Sector movers: Merrill salutes Admiral

13th Jan 2010 10:49

Car insurer Admiral is leading the non-life insurance sector higher after Merrill Lynch lifted its target price on the firm to 1,150p to 1,200p.'We think the premium is justified by Admiral's superior growth prospects,' the broker says.KBC Advanced Technologies leads the oil equipment services and distribution sector lower. The oil refinery software specialist said results for 2009 are expected to be in line with expectations, but pointed out that improvement in the process improvement area was slower than anticipated.'The refining industry remains in transition, with investment and expansion continuing in the developing world and overcapacity and margin pressure in the developed world leading to contraction,' the firm said. 'Whilst this environment creates opportunities for KBC, there remains significant uncertainty and more competition as the larger engineering contractors are less busy.'Top performing sectors so far todayFixed Line Telecommunications 2,067.89 +1.19%Forestry & Paper 3,879.84 +0.98%Insurance (non-life) 1,310.46 +0.95%Household Goods 6,422.89 +0.66%Gas, Water & Multiutilities 4,116.39 +0.64%Bottom performing sectors so far todayOil & Gas Producers 8,420.75 -1.33%Industrial Metals 5,108.11 -1.24%Banks 4,919.28 -1.18%Oil Equipment Services & Distribution 15,739.08 -0.97%Health Care Equipment & Services 3,553.52 -0.85%