Intertek Group Share News (ITRK)

- Market pares gains by the close- Bundestag approves Greek aid- Eurozone jobless rate and US consumer spending disappointUK stocks finished broadly flat on Friday, paring gains by the close of trade as markets headed into the weekend in a cautious mood on the back of uncertainty surrounding the US budget and disappointing economic data in the Eurozone.After a subdued start, the FTSE 100 edged into positive territory by midday after the German parliament approved the Greek rescue deal. The Bundestag voted with a large majority (463 for versus 100 against, 11 abstained) to push through the next Greek aid package which was approved by the Eurogroup on Monday.Neverthless, markets were hit by jobless figures from Europe: Eurozone unemployment rose to a record 11.7% in October, from 11.6% in September. Inflation slowed by more than expected to 2.2%, a 23-month low.Meanwhile in the States, worse-than-expected consumer spending data for October dampened already-fragile sentiment on Wall Street, as investors remain concerned that US politicians could fail to avert the 'fiscal cliff'.Financial trader Shavaz Dhalla from Spreadex said: "Since a deal has not yet been agreed between Democrats and Republicans investors are still cautious about taking on too much risk as over the next few weeks there is still the risk that any news headline which indicates that a deal is far from being agreed could reverse recent gains within the equities market."In domestic news, UK consumer confidence measured by GfK surged to an 18-month high in November, rising to -22 from -30 the month before. Consensus estimates were for no change. FTSE 100 movers: Broker upgrades lift Johnson Matthey and CrodaBlue-chip constituents Johnson Matthey, Croda, Pennon and Intertek were performing well on Friday afternoon following a number of upbeat broker comments.Chemical peers Johnson Matthey and Croda International were lifted higher after Credit Suisse upgraded the companies from 'neutral' to 'outperform' and from 'underperform' to 'neutral', respectively.Water supplier Pennon gained after Citigroup upgraded the stock to 'neutral' and The Telegraph's Questor column recommended to buy the shares. Meanwhile, quality and safety testing group Intertek was wanted after Berenberg upped to stock from 'hold' to 'buy' and raised its target price from 2,710p to 3,340p. In contrast, B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher was under the weather after UBS lowered its rating for the stock from 'buy' to 'neutral', citing near-term risks. Food retail peers Tesco, M&S, Morrison and Sainsbury were in demand this afternoon in spite of an OFT investigation into food pricing display and promotional practices, which ruled that supermarkets should not artificially inflate prices to mislead customers. These four retailers, along with Waitrose, Aldi, the Co-op and Lidl, have agreed to adopt the measures.Royal Bank of Scotland fell after saying that it is no longer selling its Indian retail and commercial banking operations to HSBC. Instead, it will be winding down what was a profitable business. HSBC was registering decent gains today. Mining giant Rio Tinto was on the rise after yesterday's investor seminar announced aggressive open and capex cuts. Jefferies recommended to buy the stock this morning, saying that the group can deliver around 40% earnings per share growth from 2012 to 2015 "even if commodity prices do not increase from average 2012 levels as significant volume growth and cost cutting should lead to better unit margins and higher overall profitability for the company." FTSE 250 movers: Dixons continues to surgeElectrical retailer Dixons surged today, one day after beating first-half forecasts, after its CEO Sebastian James said expressed optimism that his company can benefit from Comet's demise.James said that its Curry and PC World divisions haven't seen "much disruption" from the fire sale by bankrupt rival Comet. He expects the group to take a bigger market share when hundreds of Comet stores close.Exane BNP Paribas upgraded the stock to 'neutral' today and lifted its target price for the shares from 15p to 25p. The stock has now gained a third over the past month, up a whopping 180% over the year to date.House builders Taylor Wimpey and Bellway were lifted higher today after UBS upgraded both stocks to 'buy' as part of its review of the sector. The broker reiterated 'buys' for sector peers Barratt Developments, Berkeley and Persimmon, saying that the macro environment potentially could be "more favourable" next year.Coal and coke producer New World Resources edged higher despite announcing that a 23-year-old worker died at its CSM Mine in the Czech Republic yesterday. 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