped after the firm admitted international performance for the year ended 31 December will be below expectations. The fall comes as a result of losses on two Wood Group Production Facilities contracts, which the firm was keen to emphasise have been targeted for an improved performance in 2012.
Ultra Electronics, the high-tech defence firm, was trading lower after UBS downgraded the stock from neural to sell, warning that the group is not immune to defence budget cuts in the US.
NOTABLE MOVERS
Shares in Oxford Biomedica slumped to a 52-week low after a disappointing set of test results for ProSavin, its treatment for Parkinson's disease
Fluid technology solutions developer Pursuit Dynamics plummeted more than 55% after the firm reported soaring pre-tax losses for the year ended 30 September and Chief Executive Officer Roel Pieper quit.
Acta, an Italian clean energy company listed on AIM, says it will receive more grant money than originally thought. In an announcement today the firm claims a European Union grant programme called LIFE+ will now pay out €450,000 rather than €330,000 as previously indicated.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Old Mutual (OML) 123.70p +11.44%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,940.00p +3.85%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 434.90p +3.20%
Investec (INVP) 338.00p +2.89%
Wolseley (WOS) 1,952.00p +2.74%
Man Group (EMG) 133.50p +2.69%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 101.50p +2.68%
Standard Life (SL.) 198.10p +2.43%
British Land Co (BLND) 454.60p +2.39%
Prudential (PRU) 614.50p +2.33%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 245.70p -2.07%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 264.60p -1.60%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,316.00p -0.90%
BG Group (BG.) 1,316.50p -0.87%
Amec (AMEC) 878.00p -0.68%
Capita Group (CPI) 611.50p -0.49%
Diageo (DGE) 1,362.50p -0.37%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,029.00p -0.21%
Bunzl (BNZL) 848.00p -0.18%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,003.00p -0.15%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Carpetright (CPR) 477.50p +9.17%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 15.75p +8.47%
Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 524.50p +8.39%
New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 443.40p +7.75%
Regus (RGU) 83.00p +6.68%
Renishaw (RSW) 930.50p +6.40%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 383.00p +5.48%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
International Personal Finance (IPF) 165.00p -9.24%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 570.00p -7.39%
Rank Group (RNK) 129.30p -6.30%
Exillon Energy (EXI) 239.00p -4.86%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 190.00p -4.76%
Supergroup (SGP) 516.50p -4.09%
SDL (SDL) 662.00p -4.06%
FTSE TechMARK - Risers
BATM Advanced Communications Ltd. (BVC) 13.88p +4.72%
Innovation Group (TIG) 19.25p +2.67%
FTSE TechMARK - Fallers
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 3.30p -30.53%
AEA Technology Group (AAT) 0.44p -7.37%
Vectura Group (VEC) 54.50p -3.96%
XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 925.00p -3.50%
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