London midday: FTSE falls into negative territory

22nd Nov 2013 11:31

- FTSE falls into the red- TUI drags after stakeholder sells-up- Ofgem rejects cost-saving plans from five out of six firmstechMARK 2,641.30 +0.22%FTSE 100 6,668.24 -0.20%FTSE 250 15,160.46 +0.08%The FTSE had retreated into the red by lunchtime, dragged lower by the mining sector and TUI Travel. Stocks had gotten off to a generally good start this morning, buoyed by yesterday's US weekly jobless claims report, which revealed better-than-expected figures. Sentiment was also boosted by the news that the Dow Jones had pushed above the 16,000 mark for the first time ever, as well as by in-line German GDP. TUI shares have come off recent highs after Norwegian investor John Fredriksen sold off his 5.4% stake in the group - although upped his stake in its parent company to over 20%. In other news, Serco has waved goodbye to its head of domestic business in an effort to improve its relationship with the UK government, its largest customer.Meanwhile, disgraced Paul Flowers, the former chairman of the Co-op Bank, has been arrested in connection with recent allegations he purchased and used illegal drugs. Ofgem rejects electricity cost-cutting plansOfgem today rejected plans from five of the six companies that own and operate Britain's local electricity network, saying they "did not sufficiently demonstrate value for consumers".The energy regulator said only Western Power Distribution's (WPD) business plan offered good value for customers, and as such is the only one it deemed eligible to have its price controls fast-tracked. The cost-cutting plans cover the period between April 2015 and March 2023. German GDP comes in as expected Gross domestic product (GDP) in Europe's biggest economy increased 0.6% in the third quarter, at the same rate of growth as the previous period, driven by domestic demand in construction and investment which offset a slump in exports.Separately, the Ifo institute's business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, increased to 109.3 in November from 107.4 in October, exceeding the 107.7 forecast. The data signalled that the recovery in Germany's economy remains on track despite a nascent recovery in the euro-area.Capital Economics said "the evidence suggests that the German economy continues to expand at a reasonable pace compared to its neighbours, particularly France". Light day for company newsJust two FTSE 350 companies made announcements this morning, the biggest of which was Tullow Oil, which reported a fifth oil discovery onshore northern Kenya. The Agete-1 exploration well, in which Tullow has a 50% interest, has an estimated 100 metres of net oil pay in good quality sandstone reservoirs. The group also reported that elsewhere in Kenya, exploration and appraisal activities continued to accelerate with the Amosing-1 well expected to commence drilling before the end of November. Meanwhile, Essar Energy revealed it is one step closer to its FTSE inclusion after major shareholder Essar Gold Fund Limited (EGFL) said it intends to ensure it meets all the free float requirements with a 25% private sale of its shares in the company. "EGFL believes that the shares of Essar Energy represent exceptional value and will therefore only sell such minimum number of its shares in the company to enable Essar Energy plc to meet the minimum free float requirement," EGFL said. Whitbread has been raised to overweight from neutral at JP Morgan, while Morrison has been re-instated at 'buy' over at Bank of America. FTSE 100 - RisersWhitbread (WTB) 3,483.00p +2.99%ARM Holdings (ARM) 989.00p +2.59%William Hill (WMH) 374.30p +2.52%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 367.10p +1.97%Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,804.00p +1.86%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,206.00p +1.86%WPP (WPP) 1,369.00p +1.56%Persimmon (PSN) 1,215.00p +1.50%Standard Life (SL.) 350.20p +1.39%AstraZeneca (AZN) 3,445.00p +1.31%FTSE 100 - FallersTUI Travel (TT.) 368.50p -5.34%Fresnillo (FRES) 834.50p -3.36%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 474.20p -2.63%Anglo American (AAL) 1,351.50p -2.38%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,867.50p -2.20%Vedanta Resources (VED) 903.00p -2.17%Antofagasta (ANTO) 784.00p -1.63%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,791.00p -1.59%Glencore Xstrata (GLEN) 310.40p -1.54%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,197.00p -1.52%FTSE 250 - RisersEssar Energy (ESSR) 101.70p +4.74%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 45.78p +3.29%Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 2,386.00p +3.02%IP Group (IPO) 157.00p +2.61%SIG (SHI) 214.80p +2.38%Bellway (BWY) 1,486.00p +2.27%Ashtead Group (AHT) 650.00p +2.12%Hays (HAS) 120.00p +2.04%Rank Group (RNK) 142.80p +2.00%Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 693.50p +1.99%FTSE 250 - FallersPolymetal International (POLY) 503.00p -3.27%COLT Group SA (COLT) 126.00p -3.00%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 374.60p -2.50%CSR (CSR) 481.20p -2.31%UDG Healthcare Public Limited Company (UDG) 297.30p -2.24%Evraz (EVR) 106.00p -2.21%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 235.00p -2.12%Pennon Group (PNN) 636.00p -1.93%PayPoint (PAY) 1,055.00p -1.86%Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 502.50p -1.86%FTSE TechMARK - RisersSkyepharma (SKP) 123.00p +7.42%Wolfson Microelectronics (WLF) 146.00p +2.46%Ricardo (RCDO) 597.00p +1.10%Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 2.40p +1.05%NCC Group (NCC) 176.75p +1.00%Vectura Group (VEC) 103.25p +0.98%Phoenix IT Group (PNX) 142.25p +0.89%Sepura (SEPU) 129.75p +0.58%Consort Medical (CSRT) 888.00p +0.34%SDL (SDL) 259.50p +0.29%FTSE TechMARK - FallersTorotrak (TRK) 23.75p -3.55%RM (RM.) 108.25p -2.59%Anite (AIE) 86.25p -1.15%Vislink (VLK) 46.75p -0.53%Filtronic (FTC) 61.00p -0.41%XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 1,576.00p -0.19%Optos (OPTS) 157.00p -0.16%IShares Euro Gov Bond 7-10YR UCITS ETF (IEGM) € 179.11 -0.09%NR