London close: US data, Greek talks weigh on FTSE 100

27th Jan 2012 16:26

With economic growth in the world's largest economy surprising to the downside, miners and oil stocks were sold off on Friday, dragging the Footsie near to its lowest levels of the day by the close. Meanwhile, uncertainty in regards to debt-swap talks in Greece continued to weigh on investors' minds.While US economic activity accelerated in the final three months of the year, the economy expanded at a slower rate than expected. Gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, compared with forecasts for at least 3% growth. GDP increased by just 1.8% in third quarter. Over in Greece, the Institute of International Finance (IIF), which represents private-sector holders of Greek bonds, has offered to accept a 70% haircut on its debt, according to remarks from Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Josef Ackermann in an interview with German media outlet N-TV. Ackermann described the offer as "attractive" and insisted that everyone has to contribute.KAZAKHMYS, BP LEAD RESOURCE STOCKS LOWERMining giant Kazakhmys was a heavy faller after Credit Suisse said that it is not convinced by the stock's apparently cheap valuation. The broker also said that given its long-dated volume growth (from 2015 onwards) and cost pressures, earnings and cash flow growth is expected to be negative over the next three years. Antofagasta and Rio Tinto were also sold off.Polymetal International dipped after Russia and Kazakhstan-focused gold producer Polyus Gold quashed rumours that it is considering a merger between the two. Polymetal shares surged on the news yesterday.Oil giant BP dropped after failing to get the US courts to rule wholly in the UK firm's favour regarding the scope of its indemnity obligations to Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig which exploded in April 2010, claiming the lives of 11 people and causing the largest offshore oil spill in US history. The court did rule, however, that BP does not owe Transocean indemnity to the extent Transocean is held liable for punitive damages or civil penalties relating to the US Clean Water Act. FTSE 100 peer BG also fell in afternoon trading, while Premier Oil and Afren led the decline on the FTSE 250.High street retailer Next was in the top spot, helped by AlphaValue which upgraded the stock from add to buy and lifted the price target from 3,467.6p to 3,481.1p. In other broker news, Imperial Tobacco was in demand after Citi reiterated its buy rating on the cigarette-making giant, but a downgrade was weighing on the share price of hotels group InterContinental after UBS cut its rating from neutral to sell.Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland held up relatively well, just 0.25% higher at the close, in spite of the controversial £963,000 bonus given to its Chief Executive Stephen Hester. This is probably the most politically charged pay award amongst all UK listed companies, not least because the Prime Minister has to give his personal approval for the payment. FTSE 250 MOVERS: AFRICAN BARRICK GOLD SHINESMisys outperformed by a wide margin, with its shares bouncing back and rising over 7% on speculation of a possible bid (Fidelity National Information Service would be free to do so beginning in early February) or break-up. The latter option was actually put forth by analysts at Barclays Capital, according to the Financial Times´ Weekend edition. Gold miner African Barrick Gold was a high riser on the second-tier index after hiking its previous resource estimate fourfold for the Tusker deposit at the Nyanzaga Project in Tanzania.Shares of Internet and catalogue home shopping specialist N. Brown were wanted after UBS upgraded its rating on the stock from neutral to buy.EasyJet rose after AlphaValue lifted its target price on the stock from 463.9p to 466.6p while UBS raised its target from 450p to 490p.BCFTSE 100 - RisersNext (NXT) 2,639.00p +1.73%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,289.00p +1.60%ICAP (IAP) 345.60p +1.47%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,260.00p +1.26%Carnival (CCL) 1,920.00p +1.00%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 677.00p +0.82%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,173.00p +0.60%Evraz (EVR) 460.00p +0.57%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,355.00p +0.44%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 541.10p +0.30%FTSE 100 - FallersAntofagasta (ANTO) 1,348.00p -3.02%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,160.00p -2.85%BG Group (BG.) 1,430.50p -2.69%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,321.00p -2.65%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,970.00p -2.57%BP (BP.) 464.55p -2.56%Wolseley (WOS) 2,219.00p -2.42%Polymetal International (POLY) 1,125.00p -2.34%Xstrata (XTA) 1,104.00p -2.26%GKN (GKN) 209.80p -2.24%FTSE 250 - RisersMisys (MSY) 326.80p +7.04%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 515.50p +5.31%Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 155.60p +5.06%Telecom Plus (TEP) 682.50p +4.28%Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 127.00p +3.76%Chemring Group (CHG) 387.30p +2.24%Morgan Crucible Co (MGCR) 317.60p +2.22%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 243.10p +2.19%Kier Group (KIE) 1,384.00p +1.76%Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 679.50p +1.72%FTSE 250 - FallersPremier Oil (PMO) 418.30p -3.60%Afren (AFR) 124.00p -3.58%Cobham (COB) 182.80p -3.33%Allied Gold Mining (ALD) 145.00p -3.33%Bumi (BUMI) 847.50p -3.14%Mondi (MNDI) 516.50p -3.10%Senior (SNR) 182.50p -2.87%PayPoint (PAY) 542.50p -2.86%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 328.20p -2.81%DS Smith (SMDS) 235.00p -2.77%