Assetco Share News (ASTO)

Materials science company Cookson was making gains on Thursday afternoon despite some controversy at its annual general meeting (AGM) today, lifting the general industrials sector to the top of the pile.Almost 32%, or 70.5m, of the 220.8m votes cast at the AGM were against the motion to approve the directors' remuneration report. The shareholder rebellion came despite a well-received interim management statement from the company which revealed that trading in the first four months of the year had been in line with expectations. Group trading profit was slightly ahead of the equivalent period of last year and management's expectations for the full year performance in 2012 remain unchanged. What really seemed to excite the market, however, was the possibility of Cookson splitting itself in to two. Elsewhere in the sector, RPC Group, AssetCo and Titan Europe were also making gains.Heading the other way were financials and resource stocks as investors continue to flee from 'riskier' assets in light of escalating concerns over a potential Greek exit from the Eurozone.Top performing sectors so far todayGeneral Industrials 3,051.27 +0.54%Gas, Water & Multiutilities 5,031.25 +0.45%Electricity 8,479.84 +0.32%Bottom performing sectors so far todayAutomobiles & Parts 4,318.41 -4.00%Industrial Metals & Mining 3,154.64 -3.91%Banks 3,445.53 -2.71%Life Insurance 3,831.27 -2.47%Oil Equipment, Services & Distribution 22,851.85 -2.22%BC