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LONDON (Alliance News) - There are only four stocks in the entire FTSE 100 showing gains midday Friday, as equity markets across Europe tumble on worries about the eurozone economy and the spread of Ebola, and as oil-related stocks take a beating after the oil price plunged to its lowest level in almost four years.

Admiral Group, RSA Insurance Group, Aberdeen Asset Management and Travis Perkins are the stocks to have risen, with no clear reason, while the remainder of the blue-chip index is down, led by travel and oil stocks.

TUI Travel is the worst-performing stock, and has fallen almost 16% this week, due to the continued concerns about the spread of the Ebola virus, while Tullow Oil, BP and Royal Dutch Shell are also falling due to the oil price decline. Cruise ship operator Carnival is also amongst the biggest fallers, down 3.0%, while International Consolidated Airlines Group is down 2.0%.

The price of Brent crude oil, which has been on a steady decline since late June despite the geopolitical tensions in both the Middle East and Ukraine, reached a near four-year low of USD88.06 per barrel. Only four months ago Brent traded 25% higher, above USD115 per barrel, but the world oil market is now deemed to be over-supplied. West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell to a two-year low overnight, to below USD85 per barrel. Brent has since moved off its lows.

Tullow Oil has also been hit after its partner in the Arouwe block offshore Gabon hit non-commercial oil when it was drilling the Sputnik-1 well.

Even though Tullow described the non-commercial find as "encouraging" in the context of the wider block in which it sits, the company's shares are down 5.1%.

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Markets: UK stocks are trading significantly lower as investors exercise increasing caution ahead of the weekend, amid concerns over a slowdown in the eurozone economy and the unchecked spread of the Ebola virus.

Energy stocks are underperforming after the price of oil plunged to its lowest level in almost four years, while travel-related stocks also continue to come under pressure given the Ebola concerns, with the UK government late Thursday saying it will start screening for the virus at UK airports.

US stock futures are pointing to a lower start on Wall Street, with the DJIA and S&P 500 set to open down 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.7%.

