London midday: Stocks win back losses after Barroso comments

28th Sep 2011 12:16

The top share index is flat now after winning back earlier losses, with comments by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso helping to stoke optimism that the euro crisis will be resolved.Barroso has called on the European Central Bank to do everything in its power to maintain stability in the Eurozone. Former minister and European Trade Commissoner Peter Mandelson has also thrown in his tuppence worth, telling European leaders to speed up reforms to solve the issue.In stocks news, hedge fund manager Man Group took investors by surprise and the shares are sharply lower. It said statutory profit before tax on continuing operations for the six months ending 30 September 2011 totalled $145m, down from $180m at the interim stage last year. Total funds under management at the end of September stood at $65.0bn, down from $71.0bn at the end of June and $69.1bn at the end of March 2011. Its flagship fund, AHL, generated $1.5bn of positive investment movement in the firm's second quarter, taking the half year total to +$0.9bn.Oil firm Cairn Energy also falls back after its Greenland venture continues to disappoint. It has plugged and abandoned the Delta-1 exploration well in the Napariaq block of the West Disko Area. Meanwhile, drilling work has commenced on the AT2-1 well in the Attammik block, in the South Ungava area.Sector peer Tullow is having better luck off the coast of Ghana, where the Enyenra-3A appraisal well, in the Deepwater Tano licence, has successfully encountered oil in high quality sandstone reservoirs. Pressure data indicates that the Enyenra-3A well has confirmed an up-dip extension of the Enyenra oil field.Investors have no appetite for Domino's Pizza, which shrugged off weak economic conditions to post a 9.8% rise in sales in the 13 weeks to 25 September. The pizza deliverer's sales during the period climbed to £127m from £115.7m, bringing sales for the year to date so far up to £385.4m, a 9.2% rise from £352.8m the previous year.Turning to smaller companies, Ambrian Capital, the natural resources investment firm, has seen its share price plummet 20% following the announcement of a balance sheet loss of £1.46m for the six months to the end of June. The figure includes a complete write down of the group's holding in its investment banking operation known as Ambrian Partners, which equates to a £2.15m impairment. The reasoning for this is what the firm described as "financial turmoil...in global equity markets."Shares in Toye, a manufacturer of military and masonic regalia, plunged today after it said increasing commodity prices had hit profits hard and customers were cutting back. Its shares fell 26% after the firm reported profits of just £9,120 in the first half of the year, compared with £26,205 in 2010. The profit came on a turnover of £4,495,726, an increase of £360,000 over the previous year. Indian Restaurants Group, which operates a chain of restaurants in the London area, fell sharply as it resumed trading after a suspension and announced that it plans to sell its restaurants to explore other investment opportunities. In the 18 months to 31 March, losses totalled £1.62m against £1.05m for the previous 12 months. Revenues totalled £3.63m, up from £2.47m over the previous year. FTSE 100 - RisersBG Group (BG.) 1,274.00p +4.34%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 362.80p +3.07%Smiths Group (SMIN) 971.00p +2.37%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 623.50p +2.05%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,682.00p +1.94%British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,839.50p +1.54%Experian (EXPN) 744.00p +1.22%Vodafone Group (VOD) 168.00p +1.08%AstraZeneca (AZN) 2,910.50p +1.08%Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,090.00p +1.06%FTSE 100 - FallersMan Group (EMG) 194.10p -18.99%Cairn Energy (CNE) 286.10p -3.21%ICAP (IAP) 432.30p -3.14%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,643.00p -2.95%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,346.00p -2.60%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,030.00p -2.09%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 24.51p -2.00%Schroders (SDR) 1,295.00p -1.89%GKN (GKN) 177.30p -1.88%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,339.00p -1.83%FTSE 250 - RisersThomas Cook Group (TCG) 39.00p +4.84%Melrose (MRO) 302.80p +4.41%Redrow (RDW) 116.80p +4.29%Unite Group (UTG) 174.80p +4.23%Ashtead Group (AHT) 145.20p +3.71%Afren (AFR) 89.30p +3.36%Exillon Energy (EXI) 216.10p +3.15%Rank Group (RNK) 122.30p +2.95%Spirent Communications (SPT) 128.30p +2.89%Hiscox Ltd. (HSX) 382.40p +2.47%FTSE 250 - FallersDomino's Pizza UK & IRL (DOM) 479.00p -5.80%Petropavlovsk (POG) 668.00p -3.33%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 297.20p -3.26%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 38.15p -3.25%Drax Group (DRX) 490.70p -2.54%Perform Group (PER) 205.00p -2.38%Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 602.00p -2.11%Soco International (SIA) 339.00p -1.97%AZ Electronic Materials SA (WI) (AZEM) 240.20p -1.96%Home Retail Group (HOME) 117.70p -1.92%