London afternoon: Sleepwalking lower

26th Mar 2010 14:05

It's been a good week for the Footsie but it looks set to end with a whimper rather than a bang.With corporate news thin on the ground broker commentary is driving much of the action. Unilever is downgraded to neutral from 'overweight' by HSBC on sales volumes concerns. Hi-tech weapons group Qinetiq is lower after being downgraded to a sell by UBS as expectations are too high, the broker believes.International Power is wilting after JP Morgan downgraded it, while SSE also gets the downgrade treatment from the US bank.In contrast, Cairn Energy is wanted after Citigroup bumped up its price target for the stock from 420p to 475p.Cable & Wireless's demerger is causing confusion. Cable & Wireless has split into two, with both halves now separately listed and called Cable & Wireless Communications and Cable & Wireless Worldwide. Rumours that Man Group is on the look-out for acquisitions in the US has done little for the hedge fund manager's share price.Temporary power and heating specialist Aggreko has won a €35m contract to help alleviate the Côte d'Ivoire's problems with power cuts. F&C Asset Management has said it won't be launching a bid for Austrian fund manager C-QUADRAT Investment just a few days after making public its takeover plans. HMV has impressed the market with a strategy update. The CD and DVD retailer unveiled a strategy that involves lifting sales of new products, increasing its presence in the live music and ticketing market and continuing to improve margins at the Waterstones book store chain.Sandal maker and condom group SSL expects sales this year to come in at about £795m for the year to March, up 22% and driven by the acquisitions of BLBV in Russia and Gainbridge in the Ukraine. SSL's branded consumer sales are expected to be approximately £630m or underlying growth of around 4% adjusting for currencies.Banknote printer De La Rue has confirmed it is selling its stake in UK Lottery operator Camelot Group and Camelot's sister company, Camelot Global Services, for £77.8m in cash to Premier Lotteries UK Limited, a company controlled by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.Home maintenance specialist Homeserve's profits this year will come in at the top end of market forecasts after a strong finish with high levels of renewals and new policy sales. Trading conditions are beginning to improve at business publisher Euromoney Institutional Investor, which expects adjusted profit to have risen at least 27% in the first half.