London afternoon: Stocks get lift from Wall Street

26th Oct 2009 14:20

After crawling higher throughout the morning session London's leading shares received a boost from a firm start on Wall Street.The market is buoyant despite weakness in the banking sector, where the market is holding its breath for the anticipated cash call by Lloyds Banking. Elsewhere in the sector HSBC has been downgraded to 'hold' from 'buy' by Citigroup but Standard Chartered has been upgraded from 'underweight' to 'equal weight' by Morgan Stanley.Airline British Airways is under heavy weather after Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to 'sell' from 'hold'. Insurer Prudential is another dented by broker comment; SG Securities has cut it from 'buy' to 'hold'.Shire is healthier after it announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has affirmed its prior decision to grant five-year New Chemical Entity (NCE) exclusivity to lisdexamfetamine dimesylate, currently marketed by Shire US for the treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) under the name VYVANSE.In the FTSE 250, McBride, which makes personal care and household products for supermarkets to sell under their own name, has jumped ahead after it said revenues in the period between 1 July and 25 October rose by 7% rise from the same period the previous year as shoppers continued looking for higher value.Galliford Try the construction and housebuilding group, has won a contract for a road improvement scheme in Scotland. The company won the £31.5m contract to construct a new 5km section of the A96 to bypass the villages of Fochabers and Mossfodloch. Bookmaker Ladbrokes said it received a 95% acceptance rate for its recent rights issue.Pawnbroker H&T Group said it has been trading well ahead of expectations for the current year due to higher gold purchasing volumes.Video equipment group Scotty reported higher half year profits and revenues and said it is confident it can grow the group despite the uncertain economic climate.Red Leopard has responded to a jump in its share price by confirming speculation regarding the possible acquisition of a residential property-related business.Shares in Aurelian, the oil and gas explorer focused on eastern Europe, soared as the company announced a strategic overhaul. The company said it will focus future activities on two core areas: the Rotliegendes and Zechstein plays in Central and Western Poland and the Carpathian Thrust Fold belt in Southern Poland, Slovakia and Western Romania.