London midday: Stocks fall after BoE Inflation Report

13th Nov 2013 12:17

- BoE Inflation Report released- UK unemployment rate falls techMARK 2,627.78 -0.76%FTSE 100 6,651.35 -1.12%FTSE 250 15,219.66 -0.97%Stocks edged lower on Wednesday as investors digested the Bank of England's (BoE) quarterly Inflation Report and jobless data.In the Inflation Report today, the central bank painted a bright outlook for the UK economy but said it was in no rush to raise interest rates. The BoE has vowed to keep interest rates at the record low of 0.5% until the unemployment rate falls to at least 7%. However, in the report Governor Mark Carney stressed that the "forward guidance" does not hinge on when the unemployment rate will hit the 7% threshold but rather on using the time between now and then to better understand just how much slack there is left in the economy so as to adjust policy settings correctly.The BoE's latest projections for the unemployment rate point to it falling to 7% by the third quarter of 2015. Britain's unemployment rate dropped to 7.6% in the three months to September from 7.7% in the prior quarter, data showed today. Economists had expected the rate to remain unchanged.Yesterday inflation figures for October were released, falling to 2.2% from 2.7% in September, missing the consensus forecast of 2.5%.Inflation is expected to fall back to around the 2% target over the next year or so, according to today's Inflation Report. ICAP, TescoICAP advanced after saying cost cuts will boost full-year pre-tax profits this year.Tesco was trading in the red after HSBC downgraded the shares to 'neutral'. Vodafone and CRH, both of which impressed with results on Tuesday, were pulling back as Beaufort Securities cut its ratings for the two stocks to 'hold'. British Sky Broadcasting Group declined as the falling value of the company fuelled speculation that it could increase its appeal to buyers hunting for a bargain.London Stock Exchange fell after underwhelming investors with a 44% rise in revenue for the first half with growth across all divisions. Oil producer Tullow Oil was also lower despite saying it is confident of exiting 2013 with output at record levels after "strong production across the group" in the third quarter. Oil majors BP and Shell were also out of favour.British utility group SSE posted an 11% fall first-half adjusted profits reflecting "difficult" energy market conditions, but shares still managed to edge higher early on.Supermarket firm Sainsbury also rose after boasting of its largest market share for a decade in the first half, helped by fast growth from its own-brand food and an even faster growth of non-food.FTSE 100 - RisersSainsbury (J) (SBRY) 412.70p +3.49%Centrica (CNA) 364.90p +1.25%easyJet (EZJ) 1,238.00p +0.90%G4S (GFS) 259.10p +0.82%Croda International (CRDA) 2,351.00p +0.81%Capita (CPI) 973.00p +0.36%Sage Group (SGE) 347.00p +0.35%Sports Direct International (SPD) 679.50p +0.22%Aggreko (AGK) 1,585.00p +0.19%Weir Group (WEIR) 2,201.00p +0.05%FTSE 100 - FallersRSA Insurance Group (RSA) 105.30p -3.75%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 811.50p -3.39%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,439.50p -3.10%Persimmon (PSN) 1,163.00p -3.08%Barclays (BARC) 249.15p -2.98%ITV (ITV) 183.50p -2.55%Amec (AMEC) 1,149.00p -2.46%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 406.80p -2.42%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,015.00p -2.40%Tullow Oil (TLW) 878.50p -2.39%FTSE 250 - RisersFenner (FENR) 438.80p +7.73%ICAP (IAP) 398.30p +5.85%esure Group (ESUR) 223.00p +5.04%Drax Group (DRX) 661.00p +3.85%Wood Group (John) (WG.) 811.50p +3.57%Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 111.70p +2.29%Xaar (XAR) 928.00p +1.42%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 245.20p +1.32%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 192.40p +1.26%Perform Group (PER) 556.00p +1.18%FTSE 250 - FallersPartnership Assurance Group (PA.) 322.00p -21.86%Kier Group (KIE) 1,702.00p -5.86%3i Group (III) 368.10p -3.89%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 140.50p -3.70%Balfour Beatty (BBY) 264.40p -3.68%Greencore Group (GNC) 187.70p -3.45%Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 103.40p -3.36%Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 395.10p -3.33%Enterprise Inns (ETI) 142.80p -3.32%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 145.60p -2.93%FTSE TechMARK - RisersWolfson Microelectronics (WLF) 139.00p +0.72%Microgen (MCGN) 126.50p +0.40%Vislink (VLK) 48.75p +0.26%IShares Euro Gov Bond 7-10YR UCITS ETF (IEGM) € 178.75 +0.09%Kofax (KFX) 375.25p +0.07%FTSE TechMARK - FallersArk Therapeutics Group (AKT) 0.28p -11.11%Sepura (SEPU) 136.00p -4.31%Optos (OPTS) 155.00p -2.52%NCC Group (NCC) 171.75p -2.14%Torotrak (TRK) 26.50p -1.85%E2V Technologies (E2V) 159.00p -1.85%Anite (AIE) 91.25p -1.35%BATM Advanced Communications Ltd. (BVC) 18.50p -1.33%SDL (SDL) 260.25p -0.86%Consort Medical (CSRT) 880.00p -0.79%RD