London open: Footsie flat for second day, but CSR rockets

17th Jul 2012 08:36

- Eyes on Bernanke and hints on further stimulus- CSR jumps nearly 40 per cent after disposal- Wolseley sees 'challenging' EuropeThe FTSE 100 was flat on Tuesday morning following a subdued session the day before, as investors look ahead to a semi-annual monetary policy report from the US Federal Reserve later today with all eyes on Chairman Ben Bernanke."The Fed Chairman has repeatedly stated that while they are reluctant to inject further liquidity into the economy at this time, they are ready to step in if the situation worsens," said analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari."Each time we've heard this over recent month's however, data has shown the economy has worsened and no further QE has been adopted. This shows the Fed's reluctance to carry out further monetary easing despite what they have said repeatedly. However once again, we have seen sentiment improving as we near the testimony and I don't believe people are going to get the response they're hoping for."Markets will also be keeping a close eye on the German ZEW index of economic sentiment and a Spanish debt auction due out later today.FTSE 100: Wolseley drops on 'challenging' EuropePlumbing and heating products distributor Wolseley was a heavy faller after saying that the difficult market conditions in Continental Europe in the third quarter have continued and it is now exploring strategic options for the future of its businesses in France.Mining stocks were broadly higher - Vedanta, Kazakhmys an Xstrata rose - but Rio Tinto bucked the trend after saying that iron ore production exceeded sales in the second quarter, prompting concerns about demand.Luxury fashion brand Burberry was higher after saying that it has served notice to fragrance company Interparfums, one of its worldwide licensees, of its intention to terminate their licence agreement at the end of this year. Upon termination Burberry would pay InterParfums around €181m in cash.Security solutions firm G4S continued to fall as it is hampered by the Olympics contract debacle. The company said yesterday that it expects to incur a £35-50m loss on the contract after failing to deliver as many workers as it had promised to. This morning, the stock was being weighed down by ratings cuts from Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank.Utilities firm National Grid was among the worst performers after both Societe Generale and Morgan Stanley cut their target prices for the stock, while chip designer ARM Holdings was lower after Citi reduced its target price.FTSE 250: CSR rockets on cash-return newsWireless technology and computer chip company CSR powered to a 52-week high as it announced the sale of its handset connectivity technology business to Korean technology giant Samsung, paving the way for the return of a pile of cash to shareholders. CSR plans to return up to $285m to shareholders after sealing a deal with Samsung which will see the transfer to the Korean firm of CSR's phone handset operations for a consideration of $310m in cash. BTG, the specialist healthcare company, rose after increasing its revenue estimate for the year ended March 31st 2013 after receiving a final royalty payment from Pfizer in relation to the BeneFIX product.European IT services provider Computacenter was in demand after saying it continues to trade in line with company expectations and the outlook for the full year to December 31st remains intact.FTSE 100 - RisersVedanta Resources (VED) 909.00p +1.28%Barclays (BARC) 159.55p +1.17%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,467.00p +0.96%Diageo (DGE) 1,688.00p +0.96%Amec (AMEC) 1,075.00p +0.94%WPP (WPP) 793.00p +0.89%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 734.00p +0.89%Anglo American (AAL) 2,037.00p +0.74%Carnival (CCL) 2,127.00p +0.66%Experian (EXPN) 937.50p +0.59%FTSE 100 - FallersWolseley (WOS) 2,248.00p -3.44%G4S (GFS) 249.60p -1.96%Aviva (AV.) 290.50p -1.96%National Grid (NG.) 671.50p -1.61%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,946.00p -1.34%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,161.00p -1.28%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 318.10p -1.24%ITV (ITV) 74.30p -0.93%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,441.00p -0.76%Glencore International (GLEN) 314.15p -0.74%FTSE 250 - RisersCSR (CSR) 301.30p +38.02%Premier Oil (PMO) 374.40p +3.48%FirstGroup (FGP) 205.60p +2.80%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 193.50p +2.60%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 16.82p +2.56%Melrose (MRO) 234.00p +2.35%BTG (BTG) 412.90p +2.23%Rank Group (RNK) 120.60p +2.20%Bumi (BUMI) 312.20p +2.09%Ophir Energy (OPHR) 627.50p +2.03%FTSE 250 - FallersDrax Group (DRX) 552.50p -3.58%IG Group Holdings (IGG) 453.40p -1.97%Morgan Crucible Co (MGCR) 274.40p -1.89%Home Retail Group (HOME) 78.90p -1.87%Spirent Communications (SPT) 162.00p -1.22%Premier Farnell (PFL) 169.70p -1.22%British Assets Trust (BSET) 119.70p -1.07%Bodycote (BOY) 312.00p -1.05%NMC Health (NMC) 198.00p -1.00%Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 790.00p -0.94%BC