ALO.L Share News (ALO)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers on the main London indices midday Thursday.

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FTSE 100 - Winners

Aviva shares, up 2.5%, are the biggest risers on the blue-chip index. The financial services provider announced Wednesday that it had completed the sale of its US operations to Athene Holding Ltd in a deal worth USD2.6 billion, some USD800 million more than previously announced.

J Sainsbury, up 1.2%, and Tesco, up 1%, are big gainers. The food retailers are rebounding from Wednesday's lows after investors reacted negatively to their trading statements. Sainsbury's is benefiting from Nomura increasing its price target to 370 pence from 350p. Similarly, Citigroup upgraded Tesco to Neutral from Sell, raising its price target to 350 from 285. However, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and Macquarie have all cut Tesco's price target. Both companies are trading close to pre-announcement levels.

BP climbs 0.9% after the Financial Times reported Thursday that it had reached a milestone in its legal battle to limit its compensation settlement for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. The FT announced that the oil and gas company had received a favourable ruling from a US court. The court on Wednesday night approved an injunction to stop payments to businesses that had not "experienced actual injury traceable to loss" from the Deepwater Horizon accident, overturning an earlier decision. The ruling may improve BP's chances of preventing the cost of the settlement rising beyond double its original estimate of USD7.8 billion.

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FTSE 100 - Losers

Sports Direct International, down 2%. The company announced that Chief Executive Officer Dave Forsey and Group Finance Director Bob Mellors, exercised options granted to them under the company's executive bonus share scheme, by acquiring 1.0 million shares and then each selling 950,000 them at a price of 680.0 pence per share on Wednesday. The 50,000 shares each retained by Forsey and Mellors are their only holdings in sporting good company, representing 0.01% stakes.

William Hill falls 1.5% after the company warned that gross win margins in sports betting were below the year before. In its interim management statement for the 13 weeks ended October 1, the company said its overall quarterly performance was impacted by quiet July trading in Retail together with lower results-linked gross win margins in the quarter. Analysts at Numis remain upbeat, but note that profits have fallen short of expectations by GBP20 million.

Standard Chartered drops 0.9% in the aftermath of Numis downgrading its recommendation. Numis cuts Standard Chartered's recommendation to Hold from Add, decreasing its price target to 1,500 pence from 1,780p. The downgrades are made as Numis reduces its 2013-2014 forecasts for Standard Chartered by 5%. Currency depreciation across a large number of Standard Chartered's operational territories has hit the international banking group hard. Numis estimates that currency alone reduces estimates by 2%. Weak third-quarter financial markets volumes also are to blame.

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FTSE 250 - Winners

BTG, up 1.4%. The healthcare company raised its full-year revenue guidance due to recent acquisitions it has made and said its performance the first half of the year had met its expectations. It now expects revenues in the year to March 31, 2014 to be between GBP275 million and GBP285 million, up from previous guidance of between GBP235 million and GBP245 million, after making progress in integrating the targeted therapies division of Nordion Inc., and EKOS Corporation, deals that it completed in July. In a trading update, the company said new varicose vein treatment Varisolve is still progressing through a new drug application review in the US, and it is pushing ahead with preparations for a commercial launch in the first six months of the 2014 calendar year.

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FTSE 250 - Losers

Ophir Energy, down 4%. The oil-and-gas producer said Wednesday that it had successfully completed the Pweza-3 appraisal well and flow test in Block 4, Tanzania. However, the stock falls for a second day as the market has little interest in appraisals until there are further farm-out announcements, says Cannacord analyst Charlie Sharp. A farm-out announcement is an agreement to outsource production of discoveries, rather than simply reporting the discoveries.

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AIM - Winners

Phorm Corporation, up 64%. The company has been boosted after it said that it had launched operations of its advertising platform in mainland China. The internet personalisation technology company has begun a nationwide opt-in process, and in its first week of operations has seen an average of 4.3 million users a day. It said that it was in negotiations with publishers and advertisers and had begun the commercialisation process of its operations. In the coming months the company will start its test campaigns, it said, before moving to commercial operations.

Desire Petroleum climbs 31%. Falkland Oil and Gas Limited and Desire Petroleum PLC have announced that they have reached an GBP61 million agreement for Falkland to acquire the entire share capital of Desire in exchange for FOGL shares. The oil and gas exploration and development companies, both operating in the Falkland Island Basins, said that both boards believe the deal will diversify the activities of both companies and improve finances. Following the deal, FOGL shareholders will own 60% of the combined group share capital with Desire shareholders owning the remaining 40%.

Evocutis shares jump 24% as the company rebounds from Wednesday's lows. Evocutis was a big faller Wednesday as it announced that it is to convene a general meeting on October 28 after its net assets fell to less than half of its share capital. The company said that it was no longer in discussions with potential offerers in relation to a merger or sale of the company. Evocutis shares are still a long way off pre-announcement levels.

Quoram is up 16% despite making a GBP2.0 million pretax loss for the year to June 30, compared with a loss of GBP728,000 last year. The company has announced that it is confident about the prospects for its first investment since making the transition from oil-and-gas explorer to investing company, AIM-listed Plant Health Care PLC. Quoram said Plant Health Care, which makes products that increase crop yields, could benefit from the rise in the world's population to over seven billion people and the subsequent increase in demand for food.

Alecto Minerals, up 16%. The African-focussed multi-commodity exploration and development company is widely expected to complete the acquisition of AME West Africa from Savannah Resources in the next few days.

Byotrol is up 9.8 % after it said it has entered into an agreement to acquire all of the issued shares that it does not currently own in its consumer products joint venture, Byotrol Consumer Products Limited. Byotrol Consumer Products was established in 2007 as a joint venture between Byotrol and ?What If! Innovation Capital Nominees Limited.

Varirx is up 8.1% on the back of the news that it has filed a Phase IB/dose escalation study for its anti-cancer therapeutic, VAL201. This filing is required before approval is able to be granted. ValiRx said the trial on prostate cancer patients will be a first in-man study with real patients and will not require health volunteers. A first in-man study is a clinical trial where a medical procedure, previously developed and assessed through in vitro or animal testing, or through mathematical modelling is tested on human subjects for the first time.

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AIM - Losers

Albemarle & Bond, down 11%, continues to fall, albeit at a slower rate, after it announced Wednesday that it was in talks with its lenders about solving potential breaches of its debt covenants later this year after discussion with its largest shareholder about an equity raising failed.

Noricum Gold is down 11% as investors react badly to the news that it has raised GBP2 million to develop its Rotgulden Gold and Precious Metals project in Austria. The gold exploration and development company said it raised the cash via an oversubscribed placing of 200 million new ordinary shares, diluting the price of existing shares.

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By James Kemp; jameskemp@alliancenews.com; @jamespkemp

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