London open: Footsie opens flat after a flurry of results

26th Jul 2012 08:31

- Stocks mixed after a ton of results- Rolls and Reed Elsevier up; Shell and BG down- Eurozone concerns still weigh on sentimentThe Footsie opened broadly flat on Thursday morning on the back of a mixed reception to a barrage of quarterly and half-year results from a mass of heavyweight blue chips.Concerns about the Eurozone have not abated today. Investors will still be digesting comments made yesterday by European Central Bank (ECB) policy-maker Ewald Nowotny who suggested that the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) should be given a banking licence, which could help it provide bigger loans to struggling countries.Meanwhile, speculation about a Spanish bailout was still doing the rounds and Greek exit talk seems to be gathering pace. Analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari said this morning: "There have been suggestions that Greece will have to wait until September for a further bailout after failing to make the required cuts. This could be problematic with bond payments apparently due to the ECB in August."There was also talk of the UK possibly losing its cherished AAA rating after yesterday's data showed a 0.7% contraction in GDP in the second quarter. The Financial Times cited "leading investors" as saying that Moody's, which revised its outlook on the UK to 'negative' in February, was likely to downgraded its rating on sovereign.FTSE 100: Rolls-Royce and Reed Elsevier leads the risersPower systems group Rolls-Royce surged after saying that underlying revenues and pre-tax profits rose 5% and 7% in the first half, respectively, and said it expects "good" growth for the full year.Publishing group Reed Elsevier was also a high riser after underlying revenues grew 5% in the first half, with all five business areas showing growth.Consumer products firm Unilever jumped after turnover increased 11.5% in the first six months of the year. CEO Paul Polman said that the group is continuing to deliver volume growth ahead of its markets and gained value share across the majority of the business.Broadcaster ITV advanced after reporting double-digit revenues and profit growth in the first half, as its 'Transformation Plan' "continues to gain momentum", according to CEO Adam Crozier.Catering firm Compass also rose after delivering a "good" performance in the third quarter, as strong growth in North America and emerging markets offset weakness in Europe.FTSE 100: Shell and BG provide a dragOil major Royal Dutch Shell was leading the fallers after second-quarter earnings dropped from $8bn to $6bn in the second quarter, as profits have tracked energy prices lower.Natural gas group BG sank after reducing its full-year output guidance and reporting a 5% fall in earnings per share in the second quarter.Sweeteners and ingredients group Tate & Lyle was out of favour after saying that it does not know how surging corn prices will affect the business.Banking group Lloyds fell after posting a half-year loss of £439m and upping its PPI provisions by £700m. Nevertheless, underlying profits increased from £715m to £1.1bn.FTSE 100 - RisersRolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 879.00p +5.97%Reed Elsevier (REL) 541.50p +4.84%Unilever (ULVR) 2,230.00p +4.21%ITV (ITV) 73.95p +3.57%Compass Group (CPG) 674.00p +3.29%Polymetal International (POLY) 825.50p +1.73%Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,737.00p +1.71%Pearson (PSON) 1,282.00p +1.67%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 696.00p +1.61%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 147.80p +1.09%FTSE 100 - FallersRoyal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,204.50p -2.67%BG Group (BG.) 1,188.00p -2.62%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,130.00p -2.61%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 632.50p -1.79%AstraZeneca (AZN) 2,864.50p -1.53%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,266.00p -1.40%BP (BP.) 422.85p -1.31%GKN (GKN) 199.80p -0.99%British Land Co (BLND) 528.00p -0.75%Hammerson (HMSO) 463.90p -0.66%FTSE 250 - RisersDrax Group (DRX) 459.00p +3.85%COLT Group SA (COLT) 112.00p +3.70%Avocet Mining (AVM) 69.00p +2.75%Savills (SVS) 374.60p +2.63%Laird (LRD) 189.10p +2.49%Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 136.90p +2.24%Dunelm Group (DNLM) 550.00p +2.14%SDL (SDL) 702.50p +1.81%St James's Place (STJ) 324.00p +1.63%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 33.44p +1.55%FTSE 250 - FallersCapital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 206.20p -2.74%PayPoint (PAY) 684.50p -2.35%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 291.90p -2.05%Cookson Group (CKSN) 537.50p -2.01%De La Rue (DLAR) 1,044.00p -1.97%Grainger (GRI) 86.00p -1.94%Synergy Health (SYR) 932.00p -1.84%Beazley (BEZ) 154.10p -1.72%Shaftesbury (SHB) 533.00p -1.39%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 338.50p -1.37%BC