London midday: Stocks fall back amid economic worries

16th Aug 2011 12:08

Stocks are firmly in the red as investors digest some sobering economic data both at home and abroad.The Eurozone economy grew by a paltry 0.2% in the second quarter compared with the previous three month period amid a sharp slowdown in growth in the trading bloc's economic powerhouse Germany.Here, the benchmark inflation rate looks set to hit 5% later this year after resuming its upward march in July. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose 4.4% in the year to July, up from 4.2% in the 12 months to June, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed. Randgold Resources is posting gains, tracking the price of gold higher as investors look to safety. Resolution, the UK insurance buyout firm founded by Clive Cowdery, dipped into the red despite saying that it is on target to achieving its restructuring strategy as operating profits more than doubled in the six months ended 30 June.Production more than trebled at one of Heritage Oil's Russian fields, as results from drilling and testing one well exceeded pre-drill expectations. The Thomas Cook Group, the Co-operative Group and the Midlands Co-operative are to merge after the Competition Commission gave the go-ahead for the deal. Water group Pennon said trading has been in line with management expectations since March 31.Aviation services and newspaper distribution group John Menzies is flying high after it posted a sharp rise in profits in the half year to 30 June despite declining newspaper revenues. Social housing and care provider, Mears Group, is wanted after it announced record interim results, hailing "unprecedented levels of opportunity in the public sector". The firm said profits before tax came in at £14.1m for the six months to the end of June, a 7% increase on the year before. Sportingbet is attracting punters after fellow online gaming firm, GVC Holdings, confirmed it is in talks to buy Sportingbet's Turkish language website business. Harvey Nash, the white collar recruitment firm, is in demand after it said it has seen "a strong performance across all key geographic segments" in the first half of the year. The group's interim results, which will be released at the end of September, are expected to report an increase of 20% in revenue and gross profit, as well as an increase in pre-tax profit of not less than 40% against the same period in 2010 for the six months ended 31 July. FTSE 100 - RisersRandgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,315.00p +2.18%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,825.00p +1.61%Standard Life (SL.) 209.20p +1.45%Capita Group (CPI) 712.50p +0.64%Kingfisher (KGF) 232.70p +0.61%ARM Holdings (ARM) 523.00p +0.48%British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,740.00p +0.37%Old Mutual (OML) 114.00p +0.09%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 283.90p +0.04%ICAP (IAP) 430.50p 0.00%FTSE 100 - FallersVedanta Resources (VED) 1,376.00p -3.44%Cairn Energy (CNE) 309.00p -3.44%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,016.00p -3.24%British Land Co (BLND) 546.00p -3.19%IMI (IMI) 851.00p -3.19%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,343.00p -3.10%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,225.00p -3.09%BT Group (BT.A) 173.00p -3.08%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,756.00p -2.93%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,981.50p -2.84%FTSE 250 - RisersBwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 111.90p +5.87%Premier Foods (PFD) 14.84p +2.20%Phoenix Group Holdings (DI) (PHNX) 520.00p +1.76%Victrex (VCT) 1,322.00p +1.69%Domino's Pizza UK & IRL (DOM) 494.20p +1.52%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 2,511.00p +1.45%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 228.30p +1.38%Fidessa Group (FDSA) 1,605.00p +0.94%Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI) (GEMD) 189.00p +0.85%Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 132.80p +0.53%FTSE 250 - FallersPerform Group (PER) 160.00p -7.78%Ashtead Group (AHT) 116.90p -5.19%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 45.20p -4.92%Morgan Crucible Co (MGCR) 276.00p -4.63%St James's Place (STJ) 339.90p -4.50%Regus (RGU) 79.55p -4.44%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 589.50p -4.38%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 359.10p -4.37%Soco International (SIA) 298.30p -4.33%Telecom Plus (TEP) 648.00p -4.28%