London open: FTSE swoops lower, dragged by Croda Intl

31st Oct 2013 08:45

- FTSE led lower by Croda Intl- Guidance sought from abroad- German consumer confidence fallstechMARK 2,646.30 -0.70%FTSE 100 6,753.63 -0.36%FTSE 250 15,493.32 -0.58%The FTSE offered up few treats on Thursday, swooping 24 points lower in early trade, following the Federal Open Market Committee's decision not to close the door on a start to Fed tapering even as soon as its next meeting, in December. The US central bank yesterday decided to keep its monthly $85bn bond buying programme unchanged, pointing to weaker economic growth that was hampered by the 16-day partial government shutdown earlier this month.While many economists expect a reduction to quantitative easing will be held off until March 2014, some interpreted the Fed's statement to a suggestion that it could come in December. The losses on the FTSE 100 were led by Croda International, which plunged after warning on subdued underlying market conditions, the "significant devaluation of the Japanese Yen and Indian Rupee", and near double digit declines in "relatively low" margin but high volume commodity and toll manufacturing sales. Overall, turnover for the first half rose 4.4%, although underlying sales climbed just 0.8%. Meanwhile, market research institute GfK's consumer confidence index for Germany fell unexpectedly to 7.0 in November from 7.1 in October. Economists had predicted a reading of 7.2.Investors seek guidance from abroadToday's economic calendar is jam packed with the release of Eurozone inflation, US initial jobless claims, and German retail sales figures.The consumer price index in the Eurozone is expected to remain unchanged at 1.1% in October.In the US, initial jobless claims for the week ending October 25th will be unveiled along with the Chicago Purchasing Managers' regional manufacturing index which is pegged to fall to 55 in October from 55.7 in September. A reading above 50 signals expansion.A report on German retail sales is also due out and is expected to show a rise of 1.1% in September, compared to a 0.3% increase a month earlier, according to consensus.Shell plunges after earnings take bigger-than-expected hitEarnings declined more than expected at Royal Dutch Shell due to weaker refinery conditions, higher costs and lower volumes, pushing the stock firmly lower. Chief Executive Officer Peter Voser said headwinds that continued to "erode the near term outlook" included weak industry refining margins and security issues in Nigeria but pointed to a strong flow of new projects and said Shell would increase the pace of asset sales.Also in the red was AstraZeneca after it reported a fall in third quarter revenue. During the third quarter, core operating profit dropped 29% to $2.02bn as core earnings per share dipped 26% to $1.21.Heading higher was BG Group, which predicted that production would recover in the fourth quarter, helped by the completion of its North Sea maintenance shutdowns and new projects coming on stream, particularly the Jasmine field in the North Sea.FTSE 100 - RisersResolution Ltd. (RSL) 355.80p +1.45%Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,817.00p +1.40%Aggreko (AGK) 1,614.00p +1.06%BG Group (BG.) 1,258.50p +1.04%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 354.60p +0.94%Intertek Group (ITRK) 3,345.00p +0.87%Shire Plc (SHP) 2,785.00p +0.83%easyJet (EZJ) 1,332.00p +0.83%BP (BP.) 485.75p +0.78%Aviva (AV.) 448.00p +0.74%FTSE 100 - FallersCroda International (CRDA) 2,460.00p -6.64%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,169.50p -4.72%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,081.00p -4.72%AstraZeneca (AZN) 3,243.50p -2.60%Fresnillo (FRES) 993.50p -2.50%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,693.00p -2.23%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,448.00p -2.03%Antofagasta (ANTO) 883.00p -1.62%Pearson (PSON) 1,298.00p -1.37%Anglo American (AAL) 1,517.50p -1.08%FTSE 250 - RisersCountrywide (CWD) 579.00p +2.84%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 124.70p +1.88%Afren (AFR) 150.30p +1.62%Henderson Group (HGG) 216.90p +1.21%Diploma (DPLM) 695.00p +1.16%SIG (SHI) 200.00p +1.16%Ted Baker (TED) 1,725.00p +0.88%Menzies(John) (MNZS) 814.50p +0.87%Ashtead Group (AHT) 667.50p +0.75%National Express Group (NEX) 260.40p +0.66%FTSE 250 - FallersTelecity Group (TCY) 719.00p -9.04%Rentokil Initial (RTO) 105.00p -6.42%RPS Group (RPS) 288.60p -3.54%COLT Group SA (COLT) 122.60p -3.46%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 191.20p -3.04%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 261.90p -3.00%Rank Group (RNK) 145.50p -2.74%Essar Energy (ESSR) 117.20p -2.41%Computacenter (CCC) 573.00p -2.05%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 4,112.00p -2.03%FTSE TechMARK - RisersAnite (AIE) 90.75p +0.83%Consort Medical (CSRT) 888.00p +0.45%Wolfson Microelectronics (WLF) 142.50p +0.35%Optos (OPTS) 156.00p +0.16%FTSE TechMARK - FallersAntisoma (ASM) 1.35p -12.90%Puricore (PURI) 46.50p -3.12%SDL (SDL) 252.25p -1.18%Ricardo (RCDO) 612.00p -1.05%Innovation Group (TIG) 31.75p -0.78%NCC Group (NCC) 162.25p -0.76%E2V Technologies (E2V) 144.00p -0.69%Vectura Group (VEC) 110.50p -0.45%IShares Euro Gov Bond 7-10YR UCITS ETF (IEGM) € 179.22 -0.07%NR