- All eyes on Jackson Hole- Draghi expected to announce something 'big' next week- Miners lower as Footsie experiences third day in the redMiners were once again weighing on the benchmark index in London this morning, as risk appetite continues to be scaled back ahead of some pivotal central bank meetings over the next week."The annual gathering at Jackson Hole in the States later this week is still at the top of investors priorities as widespread speculation that the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, could announce a third round of quantitative easing. Any such announcement will be very positive news for the markets, pushing equities higher," notes trade Simon Furlong from Spreadex.European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi is being forced to miss the Jackson Hole conference due to "a heavy workload", increasing speculation that he could be putting the finishes touches to plans for strong action ahead of an ECB meeting on September 6th. Investors will also be focusing on a bond auction of five- and 10-year bonds in Italy this morning as it looks to sell €6.5bn. "Italian yields on the longer end of the curve continue to remain elevated despite Draghi's insistence yesterday in an op-ed to a German newspaper that the ECB was justified in using 'exceptional measures' as part of its mandate of price stability," said Michael Hewson, the senior market analyst at CMC Markets UK.FTSE 100: Miners and WPP unwanted early onResources stocks such as Rio Tinto, Kazakhmys, BHP Billiton, Eurasian Natural Resources Corp and Vedanta Resources were registering losses this morning tracking metals prices lower. Gold, silver and platinum platinum all fell early on. However, precious metals group Polymetal bucked the trend after reporting a 41% increase in first-half revenue as gold sales volumes and prices rose. Steel group Evraz also gained after ramping up its interim dividend by 64% in spite of falling revenues and profits.Global advertising conglomerate WPP dropped after saying that it is set to achieve a full-year like-for-like (LFL) revenue increase some way short of previous expectations. The group is forecasting LFL revenue growth for 2012 of 3.5%, versus a budgeted improvement of 4.0%. Barclays was under the weather after promoting from within to fill its vacant CEO position, moving up Antony Jenkins, currently head of Barclays Retail and Banking. Barclays is under pressure after the Serious Fraud Office said it is investigating the lender in relation to payments made in the Middle East.Car insurance group Admiral was also in the red despite reporting a record half-year profit and record interim dividend payment. The company noted a "marked change" in the core UK car insurance market in 2012 "premium rates falling and competitors seeking to add market share".FTSE 250: Cape jumps in spite of "difficult period"Shares in Cape, the provider of non-mechanical support services, rose strongly despite the group reporting a 65% drop in adjusted pre-tax profits in the first half. Nevertheless, revenues improved by 11% and the forward order book increased by £90m."I am pleased to say that, having carried out an initial review of all of our operations, I continue to believe that the core of the business is fundamentally strong," said Chief Executive Joe Oatley.Heading the other way was recruitment group Hays after saying that it expects the overall economic backdrop to remains "difficult" in 2013. The firm cuts its full-year dividend by more than a half due to the increasing global economic uncertainty, which slowed the pace of the profit growth.FTSE 100 - RisersMorrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 282.10p +1.91%Reed Elsevier (REL) 595.00p +1.02%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 334.40p +0.84%Pennon Group (PNN) 743.50p +0.68%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 223.60p +0.68%British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,307.50p +0.64%Tesco (TSCO) 339.35p +0.61%Aggreko (AGK) 2,319.00p +0.56%United Utilities Group (UU.) 716.00p +0.49%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,468.00p +0.49%FTSE 100 - FallersWPP (WPP) 798.00p -4.03%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 601.50p -2.51%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 310.00p -1.59%Vedanta Resources (VED) 876.00p -1.46%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,180.00p -1.34%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,739.50p -1.23%GKN (GKN) 215.80p -1.19%Anglo American (AAL) 1,798.00p -0.99%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,113.00p -0.89%Barclays (BARC) 184.70p -0.89%FTSE 250 - RisersCape (CIU) 230.00p +19.42%IP Group (IPO) 129.10p +2.46%Kentz Corporation Ltd. (KENZ) 389.10p +2.13%Raven Russia Ltd (RUS) 63.75p +1.92%Ruspetro (RPO) 127.90p +1.91%Redrow (RDW) 147.80p +1.58%Big Yellow Group (BYG) 304.70p +1.57%Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 113.70p +1.52%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 198.90p +1.48%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 664.50p +1.45%FTSE 250 - FallersHays (HAS) 70.95p -7.44%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 162.00p -6.14%Bumi (BUMI) 309.50p -3.67%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 37.94p -3.46%Ted Baker (TED) 985.00p -2.48%Inchcape (INCH) 371.40p -2.42%Avocet Mining (AVM) 87.50p -2.07%Yule Catto & Co (YULC) 162.10p -1.76%Dunelm Group (DNLM) 604.00p -1.63%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 195.00p -1.52%BC
Last checked at 
