London close: Footsie extends losing streak

22nd Nov 2011 16:42

After spending almost all of the day in the blue and threatening to end a six-day losing streak, Footsie tumbled at the death to extend its miserable sequence.Disappointing third quarter gross domestic product data from the US played a part in London's late swoon.The second estimate for third quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the US has come in at a 2.0% quarterly and annualised rate, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The reading is less than the 2.5% that was expected by the market consensus.THOMAS COOK BURNTShares in travel firm Thomas Cook plummeted after the firm said it was in talks with its banks about borrowing more money because of a "deterioration of trading in some areas of the business in the current quarter"."The company is in discussions with its principal lending banks with regards to its facilities during the seasonal low period of cash in the business," Thomas Cook said. It added that it would delay the release of its full year results, due out on Thursday, until the discussions were finished. Airline group IAG and rival package tour firm TUI Travel fell back in sympathy.DEFENCE STOCKS RETREATContinued wrangling over the US budget cuts weighed on defence stocks, with BAE Systems, Meggitt and Chemring suffering.If the so-called Congressional super committee fails to come up with a plan to cut the deficit, the Pentagon - as agreed in August - will start making cuts totalling between $500-600bn from January 2013.Smith & Nephew was lower after Citi reiterated its sell rating while Credit Suisse, which rates the shares a "sell", professed itself uninspired by a round-table meeting with the company's chief executive Olivier Bohuon and chief financial officer Adrian Hennah.Emergency repair services firm Homeserve, which saw its share price more than halve last month on the back of a mis-selling scandal, sprang another leak after saying that it would realise a one-off restructuring costs of up to £10m in the second half. Nevertheless, first half pre-tax profits rose 25% to £18.2m.Specialist investment firm, asset manager and mezzanine finance provider Intermediate Capital Group rose strongly after pre-tax profits edged higher in the first half.Investors were stocking up on shares of Big Yellow Group after the storage company announced improved occupancy growth across its portfolio in the first half of its financial year. FTSE 100 - RisersAdmiral Group (ADM) 847.50p +3.92%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 238.00p +3.39%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,036.00p +2.68%Experian (EXPN) 799.00p +2.30%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,171.00p +2.29%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,091.00p +1.96%Unilever (ULVR) 2,059.00p +1.93%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,865.00p +1.70%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,743.00p +1.63%British Land Co (BLND) 461.00p +1.52%FTSE 100 - FallersRoyal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 18.50p -5.42%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 132.00p -5.17%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 22.39p -4.40%ICAP (IAP) 315.60p -3.57%Meggitt (MGGT) 372.60p -3.20%ITV (ITV) 59.05p -3.12%Barclays (BARC) 152.60p -3.11%Serco Group (SRP) 472.30p -3.04%Inmarsat (ISAT) 391.40p -2.97%Essar Energy (ESSR) 221.90p -2.59%FTSE 250 - RisersBig Yellow Group (BYG) 239.00p +9.63%Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 228.40p +9.13%Ashtead Group (AHT) 159.30p +4.53%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 250.60p +3.47%Mothercare (MTC) 136.50p +3.41%FTSE 250 - FallersThomas Cook Group (TCG) 10.20p -75.19%Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 14.48p -18.01%Homeserve (HSV) 225.10p -9.78%Supergroup (SGP) 471.20p -9.38%TUI Travel (TT.) 136.70p -9.23%Centamin Egypt Ltd. (CEY) 80.70p -8.71%Chemring Group (CHG) 368.80p -8.26%Premier Foods (PFD) 4.80p -7.51%Kesa Electricals (KESA) 78.35p -6.62%Carpetright (CPR) 395.90p -5.06%--jh