London close: Weak finish as banks retreat

18th Mar 2010 16:35

London closed in the red after a mixed opening on Wall Street as banks and miners ran into profit taking.Among the big caps, GlaxoSmithKline was the best performer, after rival drug group, Switzerland's Novartis, had to hand back US rights of a drug widely considered a generic copy of Glaxo's top selling drug, the Asthma treatment Advair. Glaxo's rival AstraZeneca is also in demand.Power systems developer Rolls-Royce has won its second contract in two years from the Gas Authority India Limited (GAIL). The UK company has won a $90m contract to supply four RB211 packages to be used on the 500 kilometre Vijaipur-Dadri Bawana pipeline running from Vijaipur to Dadri. The award of the contract follows on from a $130m contract from GAIL in 2008 for six RB211 packages.Marks & Spencer boss Sir Stuart Rose has bowed to shareholder pressure and will take a 23% pay cut when he steps down from his executive duties in July. Currently executive chairman, Sir Stuart will receive an annual salary of £875,000 when he becomes a non-executive, compared to his current pay of £1.13m.Prudential chief executive Tidjane Thiam, meanwhile, has now declined a non-executive directorship at French bank Société Générale after fierce criticism from the UK insurer's institutional shareholders.Aviva said it has entered into the Indonesian insurance market through a joint venture agreement with PT Asuransi Wahana Tata. Oil and gas firm BG Group is the subject of the rumours with the usual suspects, such as US oil firm Exxon, in the frame as potential buyers. It's down among the FTSE 250 constituents where most of the excitement is, with Deutsche Bahn confirming it is the mystery party that made the unsolicited bid approach for bus and train group Arriva. Electronic components distributor Premier Farnell powered ahead after reporting full year sales and underlying profits for fiscal 2009 that were ahead of expectations. The company saw a return to year on year growth in the fourth quarter. Sector peer Electromponents also got a charge out of Premier's results.Investors also tucked into shares of bakery and sandwich chain Greggs which saw full-year profits come in slightly better than expected. Pre-tax profit came to £48.8m in the 53 weeks ended 2 January 2010, from £49.47m the year before. The market consensus for pre-tax profit was £46.43m.London and south-east focused housebuilder Berkeley said it has now secured the sales required to meet the board's expectations for its full year results for the year ending 30 April, which are at the higher end of analysts' expectations. In contrast, the roof has caved in on SIG, which supplies insulation, roofing and specialist construction products, after it sustained a sharp fall in profits in 2009 amid a severe downturn in the construction sector.Things started looking up for estate agent Savills in the second half of 2009, particularly in the Asia Pacific region and in the UK residential market but investors were hoping for more. The shares have eased back after the company said revenue eased to £560.7m in 2009 from £568.5m in 2008.Advertising firm Aegis's full year operating profit came in line with company forecasts and is in a good position to face the challenges of 2010.Asia-focused oil and gas group Salamander moved close to profit in 2009 as it ramped up production. The company, which operates in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, posted a pre-tax loss of $3m, compared with a loss of $75.4m the previous year, as revenues jumped to $157.1m from $100.6m.Moving outside of the FTSE 350, healthcare outsourcing firm Synergy Health said the group has continued to trade in line with the trends seen in the third quarter of its financial year. Low interest rates hit investment income at lighting supplier FW Thorpe leading to a decline in pre-tax profits at the interim stage. While operating profit in the six months to 31 December 2009 rose to £4.56m from £4.16m in the second half of 2008, pre-tax profit eased to £4.68m from £4.75m. That was because finance income tumbled to £0.11m from £0.59m the year before.Manchester based drug discovery firm Cyprotex said it has rejected an unsolicited approach regarding a potential offer and is no longer in talks with the unnamed suitor.Defence and security technical services firm Cohort said the investigation into the income overstatement at its Systems Consultant Services (SCS) subsidiary last year had confirmed the size of the error at £1.85m.A formal review of the problems at SCS determined that while recognising that the problems originated within SCS 'there were areas for improving both Cohort's internal governance and the governance of its subsidiaries.' Commercial property recruitment firm Prime People is heading north after it said it expects to make a profit in the current financial year despite being loss making at the half year stage. Shares in cannabis based medicines developer GW Pharmaceuticals hit a new high for the year after favourable verdicts from regulators on its Sativex oromucosal spray.FTSE 100 - RisersGlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,272.00p +3.88%Experian Group (EXPN) 641.50p +2.15%SABMiller (SAB) 1,923.00p +1.80%Man Group (EMG) 241.20p +1.64%FTSE 100 - FallersRoyal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 42.19p -3.12%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 55.64p -3.02%Vedanta Resources (VED) 2,700.00p -2.56%Fresnillo (FRES) 834.00p -2.34%FTSE 250 - RisersPremier Farnell (PFL) 219.10p +9.39%Wellstream Holdings (WSM) 578.50p +6.73%Electrocomponents (ECM) 209.20p +4.65%Arriva (ARI) 705.00p +4.14%FTSE 250 - FallersSIG (SHI) 116.70p -8.40%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 264.00p -5.55%Ecofin Water & Power Opportunities (ECWO) 142.10p -4.31%Ashtead Group (AHT) 95.25p -3.88%