London open: FTSE gets off to wobbly start ahead of MPC minutes

17th Oct 2012 08:50

After initially edging higher following a strong performance in the US last night, the FTSE 100 has dropped marginally lower as investors await the release of minutes from the October meeting of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) and the unemployment figures, due out at 09:30 this morning.The Bank's current round of quantitative easing (QE) ends next month and economists will be scouring the minutes to see whether there are any clues as to whether the QE tap will be turned on again. Sentiment has been given a boost this morning following an announcement overnight from ratings agency Moody's that it is maintaining Spain's sovereign debt rating unchanged at Baa3, although with a negative outlook. This morning Market News International (MNI) reported that negotiations between the troika and Greek authorities on the austerity package are closer to a conclusion than yesterday's news on divisions within the government coalition suggested, analysts at Unicredit are commenting. Elsewhere in the market, however, other reports suggest the opposite is true.As an aside, Japanese authorities will hold a special cabinet meeting this morning. Speculation is rife that the government may tap budget reserves to stimulate a slowing economy.Of interest, following yesterday's televised Presidential debate Stateside, Intrade is giving a 61.5% probability of an Obama victory. FTSE 100: RBS leads the risersThe Royal Bank of Scotland is set to leave the government insurance scheme that was set up at the height of the financial crisis to protect the company from collapse. Analysts said this could pave the way for RBS to be sold back into the private sector. It is currently 82%-owned by the UK taxpayer after receiving a £45bn bailout in 2008.Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton saw iron ore output rise year-on-year in the third quarter, but fall from the previous quarter's production levels as a result of the planned shut-down associated with the Inner Harbour expansion project in Western Australia. Iron ore production was up 1% year-on-year but down 3% quarter-on-quarter to 39.8m tonnes.Xstrata, the Switzerland-based miner which looks set to merge with commodities trader Glencore, said volumes of thermal coal, zinc and lead in concentrate and zinc metal in the third quarter increased year-on-year. Volumes of copper and nickel declined, however.Diageo is in talks to buy a stake of about 20% in Vijay Mallya's in a deal that would give it management control of the Indian distiller, said two people with knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg News reports. Diageo would buy new shares in United Spirits and also purchase part of Mallya's 28% stake, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the process is private. Diageo would get the right to appoint United Spirits's Chief Executive Officer and other key managers, while Mallya is expected to remain Chairman, they said.FTSE 250: C&W Comms in talks over another potential saleCable & Wireless Communications, already in talks with the Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco) about a possible sale of its Monaco & Islands business unit, has confirmed that it is also in talks regarding a potential sale of its business in Macau. Responding to recent press speculation, the international mobile communications networks operator confirmed it is in discussions with CITIC Telecom International Holdings Limited regarding a potential sale of its 51% shareholding in Companhia de Telecomunicações de Macau (CTM). CITIC is a 20% shareholder in CTM. Financier Nat Rothschild is 'completely, 100 per cent wrong' about the controversial deal that could end the feud at Indonesian mining firm Bumi, according to the firm's Deputy Chairman. Rothschild resigned from the board of Bumi on Monday, saying he had lost confidence in the management's ability to stand up for investors. FTSE 100 - RisersTesco (TSCO) 314.20p +2.05%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 285.40p +1.93%Evraz (EVR) 248.30p +1.89%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 334.20p +1.77%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,184.00p +1.72%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,109.00p +1.57%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 718.00p +1.27%Anglo American (AAL) 1,826.50p +0.97%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,874.00p +0.97%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,109.00p +0.91%FTSE 100 - FallersBAE Systems (BA.) 320.50p -2.61%Barclays (BARC) 242.55p -1.44%Prudential (PRU) 859.00p -1.26%Capital Shopping Centres Group (CSCG) 336.20p -1.09%Compass Group (CPG) 687.00p -1.08%Bunzl (BNZL) 1,105.00p -1.07%Wolseley (WOS) 2,652.00p -1.04%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 663.00p -0.97%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,165.00p -0.85%Experian (EXPN) 1,072.00p -0.83%FTSE 250 - RisersCable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 37.51p +3.65%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 268.00p +3.63%Ashtead Group (AHT) 358.00p +3.62%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 198.40p +2.01%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 201.80p +1.92%Petropavlovsk (POG) 448.20p +1.86%Henderson Group (HGG) 118.10p +1.81%Bumi (BUMI) 253.10p +1.52%Ruspetro (RPO) 107.60p +1.51%Raven Russia Ltd (RUS) 68.50p +1.48%FTSE 250 - FallersClose Brothers Group (CBG) 833.00p -3.42%Carpetright (CPR) 675.00p -2.60%Fidessa Group (FDSA) 1,310.80p -1.52%Ted Baker (TED) 945.00p -1.46%Rightmove (RMV) 1,611.00p -1.41%Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 302.60p -1.40%Supergroup (SGP) 672.50p -1.39%Pace (PIC) 169.10p -1.34%Big Yellow Group (BYG) 338.60p -1.28%Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 763.00p -1.23%FTSE TechMARK - RisersTorotrak (TRK) 34.50p +2.99%BATM Advanced Communications Ltd. (BVC) 16.25p +2.36%Gresham Computing (GHT) 68.00p +1.49%Vectura Group (VEC) 91.92p +0.46%Corin Group (CRG) 57.50p +0.44%Optos (OPTS) 209.00p +0.36%Kofax (KFX) 300.00p 0.00%Triad Group (TRD) 6.25p 0.00%Parity Group (PTY) 19.25p 0.00%Promethean World (PRW) 17.00p 0.00%FTSE TechMARK - FallersAntisoma (ASM) 1.53p -4.08%Wolfson Microelectronics (WLF) 205.00p -3.76%Ricardo (RCDO) 373.00p -1.84%NCC Group (NCC) 977.00p -1.31%Vislink (VLK) 28.25p -1.31%Innovation Group (TIG) 22.25p -0.56%Consort Medical (CSRT) 748.64p -0.05%Kofax (KFX) 300.00p 0.00%Triad Group (TRD) 6.25p 0.00%Parity Group (PTY) 19.25p 0.00%