London open: Stocks mark time ahead of Inflation Report

16th Nov 2011 08:20

London has got off to a subdued start, with investors waiting on the Bank of England's inflation report and, to a lesser extent, the unemployment data, at 9:30am.Many economists are expecting that the Bank's Inflation Report will pave the way for an extension of its quantitative easing programme, and so investors are reluctant to over commit ahead of what would be a major policy announcement.The Bank is also expected in some quarters to downgrade its growth expectations for the UK economy while, hot on the heels of yesterday's slightly bigger than expected fall in inflation, the central bank may also forecast a quickening in the rate of decline of the inflation rate, such that the rate may fall below the 2% target rate in two to three years' time.As for October's unemployment figures, the key figure to watch out for is youth unemployment, where the number of 16 to 24-year-olds may top the million mark, after rising to a record high of 991,000 in the June to August period.On the corporate side, inter-dealer broker ICAP has issued a veiled profit warning, saying that it should hit market expectations for full-year profit provided market conditions return to normal in the final quarter; the fourth quarter is traditionally one of the group's stronger trading periods.ICAP's revenue of £867m in the six months to the end of September was unchanged from the corresponding period of last year. Despite that, adjusted profit before tax edged up 2% to £186m from £183m at the interim stage in 2010.Mining giant BHP Billiton said it had approved an $822m investment for the development of a new mine in Western Australia. BHP said the mine would help maintain iron ore production output from its Newman Joint Venture operations.Reed Elsevier, the business information and data company, said the overall improvement in its trading performance seen in the first half of the year has continued into the second half, and it is on track to deliver earnings per share in line with expectations. Underlying revenue for the nine months to the end of September grew by 1%. Intertek, the testing and quality assurance company, said year-on-year organic revenue growth for the ten months to the end of October was 8%, in line with the figure published in the half year update in August.Aerospace and defence engineering firm Meggitt is gaining altitude after it said it has been awarded two separate contracts, one of which is worth £13m.FTSE 100 - RisersMeggitt (MGGT) 391.60p +2.27%Intertek Group (ITRK) 1,906.00p +1.06%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,260.00p +0.96%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 690.00p +0.88%Shire Plc (SHP) 2,048.00p +0.69%ITV (ITV) 65.95p +0.69%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,079.00p +0.65%Capital Shopping Centres Group (CSCG) 313.90p +0.61%SABMiller (SAB) 2,243.50p +0.49%Hammerson (HMSO) 393.60p +0.49%FTSE 100 - FallersVodafone Group (VOD) 172.40p -4.54%ICAP (IAP) 351.80p -4.14%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,080.00p -2.53%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 738.00p -1.93%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 326.40p -1.92%Xstrata (XTA) 980.20p -1.81%Reed Elsevier (REL) 528.00p -1.77%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,146.00p -1.72%Admiral Group (ADM) 816.00p -1.69%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 300.50p -1.60%FTSE 250 - RisersDixons Retail (DXNS) 11.90p +4.94%SThree (STHR) 235.80p +3.42%Michael Page International (MPI) 376.00p +3.24%Domino Printing Sciences (DNO) 536.50p +2.68%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 449.30p +2.58%Allied Gold Mining (ALD) 150.00p +2.46%Unite Group (UTG) 167.50p +2.20%Ophir Energy (OPHR) 255.00p +2.00%Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 215.00p +1.99%St James's Place (STJ) 340.00p +1.86%FTSE 250 - FallersHICL Infrastructure Company Ltd. (HICL) 114.50p -3.29%Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 307.40p -3.15%Exillon Energy (EXI) 311.10p -2.78%Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 77.05p -2.34%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 126.00p -2.33%Berendsen (BRSN) 424.60p -2.23%Filtrona PLC (FLTR) 372.70p -2.13%Greggs (GRG) 499.00p -2.06%Telecom Plus (TEP) 710.50p -2.00%Cape (CIU) 344.00p -1.94%FTSE TechMARK - RisersBATM Advanced Communications Ltd. (BVC) 17.25p +6.98%Vectura Group (VEC) 65.00p +4.84%Corin Group (CRG) 39.00p 0.00%Asterand (ATD) 2.12p 0.00%Kofax (KFX) 232.00p 0.00%Innovation Group (TIG) 19.25p 0.00%Triad Group (TRD) 11.50p 0.00%Alterian (ALN) 96.00p 0.00%Parity Group (PTY) 21.00p 0.00%Antisoma (ASM) 1.94p 0.00%FTSE TechMARK - FallersPsion (PON) 50.25p -4.29%Ricardo (RCDO) 372.00p -2.07%Dialight (DIA) 745.50p -1.06%Corin Group (CRG) 39.00p 0.00%Asterand (ATD) 2.12p 0.00%Kofax (KFX) 232.00p 0.00%Innovation Group (TIG) 19.25p 0.00%Triad Group (TRD) 11.50p 0.00%Alterian (ALN) 96.00p 0.00%Parity Group (PTY) 21.00p 0.00%