Barclays Share News (BARC)

The FTSE 100 had sunk sharply by Wednesday lunchtime as markets reacted negatively to the Bank of England's (BoE) new forward guidance and improved growth forecasts.All eyes were on new BoE Governor Mark Carney today as he unveiled the central bank's quarterly Inflation Report in which he was widely expected to give explicit guidance for monetary policy over the near future. He didn't disappoint either, saying that the Bank Rate would stay at its record-low level of 0.5% and the current level of asset purchases would remain in place until at least the unemployment rate falls below 7.0%.Markets initially rallied on the news, with London's Footsie jumping into positive territory briefly. However, the positive mood then quickly faded on concerns that the recent momentum in the UK recovery could bring the jobless rate (currently at 7.8%) down a lot quicker than is estimated.Joe Rundle, Head of Trading at ETX Capital said: "The BoE forecasts that the unemployment rate to remain above the 7.0% threshold at least until late 2016, however, judging by the steady progress in macro indicators, it is difficult to rule out a rapid decline in the unemployment which could initiate rate hikes earlier than even the BoE projects."This recent economic upswing was reflected in the BoE's upwardly-revised growth forecasts for this year and the next - the UK is expected to expand by 1.4% and 2.4% in 2013 and 2014, ahead of earlier estimates of 1.2% and 1.7% growth, respectively.Nevertheless, in the press conference after the statement, Carney looked to assure markets not to get ahead of themselves, saying that growth still remains below historical standards and there's still a long way to go before any monetary tightening happens.In response to questions from reporters, he said: "In the relief about the recovery, expectation can build up that that immediately means pulling back on monetary stimulus. The MPC is saying we need to make further progress and we're doing it in a way that fully takes account of our responsibility for price stability."FTSE 100: Miners extend losses, Randgold disappointsAfter some heavy falls on Tuesday, miners were once again in negative territory as metals prices continued to weaken. Randgold was firmly lower after a 17% drop in the average gold price during the second quarter reduced profit by 34% from the first three months of the year. Investors gave a cool reaction to third-quarter figures from TUI Travel despite the tour operator reiterating full-year guidance after an 18% jump in underlying operating profits.A number of heavyweight stocks were also weighing on the Footsie today after going ex-dividend, meaning that from today new investors won't be able to get their hands on the firms' latest payouts. Ex-div stocks today include Barclays, BG Group, BT Group, GlaxoSmithKline, Reckitt Benckiser, Reed Elsevier and Unilever.Savings, investment and insurance giant Old Mutual was a standout performer today, rising strongly after half-year profits increased due to an increase in funds under management and client cash flows.FTSE 250: United Drug slumps despite upbeat outlookUnited Drug, the provider of services to healthcare manufacturers and pharmacies, was lower despite saying that trading in the third quarter has been "strong". The company reiterated its guidance for 5-8% growth in adjusted diluted earnings per share this year.A number of stocks on the FTSE 250 also went ex-dividend today, including Dialight, Domino's Pizza, Greene King, Hiscox, Jupiter, Pennon, RPC, Synergy Health, Spirent Communications and St Modwen Properties.FTSE 100 - RisersOld Mutual (OML) 199.80p +3.79%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,586.50p +1.21%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,280.00p +0.95%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 320.00p +0.72%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,019.00p +0.49%Aggreko (AGK) 1,643.00p +0.43%Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,200.00p +0.42%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,195.00p +0.42%Centrica (CNA) 393.00p +0.38%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,256.00p +0.24%FTSE 100 - FallersTUI Travel (TT.) 382.20p -4.81%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,272.00p -3.52%Unilever (ULVR) 2,601.00p -2.88%BT Group (BT.A) 329.00p -2.84%Reed Elsevier (REL) 822.00p -2.61%easyJet (EZJ) 1,392.00p -2.45%Land Securities Group (LAND) 927.50p -2.11%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 328.90p -2.11%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,938.50p -2.03%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 4,629.00p -1.93%FTSE 250 - RisersFerrexpo (FXPO) 175.70p +7.53%Bumi (BUMI) 223.10p +4.06%Regus (RGU) 190.80p +2.53%Cranswick (CWK) 1,165.00p +2.19%esure Group (ESUR) 251.00p +2.03%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 241.00p +1.69%Diploma (DPLM) 610.00p +1.41%Restaurant Group (RTN) 562.50p +1.26%FirstGroup (FGP) 105.00p +1.25%COLT Group SA (COLT) 102.60p +1.18%FTSE 250 - FallersGreene King (GNK) 848.50p -5.46%Lancashire Holdings (LRE) 767.50p -4.72%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 163.30p -4.28%United Drug (UDG) 345.00p -3.60%Greggs (GRG) 389.50p -3.18%Pennon Group (PNN) 676.50p -3.08%Homeserve (HSV) 254.90p -2.93%QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 180.60p -2.75%Savills (SVS) 647.50p -2.56%Henderson Group (HGG) 168.60p -2.54%BC