London midday: Stocks give up gains ahead of summit

21st Jul 2011 12:03

This morning's bright start seems a distance memory, with stocks are deep in the red ahead of the EU summit on the sovereign debt crisis.Latest reports say Germany and France intend to let Greece default temporarily as part of a programme of buying back bonds. They have also ruled out bank levies.It is corporate news that dominates the equity markets though. In the FTSE 100, Kingfisher, the FTSE 100 DIY retailer, is flying high even after it saw sales down 0.5% in the second quarter of 2011 compared to the same period last year. Total sales including new stores were up 1% if adjustments are made for currency fluctuations, with strength in France offsetting poor trading on this side of the channel.Approval for its drug Brilinta in the United States heartens AstraZeneca, the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceuticals company. Brilinta reduces the rate of heart attack and cardiovascular death in adult patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) more effectively than its rival treatment Clopidogre, recent studies indicate. Turnover and profit before tax a shade below market expectations is a source of displeasure for investors in outsourcing behemoth Capita Group today. Turnover for the first half of 2011 rose 3% to £1,400m from £1,361m the year before, below market expectations of £1,443m. Acquisitions contributed £134m to the turnover figure, which means revenue fell on a like-for-like basis, as widely tipped in the market. Turning to the FTSE 250, the glass seems to be half empty at Mitchells & Butlers. Trading in recent months has been ahead of last year when the World Cup kept punters away, but has hit a weak spell more recently, the pub group behind the O' Neill's and All Bar One chains, has said. "On a like-for-like basis, sales in the first 42 weeks were up 3.1% with trading in the last 9 weeks to 16 July up by 2.8%," the company said. Also in drinks, Britvic has lost some fizz. Another summer of disappointing weather has hit trading at the maker of orange juice, which also has the licence to sell Pepsi in the UK. Drinks sales had been holding up until below average weather resulted in a sharp contraction in the four weeks to 21 July. Today is proving a bit of an uphill struggle for Halfords. The bike and car parts retailer reported flat sales for the 13 weeks to 1 July.Also in car-related stocks, Vertu Motors, the car retailer which owns the Bristol Street Motors, Vertu Honda and Macklin Motors brands, is in reverse today after seeing sales of new cars drop 6.6% on a like-for-like basis. The communications and information technology firm Colt is out of favour after it announced a revenue decline of 3.5% in the first half of the year, mainly driven by a decline in mobile termination rates. Kitchen supplier Howden Joinery is building decent gains after it said profit for the half year increased by £1.9m as expectations for the year remain unchanged. Pre-tax profit rose to £23.5m in the 24 weeks to 11 June from £21.6m the same time a year earlier. Group revenue rose to £341.7m during the half year from £324.7m previously.Russian gold miner Petropavlovsk is shining after saying it recorded a 32% rise in total gold production in the first half of the year adding that it is on track to achieving its target of 600,000 ounces of gold for the year. Investors are taking a punt on 888 Holdings, the online gaming firm, which has seen group revenues grow $79m, or 29%, in the second quarter of 2011. The improved results are, according to the firm, the result of strong performances in the poker and casino offerings.FTSE 100 - RisersAstraZeneca (AZN) 3,135.00p +3.38%Kingfisher (KGF) 261.00p +3.08%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 34.97p +2.52%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 234.80p +1.16%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,346.50p +1.16%Barclays (BARC) 225.00p +1.08%Diageo (DGE) 1,259.00p +1.04%Rexam (REX) 382.00p +1.03%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,083.00p +0.84%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 45.26p +0.77%FTSE 100 - FallersXstrata (XTA) 1,332.50p -2.35%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 759.50p -2.06%Autonomy Corporation (AU.) 1,663.00p -2.06%Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,330.00p -2.05%Glencore International (GLEN) 472.10p -2.05%Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) 1,394.00p -2.04%Lonmin (LMI) 1,300.00p -1.74%ARM Holdings (ARM) 600.50p -1.72%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,399.00p -1.69%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,818.00p -1.68%FTSE 250 - RisersHowden Joinery Group (HWDN) 115.00p +7.08%Catlin Group Ltd. (CGL) 407.60p +3.98%TUI Travel (TT.) 190.50p +3.08%Petropavlovsk (POG) 843.50p +2.62%Genus (GNS) 1,008.00p +1.87%Melrose (MRO) 362.50p +1.77%Meggitt (MGGT) 383.40p +1.62%Close Brothers Group (CBG) 767.00p +1.59%Northgate (NTG) 328.50p +1.55%Telecom Plus (TEP) 657.00p +1.47%FTSE 250 - FallersCOLT Group SA (COLT) 121.40p -7.89%Halfords Group (HFD) 339.90p -4.84%Enterprise Inns (ETI) 58.00p -3.97%Mondi (MNDI) 594.00p -3.96%Britvic (BVIC) 355.70p -3.11%Invensys (ISYS) 295.30p -2.89%Rank Group (RNK) 146.40p -2.85%Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 282.90p -2.75%Home Retail Group (HOME) 133.30p -2.56%Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 248.70p -2.55%