London close: Stocks slip as doubts remain over Greece

21st Feb 2012 16:32

- Doubts still remain over Greek despite €130bn bailout.- Vedanta jumps on speculation of restructuring.- Kenmare rises on takeover rumours.London's blue chip index finished the day slightly lower as last night's approval by Eurozone finance ministers to grant Greece its next aid package underwhelmed the markets. While the decision was unarguably crucial to help the heavily-indebted nation avoid a near-term disorderly default, doubts still remain over the longer-term outlook for Athens. EUROGROUP SIGNS OFF ON €130BN GREEK BAILOUTEurozone finance ministers worked more than 13 hours last night on an agreement originally penned last October. Eurogroup has now finally approved a deal that will provide a second €130bn bailout to Greece. However, a confidential report prepared by EU, ECB and IMF experts, and cited in several media reports, was quick to sum up that debt reduction targets are best wishes at most given the worsening state of the Greek economy. The Financial Times obtained a copy of the report and said that "even under the most optimistic scenario, the austerity measures being imposed on Athens risk a recession so deep that Greece will not be able to climb out of the debt hole." The most "pessimistic" scenario suggests that at least €245bn would be needed. Nevertheless, according to a statement by International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde: "the combination of ambitious and broad policy efforts by Greece, and substantial and long-term financial contributions by the official and private sectors, will create the space needed to secure improvements in debt sustainability and competitiveness...These actions, together with a significant strengthening of the financial sector, will pave the way for a gradual resumption of economic growth," she said.Despite the above some observers seem to be trying to figure out just how exactly the program expects to 'kick-start' growth in the Greek economy. These observers seem to be worried by the possibility that putting in place the necessary structural reforms will lead to an initial contraction in economic activity, and thus risk derailing the entire program at the start. VEDANTA JUMPS ON RESTRUCTURING SPECULATIONMiners on the whole were performing well in afternoon trade, tracking a strong rise in metals prices, but it was multi-metal mining giant Vedanta Resources which led the charge, finishing the day up 7%. In response to media speculation regarding a potential group restructuring, the company said that its "strategy is to simplify and consolidate its corporate structure". There were rumours that Vedanta was considering merging its two Indian subsidiaries, Sterlite and Sesa Goa, according to Reuters. "Management reviews options to deliver this strategy on an ongoing basis and will update the market as appropriate," the company announced this afternoon. Mining peers Kazakhmys, Anglo American and Glencore International were also higher.Car insurer Admiral was a high riser after Credit Suisse upgraded its rating from neutral to outperform ahead of the insurer's full-year figures on March 7th. The broker expects the results "to represent the first step for Admiral towards regaining market confidence that bodily injury (BI) challenges are being resolved, with improved clarity expected to provide upside risk to earnings expectations." Tullow Oil was among the worst performers despite saying that it has found oil at one of its exploration wells offshore Sierra Leone. However, shares fell by as much as 4% early on, after the firm said that the "area is likely to require additional evaluation". While Tullow's Exploration Director Angus McCoss says the results are "encouraging", many analysts have pointed to the fact that the well will need further appraisal to due to the limited information given - a possible reason for the negative market reaction this morning. Meanwhile, interdealer broker ICAP was in demand after acquiring Singaporean shipbroking company Island Shipbrokers for an undisclosed sum, a move which the firm believes will complement its existing operations and strengthen ICAP Shipping's growth in Asia. Banks were also out of favour today with Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group closing in the red. Both RBS and Lloyds are set to report their full-year results this week. While the banks are expected to post hefty losses due to a series of write-downs in 2011, they are both expected to return to profit in 2012 after cutting thousands of jobs as the banks slim down their businesses. FTSE 250: KENMARE JUMPS AS BID TALKS CONTINUETitanium miner Kenmare Resources was leading the risers today, finishing up 9%, extending its strong run as takeover speculation continues to circulate. However, according to this morning's Questor column in the Telegraph, despite bid talks looking wide of the mark, the business has an excellent growth plan already - "Kenmare is a buy without a bid", writes Garry White. Russia-focused gold miner Petropavlovsk was higher after Nomura upgraded its rating from reduce to neutral, saying that group's resource update this week could provide positive news on the production potential of its Pioneer mine. Rising gold prices were also helping lift the stock higher as well. Croda International, the speciality chemical producer, was also a high riser after achieving a profit before tax of £60m in the final quarter of 2011, a rise of 22.7% compared to the same period of 2010. For the full year, the company saw pre-tax profits rise 25.9% against 2010, hitting £242.2m by the end of December. Wireless technology and computer chip company CSR was the worst performing stock on the second-tier index, pulling back following yesterday's 20.8% surge after fourth quarter revenue came in towards the top end of management expectations. Numis Securities has downgraded the stock from buy to hold today, while UBS reiterated its neutral rating, saying that "structural challenges remain" with shares currently trading at 20 times prospective earnings.Elsewhere, rumours in the market that Khazakstan-focused oil and gas outfit Zhaikmunai is preparing a bid for sector peer Max Petroleum appear wide of the mark. Zhaikmunai's public relations firm, Pelham Bell Pottinger has contacted Sharecast to assert there is "absolutely no truth" in the rumour. Max Petroleum finished the day over 5% lower, but the recent run-up in the price meant that stock was still 17% higher than this time last week.BCFTSE 100 - RisersVedanta Resources (VED) 1,453.00p +7.00%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,043.00p +3.17%ITV (ITV) 79.55p +1.92%ICAP (IAP) 395.80p +1.59%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,163.00p +1.39%Anglo American (AAL) 2,715.50p +0.95%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,566.00p +0.84%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,303.50p +0.77%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 799.00p +0.76%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,333.50p +0.69%FTSE 100 - FallersEvraz (EVR) 412.70p -4.56%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,543.00p -3.62%Polymetal International (POLY) 1,045.00p -3.60%WPP (WPP) 799.50p -2.08%Cairn Energy (CNE) 347.00p -2.03%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 169.90p -2.02%Carnival (CCL) 1,942.00p -1.97%BG Group (BG.) 1,480.50p -1.89%Experian (EXPN) 942.00p -1.88%Wolseley (WOS) 2,419.00p -1.87%FTSE 250 - RisersKenmare Resources (KMR) 61.50p +9.04%Petropavlovsk (POG) 738.50p +6.03%Croda International (CRDA) 2,123.00p +4.53%Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,135.00p +2.99%Domino Printing Sciences (DNO) 660.00p +2.80%Misys (MSY) 338.00p +2.39%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 461.50p +2.15%COLT Group SA (COLT) 97.00p +2.11%Booker Group (BOK) 75.70p +1.88%Paragon Group Of Companies (PAG) 186.60p +1.80%FTSE 250 - FallersCSR (CSR) 260.90p -5.13%Kesa Electricals (KESA) 81.70p -4.67%Home Retail Group (HOME) 109.00p -3.80%Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 34.37p -3.62%Homeserve (HSV) 226.00p -3.58%Big Yellow Group (BYG) 290.00p -3.56%Bellway (BWY) 794.00p -2.93%Devro (DVO) 285.40p -2.93%Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 27.02p -2.88%Derwent London (DLN) 1,700.00p -2.75%