London midday: Banks and pharmas drag Footsie lower

20th Dec 2011 11:54

London's blue chip index was slightly down at midday, despite a temporary stint in the blue, with heavyweight banking and pharmaceuticals stocks providing a drag. The Footsie nevertheless has been trading within a narrow range, with just 33 points separating the intraday low and high.The European Union (EU) Member States announced last night their plan to increase the International Monetary Fund's (IMF's) resources in order to "enhance the IMF's capacity to fulfil its systemic responsibilities in support of its global membership, which is especially important given the ongoing economic slowdown and financial market tensions." Specifically, Eurozone ministers confirmed last night that they will provide €150bn of additional resources through bilateral loans, although the amount is less than the €200bn that the market expected.Helping sentiment was the German Ifo business climate index which rose from 106.6 in November to 107.2 in December.BANKS TUMBLE AFTER OSBORNE SHAKE-UPRoyal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was among the heavy fallers as investors digested yesterday's announcement that the government wants the bank to become a UK-focused institution with significantly reduced investment banking activities. In other news, RBS and private equity giant Blackstone Group are set to finalise a deal in which the bank will relinquish control of £1.4bn of distressed property loans to the American group, according to reports.Sector peers Barclays and Lloyds were also under the weather after Chancellor George Osborne also backed the main proposals of the Vickers report which had looked at the problems faced by the UK banking sector. The shake-up would mean that high street banking services will be "ring fenced" from investment banking.Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca fell after warning that will come in at the lower end of expectations after it took a $381.5m hit from failed drug tests. GlaxoSmithKline also dropped.Aggreko kept on rising, extending gains made yesterday after the temporary power supplier said that full-year profits would be slightly ahead of its previous guidance.On the FTSE 250, private equity group SVG Capital soared after saying it would return up to £170m to shareholders via share buy-backs and tender offers as part of a new investment strategy.Shareholders of bus and train group National Express were underwhelmed after it said that profits should be in line with expectations for the year ended 31 December, with the group having seen revenues and profits grow across all devisions.Retailers JD Sport Fashion, Carpetright and Dixons Retail were in the red despite the Nationwide consumer confidence index rising to the 40 point level in November, from 36 the month before. The market consensus had been expecting a further drop to 34 points.SMALL CAP MOVERSShares in Indian investment firm Dhir rocketed over 140% after the company revealed it is considering a number of options to unlock the value in the company, including acceptance of a cash offer from company director Alok Dhir.Engineering consultant WSP rose 23% after announcing that it has signed a new credit facility as trading for the year ending 31 December 2011 continues in line with company forecasts.Berkeley Mineral Resources, the Zambia-focused minerals company, has seen its share price shoot up 8% this morning after announcing it has bought an option on stockpiles of copper tailings located in the Chingola area in the north of the country.Shares in Silvermere, an independent oil and gas company, dived 30% after the firm announced a delay in production plans for the I-1 Well on its Mustang Island asset located in Texas waters in the Gulf of Mexico. BCFTSE 100 - RisersAggreko (AGK) 1,903.00p +2.98%Old Mutual (OML) 129.20p +2.70%CRH (CRH) 1,175.00p +1.91%ITV (ITV) 62.10p +1.89%Kingfisher (KGF) 243.00p +1.55%Meggitt (MGGT) 342.00p +1.39%WPP (WPP) 647.50p +1.33%Man Group (EMG) 125.30p +1.21%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 143.30p +1.20%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 717.50p +1.20%FTSE 100 - FallersRoyal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 18.64p -3.92%AstraZeneca (AZN) 2,881.50p -2.29%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,422.50p -1.90%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 23.02p -1.88%Hammerson (HMSO) 341.20p -1.16%British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,944.00p -0.96%BG Group (BG.) 1,302.00p -0.91%National Grid (NG.) 602.00p -0.91%Diageo (DGE) 1,342.50p -0.85%Barclays (BARC) 164.55p -0.84%FTSE 250 - RisersSVG Capital (SVI) 200.50p +21.44%Savills (SVS) 319.80p +2.83%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 420.00p +2.59%BH Global Ltd. USD Shares (BHGU) 11.85 +2.16%Kesa Electricals (KESA) 61.40p +1.99%Big Yellow Group (BYG) 242.70p +1.97%Paragon Group Of Companies (PAG) 177.80p +1.95%Allied Gold Mining (ALD) 139.50p +1.82%UBM (UBM) 456.00p +1.79%Wood Group (John) (WG.) 631.50p +1.77%FTSE 250 - FallersJD Sports Fashion (JD.) 610.50p -5.50%Carpetright (CPR) 487.80p -3.69%Ocado Group (OCDO) 57.15p -3.46%JPMorgan Indian Inv Trust (JII) 306.60p -3.28%Galliford Try (GFRD) 436.20p -3.07%Centamin Egypt Ltd. (CEY) 81.80p -2.44%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 518.00p -2.26%Cape (CIU) 302.20p -2.14%F&C Asset Management (FCAM) 62.30p -2.12%COLT Group SA (COLT) 87.80p -2.12%