London close: Stocks slump as euro debt worries continue

23rd May 2011 16:51

The top share index was nursing triple-digit losses by the close of play as the eurozone debt crisis continued to rumble on.The spotlight has turned to Italy, with the ratings agency Standard & Poors changing its stance on the Mediterranean country to "negative" from "stable."The situation is of global concern and metals prices have taken a knock, hurting the share prices of mining stocks such as South American copper group Antofagasta and South Africa-focused Aquarius Platinum. Among today's heaviest fallers was British Airways owner IAG. Budget airline Ryanair set nerves jangling in the airline sector as it posted a rise in profits in the year to 31 March, but predicted flat earnings this year due in part to higher fuel costs. EasyJet also fell. Worries over the new ash cloud drifting from Iceland are not helping matters.But on the plus side, Stobart Group moved higher after revenue topped the half billion pounds mark but underlying profits at the logistics firm eased a tad in a year characterised by a tough operating environment. Revenue rose to £500.4m from £447.7m the year before. Market consensus had been for revenue of £489.3m. Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation slipped to £57.2m from £57.4m, while underlying profit before tax fell to £34.5m from £36.0m the year before.MITIE was another FTSE 250 stock bucking the downward trend. The outsourced service provider is benefitting from both private companies and government looking to drive down costs in the current tough climate as it posted a sharp rise in profits for the year to 31 March. Pre-tax profits jumped to £86.8m from £79.7m the previous year on revenues that were up to £1.89bn from £1.72bn. MITIE's fellow outsourcer Capita was one of just two FTSE 100 stocks to finish in the blue, the other being the clothes retailer Next.ICAP advanced (but finished slightly lower) after Credit Suisse upgraded the interdealer broker from 'underperform' to 'outperform', saying that the group is "attractively positioned over the long-term" with the recent share price weakness providing a good entry point.TalkTalk was helped by non-executive director Ian West spending £250,000 on shares in the telecoms group.Property group British Land reported continuing strong demand for its retail and office properties in spite of economic weakness as it posted a rise in profits and net asset value (NAV) in the year to 31 March. At £256m, underlying pre-tax profits were 9.9% higher than in the previous year. The value of the company's portfolio climbed by 6.9% to £9.6bn, which lifted NAV per share by 12.5% to 567p.House builder and contractor Kier Group has trimmed its portfolio of Private Finance Initiative (PFI) projects with the sale of stakes in two ventures for £9.2m in cash. The group has sold 50% stakes in the Oldham and Norwich Schools projects to an HICL Infrastructure Company Limited and Kajima Partnerships Limited joint venture.Scottish soft drinks maker AG Barr toasted a strong start to the year despite increased levels of competition and promotion and is confident of continues progress. The Irn-Bru maker said total revenue for the 15 weeks to 14 May 2011 increased by 6.3% compared to the same period last year despite a continued uncertain consumer environment.Shares in Mercury Recycling dimmed after the recycler of fluorescent light tubes and sodium street lamps posted a fall in sales and profits for 2010.LED International also failed to shine after the LED screen manufacturer reported that a customer served its subsidiary with a writ alleging that it failed to settle invoices for the delivery of components.Debt advisor Fairpoint was shunned after saying profit for the current year will be lower than current market expectations, as an improvement in employment trends recently results in falling personal insolvency rates. FTSE 100 - RisersCapita Group (CPI) 722.00p +1.55%Next (NXT) 2,249.00p +1.03%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 840.00p -0.18%Serco Group (SRP) 549.00p -0.27%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 397.00p -0.45%ICAP (IAP) 465.10p -0.49%British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,725.50p -0.73%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,720.00p -0.74%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,165.00p -0.96%Unilever (ULVR) 1,948.00p -1.02%FTSE 100 - FallersJohn Wood Group (WG.) 625.00p -5.59%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 235.00p -5.09%Man Group (EMG) 238.30p -4.45%Anglo American (AAL) 2,830.50p -4.10%Wolseley (WOS) 1,949.00p -4.04%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,160.00p -3.89%Old Mutual (OML) 125.50p -3.76%Essar Energy (ESSR) 418.50p -3.70%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,650.00p -3.62%ARM Holdings (ARM) 551.50p -3.58%FTSE 250 - RisersMitie Group (MTO) 220.40p +4.95%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 149.10p +2.33%Pace (PIC) 98.20p +2.03%Domino Printing Sciences (DNO) 680.00p +1.64%Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 128.00p +1.59%CPP Group (CPP) 133.00p +1.53%Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 401.20p +1.36%Bodycote (BOY) 374.30p +1.16%Domino's Pizza UK & IRL (DOM) 390.70p +1.03%RPC Group (RPC) 337.50p +1.02%FTSE 250 - FallersAnglo Pacific Group (APF) 307.90p -5.26%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 111.00p -4.88%easyJet (EZJ) 345.10p -4.85%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 465.90p -4.57%Micro Focus International Plc (MCRO) 381.00p -4.42%Centamin Egypt Ltd. (CEY) 121.40p -4.41%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 41.75p -4.18%Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 36.61p -4.01%Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 103.20p -3.91%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 145.00p -3.78%