| CATEGORY: MARKET REPORT - MIDMORNING SECTOR: BANKS |
London mid-morning: Market waits on Darling |
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Wed 09 Dec 2009
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Market Movers
techMARK 1,512.98 -0.44%
FTSE 100 5,203.80 -0.37%
FTSE 250 8,963.77 -0.75%
LONDON (SHARECAST) - Mining stocks are proving a drag on the Footsie this morning even though commodity prices are steadying. Traders are worried that the dreaded ‘double-dip’ recession may be on the cards following yesterday’s downgrading of the credit rating for Greek sovereign debt, which could prompt countries to rein in their stimulus packages.
In the mining sector Vedanta, trading in ex-dividend form, is the worst performer, while Kazakhi miners ENRC and Kazakhmys are the weakest of the non-precious metal excavators. Silver miner Fresnillo and gold miner Randgold Resources are both stuck in reverse.
BHP Billiton falls less than its mining peers. It has sold its Ravensthorpe nickel mine in Western Australia to Canada’s First Quantum Minerals for US$340m. The London-listed company said it expects the sale of the $2bn mine, mothballed in January following a slump in the price of nickel and high cost of production, to be finalised in the first quarter of 2010.
Away from the mining sector, prices are mixed as UK investors adopt a wait and see posture ahead of Chancellor Alistair Darling’s pre-Budget speech at lunchtime.
Speculation is he’ll announce the biggest squeeze in public spending for a generation, with only schools, hospitals and the police being spared average cuts of about 14% over three years, according to the FT.
A bank tax is now being talked about as a certainty, but it hasn't stopped both Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds from making headway.
A report that a handful of senior traders in a Royal Bank of Scotland joint venture are set to share a bonus pool of more than $40m (£25m) this year may just have made up the Chancellor's mind.
Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered is also on the up after an initially cautious welcome to its trading update. The bank is on course for a record year with a strong performance in wholesale banking offsetting lower income in consumer banking, while its exposure to Dubai is not ‘material’.
Hedge fund manager Man is under the cosh pence after the net asset value of its flagship fund, Man AHL Diversified Futures, dived 4.3% in the week ended Dec. 7.
Easyjet chief executive Andy Harrison is to stand down from the no-frills airline next June. In a statement, Easyjet said Harrison had indicated his desire to leave the company in order to seek new challenges. Boardroom strife has been dogging the airline for months after founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou launched a fierce attack on the board's strategy.
Pre-tax profits fell by more than a quarter at Stagecoach in the six months to October 31 after the rail and bus group was squeezed by reduced demand from recession hit travellers and high fuel costs. Figures were ahead of expectations, however, with profit before taxation down to £75.5m from £105.2m the previous year as revenues edged up to £1.08m from £1.05m.
Defence and aerospace group Cobham has won a A$170m (£95m) contract to provide flights in support of the US oil company Chevron’s operations in Western Australia.
Spread bet firm IG Group expects report revenue of around £143m (2009: £126.5m) and adjusted profit before tax of around £77m (2009: £58.2m) for the first half of the year, but costs will be higher in the second half.
Soaring demand for technology such as in-car navigation and mobile phones sent revenues and profits soaring at the chip designer Imagination Technologies in the six months to 31 October.
A better than expected contribution from recent acquisitions Borland and Compuware enable legacy software specialist Micro Focus to lift underlying interim profits by 35% and predict a further improvement in profitability over the rest of the year.
Department store group Debenhams is wanted after Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock to ‘buy’. Adverse broker comment about yesterday’s disappointing results sees video games retailer Game Group hammered again today.
Shares Condor Resources slumped after the Central America-focused gold and silver miner began legal proceedings against the El Salvador government over its failure to respond to Condor’s applications to renew its two mining licenses in the country.
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| STAN - Standard Chartered |
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| Latest Prices |
| Name |
Price |
% |
| Standard Chartered |
1,837.50p |
+0.96% |
| BHP Billiton |
1,901.00p |
-0.11% |
| Condor Resources |
0.51p |
+2.00% |
| Cobham |
219.00p |
+1.77% |
| Debenhams |
61.05p |
+1.24% |
| Man Group |
228.90p |
+5.73% |
| Eurasian Natural Resources |
880.50p |
-0.51% |
| easyJet |
369.50p |
+2.84% |
| First Quantum Minerals |
4,010.00p |
+5.53% |
| Fresnillo |
1,097.00p |
-1.97% |
| Game Group |
69.85p |
+5.83% |
| IG Group Holdings |
523.00p |
-1.32% |
| Imagination Technologies |
355.00p |
+1.72% |
| Kazakhmys |
1,249.00p |
+1.05% |
| Lloyds Banking Group |
72.28p |
+1.12% |
| Micro Focus International Plc |
308.50p |
+2.53% |
| Royal Bank of Scotland Group |
46.13p |
+0.72% |
| Randgold Resources |
5,970.00p |
-0.67% |
| Stagecoach Group |
183.20p |
+3.44% |
| Vedanta Resources |
2,009.00p |
+1.98% |
| |
| FTSE 100 |
5,371 |
+0.09% |
| FTSE 250 |
10,147 |
+0.85% |
| FTSE 350 |
2,835 |
+0.19% |
| FTSE AIM All-Share |
701 |
+0.64% |
| FTSE All-Share |
2,771 |
+0.14% |
| FTSEurofirst 300 |
1,055 |
-0.06% |
| techMARK |
1,672 |
+0.29% |
| techMARK 100 |
1,841 |
+0.67% |
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