London midday: Public sector specialists hit

20th Jul 2010 12:10

Sovereign debt worries are haunting investors again after Hungary cut back its treasury bill offering by 10bn forints to 35bn. European stock markets took a step back on the news while expectations of a weak opening on Wall Street has also sparked some selling. Cable & Wireless Worldwide is the big faller after it warned the coalition government's emergency budget will cause earnings growth to slow this year and come in at the lower end of the range of expectations. The largely UK focused part of the old Cable & Wireless, split off in March, said non-contracted spending in the UK public sector has slowed "very significantly". "Given the nature of our public sector business, this reduction will adversely impact trading in the current year." Fellow telecoms giant BT slides in sympathy while elsewhere in the sector Vodafone is hit by a downgrade to "hold" from "buy" by ING.The Cable & Wireless announcement is also limiting enthusiasm for outsourcing specialists Serco and Capita, while among second liners business process outsourcing firm Xchanging and contract programming group Logica also suffer from local government spending fears fall-out.With metals prices firming up mining stocks are in demand. BHP Billiton, which has been upgraded to "overweight" from "equal weight" by Barclays Capital, is on the up, as are Rio Tinto, Vedanta and Xstrata.Power systems developer Rolls-Royce has been selected by Lockheed Martin as the in-service support provider for the engines on the CC-130J military transport aircraft flown by the Canadian Air Force.Bookie William Hill reported a rise in second quarter revenues, though gains from the World Cup were partly offset by a loss-making Royal Ascot festival. For the year to date, net revenue was up about 3% and pre-exceptional earnings before interest, tax and amortisation for the first half are expected to be around £135m from £134.6m last time.Data search software company Autonomy said a major US bank has placed an order for the company's compliance product. The agreement has an expected value of in excess of $15mi over the next few years. Nevertheless, the shares are lower with Panmure Gordon downgrading to "hold" from "buy" ahead of second quarter figures and after the pummelling IBM shares took yesterday following its disappointing second quarter figures. Tenanted pub group Enterprise Inns has continued to see an "improving trend" since the interim results on 11 May and predicts full-year results will match forecasts. The figures seem to have done as much, if not more, for the Punch Taverns share price.Severn Trent's customers kept consumption steady over the past three months from April, while prices declined by 0.7%. As a result, the water utility has kept its expectations and guidance unchanged for this year. Profits at Ryanair slipped by a fifth as the €50m cost of the volcanic ash cloud hit its first quarter, while the no-frills airline remains cautious for the remainder of the year.Soco International is getting rid of its operations in Thailand and using the proceeds of up to $106m to fund development of core assets in Vietnam and West Africa. Salamander Energy is paying $105m plus a contingent cash consideration of $1m for Soco Thailand and its 40% interest in the B8/38 licence, which holds the Bualuang field. Profits jumped by a quarter last year at spread bet firm IG Group as its bad debt charge tumbled and equity marketssettled down after the volatility of 2009. Aquarius Platinum rallied after a 'constructive' meeting with the South African Department of Mineral Resources over proposed enforced changes to the way mines are constructed.Exhibitions group ITE is trading in line with expectations and said it has noted indications of an improving trading environment in some of its principal markets.Annual losses at home shopping group Findel widened by a third as it scrapped its final dividend and warned current trading remains challenging.Shares in oil group Xcite Energy jumped after it said had entered into a contract for a rig to drill a well in the Bentley field in the North Sea.FTSE 100 - RisersInternational Power (IPR) 355.10p +1.46%Vedanta Resources (VED) 2,260.00p +1.44%Xstrata (XTA) 928.50p +1.12%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,082.50p +1.12%Burberry Group (BRBY) 813.50p +1.06%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,834.00p +0.96%Capital Shopping Centres Group (CSCG) 327.20p +0.80%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 584.00p +0.78%Lonmin (LMI) 1,431.00p +0.77%Antofagasta (ANTO) 920.00p +0.77%FTSE 100 - FallersCable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 68.95p -17.47%Serco Group (SRP) 545.00p -4.39%BT Group (BT.A) 133.10p -4.24%Autonomy Corporation (AU.) 1,810.00p -3.00%Wolseley (WOS) 1,324.00p -2.86%Capita Group (CPI) 719.50p -2.84%SABMiller (SAB) 1,870.50p -2.30%Aggreko (AGK) 1,536.00p -2.10%Cobham (COB) 233.00p -2.10%Inmarsat (ISAT) 706.00p -1.81%