London midday: Stocks fight back but stay lower

25th Jul 2011 12:07

London's leading share index has recovered from this morning's poor start, but remains a few points in the red.Today's most notable recovery has come from FTSE 250-listed Domino's Pizza. The pizza deliverer's shares fell this morning after it posted a rise in first half profits amid a tough climate and said it was going to up ad spending to maintain sales growth. But investors now have an appetite for the stock, which is the top riser in the mid-cap index.Dixons Retail's announcement that the Currys and PC World owner is to operate the consumer electronics section of the luxury London department store Harrods, has also been given a frosty reception. However, the fall is more likely due to UBS downgrading the electricals retailer from neutral to sell, saying that trading is "set to remain tougher for longer". Power and gas grid operator National Grid is experiencing a mini-surge FTSE 100. Its operational and financial performance since the beginning of April was described as 'solid' by chief executive, Steve Holiday. "We reconfirm our positive outlook for 2011/12 - we expect to deliver another year of good operating performance, although, as previously highlighted, comparative financial results will show some impact from the timing differences that benefited 2010/11," Holiday said.Strong growth in developing markets helped household and healthcare products group Reckitt Benckiser offset weakness in Europe to post pre-tax profits of £1.04bn, up from £971m over the same period the previous year, on revenues that soared to £4.62bn from £4.06bn.Assets under management (AuM) at asset manager Aberdeen Asset Management edged up 2.5% in the second quarter of 2011, to £185.8bn, from £181.2bn at the end of March. Net new business inflows in the corresponding quarter of 2010 totalled £0.3bn.The chips are down for Wolfson Electronics again. The supplier of chips for hi-tech gadgets such as smartphones and tablet computers fell sharply after it lowered its growth predictions for the full-year. The company, which only last month issued a warning that revenue growth for the full-year would be between 10% and 20%, said it "now anticipates growth of less than 10% on a full-year basis, with the precise outcome dependent on timing of key customer product launches and overall end product sell-through." Peel Hunt cut its rating on Wolfson from hold to sell and slashed its earnings forecasts for the next two years. Shares in travel group Holidaybreak took off after it announced it is in talks with a possible buyer. "As a result of a movement in Holidaybreak's share price, Holidaybreak announces that it is in discussions with a third party which may or may not lead to an offer for Holidaybreak," the company said. Oil and gas explorer Sound Oil has plunged after it said a reservoir engineering report showed that the initial gas in place in its fully-owned Marciano-1 St well in Italy is insufficient for commercial production, wiping off more than a quarter of its market value. The Italy- and Indonesia-focused company said the present operations at the site will cease pending a future review of the permit. FTSE 100 - RisersFresnillo (FRES) 1,738.00p +3.39%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,609.00p +1.96%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,365.50p +1.83%Weir Group (WEIR) 2,187.00p +1.48%Capital Shopping Centres Group (CSCG) 385.70p +1.29%National Grid (NG.) 617.00p +1.15%United Utilities Group (UU.) 594.50p +1.11%Glencore International (GLEN) 485.35p +1.04%Capita Group (CPI) 707.00p +1.00%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,650.00p +0.98%FTSE 100 - FallersBarclays (BARC) 231.00p -3.59%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 45.53p -3.38%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 36.20p -1.79%Aviva (AV.) 418.30p -1.67%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 598.50p -1.64%Cairn Energy (CNE) 386.60p -1.63%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 355.30p -1.61%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,569.00p -1.57%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 284.10p -1.56%Standard Life (SL.) 203.20p -1.36%FTSE 250 - RisersDomino's Pizza UK & IRL (DOM) 486.00p +5.86%Unite Group (UTG) 220.70p +3.91%Invensys (ISYS) 311.40p +2.87%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 430.00p +2.38%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 260.70p +2.12%Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI) (GEMD) 242.40p +2.06%Savills (SVS) 355.40p +1.60%Sports Direct International (SPD) 264.30p +1.50%Bunzl (BNZL) 794.50p +1.40%Soco International (SIA) 358.90p +1.36%FTSE 250 - FallersHalfords Group (HFD) 330.70p -5.65%Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 41.72p -3.87%Perform Group (PER) 190.10p -3.50%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 15.68p -3.15%Misys (MSY) 400.60p -3.05%PZ Cussons (PZC) 368.40p -3.05%Rank Group (RNK) 142.10p -3.00%Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 501.00p -2.91%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 69.95p -2.85%Premier Foods (PFD) 20.30p -2.82%---RG