London midday: Footsie flat as miners dampen earlier gains

20th May 2013 11:26

The FTSE 100 had erased its early-morning gains by Monday lunchtime, as strong performances by easyJet and RBS were offset by heavy falls in the mining sector."A dearth of economic data in Europe this morning is mirrored across the Pond, giving traders the opportunity to pause and assess ahead of key data later in the week," said Matt Basi, the Head of UK Sales Trading at CMC Markets.Volumes are expected to be light today due to the White Monday holiday in Germany and France even if both markets are open for business. Markets in Austria, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway and Switzerland however will be closed.London's benchmark index had started the week strongly with a high of 6,740 early on before pulling back, temporarily trading above its 2007 high of 6,732. If it manages to consolidate above this level, the next major milestone for the Footsie would be the all-time closing high of 6,930.2 reached on December 30th 1999. Wall Street's Dow Jones and S&P 500 indices both closed at record highs on Friday (along with Germany's DAX) after University of Michigan consumer confidence data and an index of leading indicators came in ahead of forecasts.Recent strong economic data from the States has increased speculation that the recovery may be on a firm-enough footing for the Federal Reserve to begin scaling back its stimulus measures. Therefore, traders are likely to be on the cautious side ahead of the release of the minutes of the last Fed meeting, this Wednesday evening.FTSE 100: easyJet jumps after broker commentsBudget airline easyJet was flying high this morning after Deutsche Bank and Citigroup both upped their target prices for the stock and reiterated 'buy' ratings. Citigroup raised its earnings forecasts for the group by around 10% for this year and the next and said that stronger free cash flow could support potential additional shareholder returns. Strong results from sector peer Ryanair were also lifting sentiment.RBS was another strong performer as speculation continues surrounding a potential reprivatisation next year. Last week, the company made the headlines on the back of plans to cut a further 1,400 jobs from its retail banking head office in an effort to slash costs.Heading the other way were mining stocks as they tracked metals prices lower. Polymetal, Fresnillo, ENRC and Randgold were among the worst performers in morning trade.ENRC, the Kazakhstan-focused miner which on Friday rebuffed a takeover proposal by its founding shareholders, was extending losses after confirming that the proposal envisaged an offer of 260p per share, which "materially undervalues" the firm.Meanwhile, fellow miner Randgold was also lower after entering into a $200m unsecured revolving credit facility with its banks. The money will be used for general corporate purposes, the group said.High Street retailer Next was in the red after Nomura downgraded the stock from 'buy' to 'neutral' after its recent gains. Sector peer M&S was being weighed down by reports that it's avoiding UK taxes by invoicing transactions to Europe through its Irish unit.FTSE 250: FirstGroup reverses as dividend scrappedTransport firm FirstGroup dropped after cancelling its final dividend as it restructured its balance sheet and refinanced after a year in which operating profits halved. In results announced two days earlier than scheduled, the company announced a three-for-two rights issue as well as the resignation of its Chairman Martin Gilbert.Bacon and sausage supplier Cranswick rose after reporting a robust set of annual results as pork consumption in the UK continues to grow.Events organiser ITE was also in demand after saying that revenues grew slightly in the first half despite the adverse timing of some events and the biennial pattern.FTSE 100 - RiserseasyJet (EZJ) 1,234.00p +3.87%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 346.60p +2.91%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,356.00p +2.34%United Utilities Group (UU.) 778.50p +1.76%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,919.00p +1.75%Rexam (REX) 531.00p +1.53%National Grid (NG.) 841.00p +1.51%GKN (GKN) 310.10p +1.41%British Land Co (BLND) 656.50p +1.16%London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 1,415.00p +1.14%FTSE 100 - FallersPolymetal International (POLY) 606.50p -4.26%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,025.00p -4.12%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 264.20p -2.72%Intertek Group (ITRK) 3,293.00p -2.72%Anglo American (AAL) 1,528.50p -2.64%Old Mutual (OML) 217.10p -2.03%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,661.00p -2.02%Antofagasta (ANTO) 917.00p -1.93%Weir Group (WEIR) 2,355.00p -1.83%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 444.60p -1.42%FTSE 250 - RisersNew World Resources A Shares (NWR) 115.50p +5.96%Ocado Group (OCDO) 285.70p +4.23%Supergroup (SGP) 763.00p +3.18%Enterprise Inns (ETI) 120.20p +3.00%Keller Group (KLR) 976.00p +2.95%Ashtead Group (AHT) 654.00p +2.83%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 4,040.00p +2.25%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 199.50p +2.20%Pennon Group (PNN) 714.50p +2.14%Alent (ALNT) 348.00p +2.08%FTSE 250 - FallersFirstGroup (FGP) 179.50p -19.79%BTG (BTG) 339.80p -4.71%Petropavlovsk (POG) 123.70p -4.70%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 152.40p -3.85%Investec (INVP) 488.10p -3.54%Lonmin (LMI) 265.30p -3.21%Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 214.60p -2.90%Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 209.20p -2.61%Perform Group (PER) 538.00p -2.54%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 133.20p -2.42%BC