London open: Subdued start despite Greek relief

22nd Jun 2011 08:33

Hopes that the Greek government winning a vote of confidence overnight would put investors in an optimistic frame of mind have come to nought, with the blue-chip index opening a handful of points lower.The government of George Papandreou secured 155 of the votes in the 300-seat Greek parliament in a confidence motion ballot. Victory was widely expected, however, and with the future of the administration secured - at least for a while - the hard work of pushing through austerity measures now begins.Back in London, the focus is on corporate news flow. Kesa Electricals is going well even after poor trading at its UK chain Comet held back sales in the year to 30 April and the electrical retailer said trading has been weaker than expected so far in the current financial year. The company still raised its full-year dividend though. Fellow electrical retailer Dixon's Retail is also posting big gains.The chips are down for Imagination Technologies. The designer of graphic chips for computers and smartphones' sales were slightly short of expectations in the year to 30 April, but the company unveiled an impressive new target of annual sales of 1bn devices using its technology in five years. Revenue grew by 21% from the previous year to £98m. Analysts had been looking for a figure some £100m or so higher. Pre-tax profit rose to £16.4m from £10.2m.Aggreko, the Scottish company that is a global player in the temporary power market, has bagged a $37m 12-month contract with the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO).Central London-focused property group Capital and Counties is set to submit planning applications for the Earls Court and West Kensington Opportunity Area in west London after two years of consultation.FTSE 100 - RisersSchroders (SDR) 1,557.00p +3.39%Man Group (EMG) 238.40p +3.38%Schroders (Non-Voting) (SDRC) 1,298.00p +2.53%3i Group (III) 277.40p +1.65%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,068.00p +0.95%Aviva (AV.) 430.50p +0.80%Kingfisher (KGF) 266.20p +0.77%Rolls-Royce Group (RR.) 604.50p +0.67%Next (NXT) 2,268.00p +0.62%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,364.00p +0.62%FTSE 100 - FallersSevern Trent (SVT) 1,402.00p -2.84%United Utilities Group (UU.) 582.00p -2.27%Glencore International (GLEN) 488.10p -1.42%Experian (EXPN) 763.50p -1.37%Barclays (BARC) 255.55p -1.29%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,556.00p -1.21%Xstrata (XTA) 1,272.00p -1.01%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,956.00p -0.79%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,264.00p -0.78%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,324.00p -0.78%FTSE 250 - RisersDixons Retail (DXNS) 16.12p +5.02%Ocado Group (OCDO) 204.90p +2.50%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 922.00p +2.44%Henderson Group (HGG) 145.70p +2.32%Kesa Electricals (KESA) 137.00p +2.32%Carpetright (CPR) 705.00p +2.17%Telecom Plus (TEP) 651.00p +2.12%Northgate (NTG) 305.50p +1.97%AZ Electronic Materials SA (WI) (AZEM) 310.90p +1.93%Home Retail Group (HOME) 169.10p +1.62%FTSE 250 - FallersDairy Crest Group (DCG) 365.70p -3.07%Mitie Group (MTO) 227.60p -2.98%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 422.80p -2.36%Electrocomponents (ECM) 269.40p -1.75%Exillon Energy (EXI) 408.70p -1.54%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 146.10p -1.48%Afren (AFR) 157.30p -1.38%QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 115.20p -1.29%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 130.40p -1.21%Kier Group (KIE) 1,317.00p -1.20%