FTSE 100: down 1.3% at 6,349.91
FTSE 250: down 1.5% at 14,584.76
AIM ALL-SHARE: down 2.0% at 708.09
GBP-USD: down at 1.6056
EUR-USD: down at 1.2669
GOLD: down at USD1,222.13 an ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD89.46 a barrel
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Other Top UK Corporate News
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Insurer Old Mutual is in advanced discussions to buy Quilter Cheviot, one of the UK's biggest independent wealth managers, for about GBP650 million, Sky News reported. The report indicated that Old Mutual is closing in on an agreement to buy Quilter Cheviot after sweetening its offer for the company by about GBP50 million and a deal could be struck within a few weeks. Quoting people familiar with the matter, the report said that a deal between the two companies was not certain, adding that current owner Bridgepoint was continuing to progress its plans for a stock market listing for Quilter Cheviot. The report also said that other prospective buyers, including Investec, have considered a takeover of Quilter Cheviot although it was unclear whether any other formal offers have been tabled.
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Mick Davis, the former head of Xstrata, attempted a dramatic comeback earlier this year, approaching BHP Billiton with an offer to buy a bundle of mines from the world’s largest natural resources group, the Financial Times reports, quoting people familiar with the matter. BHP rebuffed the bid from X2 Resources, Mr Davis’ new investment vehicle, and instead stuck by a plan to spin-off unwanted assets into a new listed company, the paper said.
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Anglo-Dutch consumer goods company Unilever will invest USD246 million in Thailand, a media report said. The investments will be used to improve local Unilever infrastructure and to target a growing Thai middle class. "Thailand is a strategic country for Unilever globally due its good geographical location, which can serve as a hub for the upcoming ASEAN Economic Community," said Unilever Thailand chairwoman Supattra Paopiamsap, according to the Bangkok Post.
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Land Securities said it has sold its 50% stake in the Princesshay shopping centre and surrounding properties in Exeter for GBP127.9 million, and at the same time bought the remaining 50% of the Buchanan Galleries retail space in Glasgow for GBP137.5 million. Both transactions were done with TIAA Henderson Real Estate. The Exeter properties cover 589,000 square feet. Land Securities built Princesshay in 2007, and had a 50% stake in the assets, with The Crown Estates owning the other half. The transaction excludes Land Securities' 50% interest in 1-11 Sidwell Street, which is occupied by John Lewis, it said.
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Vedanta Resources said its overall oil and gas production decreased in the first half following planned maintenance work on its operations, partially offset by increased production at its Cambay site in India, with its metal production increasing from the first quarter, but down from the previous year. Oil and gas production decreased 3% in the first half ended September 30, to 206,125 barrels of oil equivalent per day from 212,873 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the same period in 2013. The decrease in production was due to its planned maintenance at its Rajasthan facilities and a suspension of gas sales from the Ravva block.
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Unite Group said it has acquired two developments sites in Aberdeen and Liverpool, which together once opened will add around 12 pence to its net asset valuer per share, and around 2.5 pence per share to its annual EPRA earnings per share. The student accommodation provider said the two new development projects will add a total of around 1,250 new beds and are scheduled to be open in time for the 2017/18 academic year. Unite said the two projects are expected to achieve returns in line with its targets for regional development of 9.5% to 10% yield on cost, and have a combined total development cost of around GBP80 million. It said those costs represent around 60% of the group's planned development activity for 2017 delivery.
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Jupiter Fund Management said its assets under management fell to GBP31.66 billion at the end of September after it sold its private client operations, but it scored GBP231 million of net mutual fund inflows in the third quarter, bringing the total for the first nine months of 2014 to GBP1.1 billion.
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Telecom Plus said it expects to post first-half adjusted pretax profit and earnings per share "significantly ahead" of the previous year, leaving it comfortable in meeting market expectations for the full year. The utilities provider also said it will appoint Nick Schoenfeld as chief financial officer in the new year. Schoenfeld has been group finance director of Hanover Acceptances Ltd since 2006, and prior to that held positions in Castorama and the Walt Disney Company. Telecom Plus said it expects to increase its interim dividend payment for the six months to end-September by 19%, reflecting its confidence in achieving expectations of nearly 50% growth in adjusted pretax profit to GBP63 million for the year.
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Finsbury Food Group said it has entered into a deal to acquire Sheffield-based bakery goods firm Fletchers Group, for around GBP56 million in a reverse takeover. It said the market value of the enlarged group will be around GBP74.5 million. Finsbury Food is buying Fletchers Group from private equity firm Vision Capital, which acquired Fletchers in 2007 from Northern Foods . Finsbury Food said it will pay for the acquisition, which it is acquiring on a debt-free/cash-free basis, via a new debt facility and an oversubscribed placing to raise GBP35 million, issuing 59.3 million new shares at a price of 59 pence per share.
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AIM Movers
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Tavistock Investments shares are up after it said it is in an "increasing number of discussions" which may lead to further expansion in coming months, while recent trading has been buoyed by acquisitions. The company said that Tavistock Wealth has developed and launched a discretionary fund management service predominantly for use by clients of the advisory business, and more than 1,300 clients have appointed Tavistock Wealth as their DFM, with more to follow suit in the coming weeks. Outsourcery is also up after Encore Capital Group Inc invested GBP1.0 million in the company by subscribing for 5 million new shares, or a 10.6% interest in Outsourcery's enlarged issued share capital. The subscription price was 20 pence per share, which Outsourcery said its a 21.2% premium to its closing price of 16.50 pence Thursday.
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Top Economics And General
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The World Health Organization has warned that Ebola is now entrenched in the capital cities of all three worst-affected countries and is accelerating in almost all settings, the BBC reports. WHO deputy head Bruce Aylward warned that the world's response was not keeping up with the disease in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the broadcaster said. The news comes after the UK government said people arriving in the UK from areas hit by Ebola face "enhanced screening" for the virus at Heathrow, Gatwick and Eurostar terminals. The BBC also quotes Whitehall sources as saying it is "very unlikely" a British man who died in Macedonia on Thursday could have contracted the disease.
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UK visible trade deficit narrowed more than expected in August, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed.The visible trade deficit decreased to GBP 9.1 billion in August from GBP 10.4 billion in July. Economists had expected the deficit to come in at GBP 9.6 billion. The trade deficit with EU nations narrowed to GBP 5.5 billion from GBP 5.7 billion. Similarly, the shortfall with non-EU nations decreased to GBP 3.6 billion from GBP 4.8 billion in July, less than the GBP 4 billion deficit expected by economists.
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British construction output decreased in August following an increase in July and in contrast to expectations for an increase, the Office for National Statistics showed. Output in the construction industry dropped 3.9% from the previous month, defying forecasts for a 0.5% gain. The flat reading for July was revised to a 1.9% increase. New work contracted 4.8% with declines in all types of work except public new housing. The slump in private new housing contributed the most to the fall in all new work as well as all work.
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The UK Independence Party won its first seat in the British parliament at a by-election, sounding a warning to both Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives and the opposition Labour Party ahead of a general election. Douglas Carswell's defection to UKIP in August from the Conservatives and resignation from parliament triggered the vote in the southern coastal town of Clacton. He was returned as eurosceptic UKIP's first representative at Westminster, receiving 60% of the vote against the 25% the Conservative candidate received.
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Student demonstrators in Hong Kong were gathering as their leaders called for protests, after the government called off planned talks on their demands for electoral reform. Thousands started reappearing on the streets late Thursday, and several hundred camped out overnight in the city's Admiralty district and the Mong Kok area in Kowloon. Talks with authorities were planned for Friday, but Chief Secretary Carrie Lam called them off the previous evening, after protest leaders called for a rally to increase pressure during the meeting.
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The members of the Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Board said that the country's modest economy recovery continues at a modest pace, minutes from the board's September 3-4 meeting revealed. The easing measures put into place have been having the desired effects, the members added, although there remain risks to the economy - including commodity exporters, the European debt situation and the pace of the recovery in the US.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un apparently broke tradition by not visiting the mausoleum of his predecessors on the 69th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party of Korea Friday, fuelling speculation over his health, a media report said.
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Turkey will not act alone in sending ground forces into Kobane, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Thursday, despite the looming fall of the Syrian border town to Islamic State militants. As the jihadists' artillery pounded hard-pressed defenders deep inside the Kurdish hold-out, Cavusoglu told reporters in Ankara: "We have never been reticent" about taking on the jihadist group. Speaking after a meeting with new NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, he said Turkey would only send ground forces if it receives support from the US-led military coalition, which has been targeting Islamic State positions from the air for two months.
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England manager Roy Hodgson described it as a "job well done" as his side cruised to a 5-0 win over the minnows of San Marino at Wembley on Thursday. Captain Wayne Rooney scored his 42nd international goal, seven short of the all-time record, while Phil Jagielka, Danny Welbeck, Andros Townsend and an Alessandro Della Valle own goal completed the scoring.
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Afternoon Watchlist (all times British Summer Time)

All Day IMF Meeting
All Day G20 Meeting
13:30 US Import/Export Price Index
14:00 US Philadelphia Fed's Plosser speech
19:00 US Monthly Budget Statement
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Monday's Key UK Corporate Events

Tristel - Half Year Results
Essentra - Interim Management Statement
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Monday's Key Economic Events (all times British Summer Time)

All Day US Columbus Day
All Day Japan Health-Sports Day
03:00 China Trade Balance
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