- Kazakhmys drops after broker downgrades.- Banks jumps after Goldman comments.- Eurogroup releases 58bn euros but delays full Greek bailout. - 25 EU members sign fiscal pact. The FTSE 100 fell close to its lowest levels of the day on Friday as Eurozone concerns continued to dampen the mood. A fall in the mining sector outweighed a strong rise for banks today, as a stronger dollar pushed commodities prices lower.The market was pulling back after yesterday's one percent rise after it was announced that the Greek debt-swap agreement will not be considered a 'credit event'.All but two European Union (EU) members signed the fiscal pact in the summit in Brussels. Czech Republic and United Kingdom were the only two members that did not sign the agreement, which requires countries to write a golden rule into law that will control their deficits. Meanwhile, officials agreed to fund a permanent bailout fund for the area more quickly.Eurozone finance ministers released €58bn to Greece to underpin a €206bn debt restructuring, but are holding back the remaining €71.5bn until they are fully satisfied that Athens can fulfil the terms and conditions of the bailout package. They have delayed the final decision until a Eurogroup meeting on March 12th, just eight days before Athens faces a €14.5bn bond repayment. Meanwhile, banks' overnight deposits at the European Central Bank (ECB) shot up last night, reaching €776.9bn, just two days after the ECB doled out no less than €529.5bn in three-year loans to 800 European financial institutions. President of the ECB Mario Draghi said the monetary authority is 'reasonably satisfied' with the results of Wednesday's long-term refinancing operation (known as LTRO). The figure €529.5bn figure topped not only analyst expectations of €470bn but also surpassed the €489bn given out in funds in the first LTRO last December. Draghi also commented that "sizeable progress" has been achieved with fiscal and structural reforms. MINERS LEAD THE DECLINEMiners were providing a drag on the market today with Kazakhmys leading the fall, dropping nearly 6%, after a number of broker downgrades. Both Numis Securities and Societe Generale cut their respective ratings on the stock today. Meanwhile, copper and gold futures were down 0.5% before the close, while silver futures were down nearly 2%, pressuring the share prices of Xstrata, Randgold Resources and Anglo American lower.Sector peer Glencore was heavy faller, ahead of its full-year results on Friday. While the company pre-released some estimate figures a few weeks ago, the markets will likely keep a close eye on the outlook statement with UBS saying (in January) that it believes that 2012 will provide a challenging environment for Glencore's Marketing and Industrial divisions, with the latter having to cope with lower expected volumes and higher costs. Meanwhile, any comments on its impending merger with Xstrata will be the focus of headlines.Admiral was firmly out of favour, down over 3% by the close, ahead of its full-year results on Wednesday. Credit Suisse said that the focus of the results will be on its bodily injury challenges, "where the content and tone of management commentary may cause volatility (in both directions)."Automotive and aerospace engineer GKN was falling nearly 2% late on. The company, which makes aircraft components for Airbus SAS, is reportedly the frontrunner to purchase Volvo AB's aircraft-engine unit after MTU Aero Engines dropped out of the sale process, people with knowledge of the situation have told Bloomberg News. The unit may be worth around €1bn. Engineering group IMI rose after upping its full-year dividend by 15% as it reported double-digit growth in both revenues and adjusted profits in 2011. GOLDMAN UPGRADES BANKS & UTILITIES, DOWNGRADES TELECOMSBanking peers Lloyds, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland were among the best performers, after Goldman Sachs gave a lift, upgrading the European banking ector from neutral to overweight. "Despite the recent strong performance we think there is more upside for Banks. The LTRO funding has improved liquidity and will help sector pre-provision profits, while banks still trade at a reasonable multiple of book value," Goldman said.Utilities stocks were also boosted by an upgrade by the US investment bank, from neutral to overweight. It said that while the sector offers some of the highest dividend yields, upwards pressure on carbon prices and "crunch" in north-west European generation capacity will support power prices. SSE, Centrica, Severn Trent and National Grid were making gains. Sector peer International Power was the highest riser of the day after announcing that it - along with parent company GDF SUEZ - has signed 30-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) for two 220MW geothermal projects with the Indonesia state-owned utility, PLN. Meanwhile, Goldman weighed in on the telecoms sector, downgrading its rating from overweight to underweight. Both BT and Vodafone were out of favour, with the latter being weighed down further by yesterday's confirmation by Tata Communications that it is in discussions with Cable & Wireless Worldwide, a firm that it is also interested in.FTSE 250: RENTOKIL ANNOUNCES LOSS ON CITY LINK IMPAIRMENTS Business services company Rentokil announced a £116.2m loss before tax for the fourth quarter of 2011, while for the full year the company's red ink comes to £50m. The main reason behind those losses is the goodwill write-downs incurred by Rentokil to reflect the poor financial performance of its City Link unit. Heading the other way on the second-tier index was electronic components provider Laird after announcing a big rise in profits and a series of acquisitions worth over £30m. BCFTSE 100 - RisersInternational Power (IPR) 365.50p +4.40%Essar Energy (ESSR) 113.80p +4.02%Man Group (EMG) 152.50p +3.39%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 167.30p +2.76%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 35.63p +2.47%Barclays (BARC) 256.75p +2.23%IMI (IMI) 991.00p +2.16%ICAP (IAP) 404.70p +1.86%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 685.00p +1.56%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,506.00p +1.28%FTSE 100 - FallersKazakhmys (KAZ) 1,000.00p -5.84%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,059.00p -3.38%Experian (EXPN) 932.50p -2.41%GKN (GKN) 218.40p -1.84%Glencore International (GLEN) 420.00p -1.67%Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,314.00p -1.53%Amec (AMEC) 1,106.00p -1.43%Reed Elsevier (REL) 541.50p -1.28%Xstrata (XTA) 1,196.50p -1.28%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 698.00p -1.27%FTSE 250 - RisersSpirit Pub Company (SPRT) 61.00p +5.63%SDL (SDL) 756.00p +5.22%Elementis (ELM) 176.20p +4.88%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 15.55p +4.01%Allied Gold Mining (ALD) 109.20p +4.00%Laird (LRD) 179.30p +3.94%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 57.50p +3.23%Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 33.00p +3.19%Ocado Group (OCDO) 103.00p +3.00%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 513.00p +2.89%FTSE 250 - FallersRentokil Initial (RTO) 76.00p -5.53%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 175.50p -4.10%Rightmove (RMV) 1,391.00p -3.67%CSR (CSR) 241.20p -3.48%Carillion (CLLN) 320.00p -3.03%Persimmon (PSN) 654.50p -2.97%Diploma (DPLM) 386.40p -2.67%Kier Group (KIE) 1,214.00p -2.57%SVG Capital (SVI) 274.40p -2.49%Domino's Pizza UK & IRL (DOM) 433.70p -2.43%
Last checked at 
