London midday: Stocks holding steady on a busy day

26th Feb 2015 12:20

UK stock markets were rangebound on Thursday morning on a busy day for corporate earnings and economic data, as investors maintained a cautious approach following the record peaks reached earlier in the week.London's FTSE 100 was up just 0.04% at 6,938.10 by midday, trading within a narrow range of just 20 points or so.The index has continued to fluctuate after settling at an all-time closing high of 6,949.63 on Tuesday, having hit an intraday record of 6,958.89 that same day.Annual results from a number of blue chips received a mixed reaction from investors in London with British American Tobacco, Capita, CRH, Reed Elsevier, RSA and Royal Bank of Scotland all reporting. However, mining stocks were doing their best to support markets.In economic data, the UK economy grew by 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2014, in line with the preliminary reading and economists' expectations. Annual growth picked up to 2.7% from 2.6% previously.Another report showed German unemployment fell 20,000 in February, more than the 10,000 decline that was expected. The jobless rate held at 6.5%.Later on there will be inflation, jobless claims and durable goods orders due out in the States.Miners rise as earnings come in thick and fastMining stocks were all on the rise as metal prices improved, with Antofagasta, Randgold, Anglo American, Glencore and Rio Tinto all making decent gains.RBS dropped after missing forecasts with its 2014 results, reporting a loss of £3.5bn for the year, though this was still better than the £9bn loss recorded in 2013. The bank also confirmed the appointment of Sir Howard Davies as its new chairman.Cigarette maker British American Tobacco was higher after reporting a less-than-expected 8.4% fall in 2014 revenue to £13.97bn, compared with the consensus forecast of £13.89bn.Capita was weaker as the outsourcing and business services giant underwhelmed with a 13% rise in underling pre-tax profit to £535.7m last year.Investors also gave a cool reaction to plans by Anglo-Dutch information group Reed Elsevier to combine its two parent companies and rename itself RELX Group. The company also said underlying adjusted operating profit rose 5% to £1.74bn in 2014 as it forecast another year of growth in 2015.Building materials group CRH was higher after beating expectations with a 5% rise in sales to €18.9bn last year.RSA Insurance returned to an annual profit and recommenced its dividend but disappointed with the announcement that its chief financial officer is stepping down.Standard Chartered rose after appointing former JPMorgan boss Bill Winters as its new chief executive as it confirmed current head Peter Sands will step down in June. The bank also announced that chairman John Peace will step down in 2016.Diageo and Easyjet were both trading lower after going ex-dividend.Market MoverstechMARK 3,151.01 +0.02%FTSE 100 6,938.10 +0.04%FTSE 250 17,194.36 +0.04%FTSE 100 - RisersAntofagasta (ANTO) 780.00p +3.45%Kingfisher (KGF) 360.40p +3.24%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,185.00p +2.77%Persimmon (PSN) 1,730.00p +2.73%Glencore (GLEN) 306.50p +2.47%Anglo American (AAL) 1,254.50p +2.41%Meggitt (MGGT) 554.00p +2.40%Standard Chartered (STAN) 947.20p +2.26%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,238.00p +2.13%Tesco (TSCO) 245.70p +1.99%FTSE 100 - FallerseasyJet (EZJ) 1,728.00p -4.69%Reed Elsevier (REL) 1,134.00p -4.46%Capita (CPI) 1,150.00p -3.85%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 433.80p -3.66%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 389.70p -3.37%Bunzl (BNZL) 1,885.00p -1.82%Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 326.60p -1.63%SSE (SSE) 1,560.00p -1.58%Pearson (PSON) 1,391.00p -1.56%Severn Trent (SVT) 2,040.00p -1.21%FTSE 250 - RisersRPS Group (RPS) 260.40p +8.05%Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 741.00p +7.00%Interserve (IRV) 594.00p +6.64%Ladbrokes (LAD) 121.60p +6.48%Serco Group (SRP) 232.20p +5.02%Vedanta Resources (VED) 609.50p +5.00%Countrywide (CWD) 528.50p +3.42%Playtech (PTEC) 762.50p +3.32%Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 452.50p +2.93%Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 1,800.00p +2.86%FTSE 250 - FallersBeazley (BEZ) 291.00p -8.35%Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 315.50p -3.22%Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,064.00p -3.18%Enterprise Inns (ETI) 104.90p -2.87%AO World (AO.) 186.70p -2.76%Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,496.00p -2.54%Provident Financial (PFG) 2,702.00p -2.38%Ted Baker (TED) 2,513.00p -2.14%Homeserve (HSV) 338.90p -2.08%Computacenter (CCC) 729.00p -1.75%