Intertek Group Share News (ITRK)

- Icahn spooks investors, warns of 'big drop'- OECD cuts global growth forecasts- Plosser calls for fixed amount of asset purchases- easyJet impresses with profit jumptechMARK 2,644.23 -0.34%FTSE 100 6,698.01 -0.38%FTSE 250 15,265.60 -0.16%UK markets finished firmly in the red on Tuesday as concerns about equity valuations and the global economy weighed on investor sentiment.The FTSE 100 closed 25.45 points lower at 6,698.01, a fall of 0.38%.Anxiety over the recent run on equity markets dampened stocks on Wall Street last night after activist investor Carl Icahn was reported as saying that a "big drop" could be around the corner. According to Reuters, Icahn said he was "very cautious on equities today" given that valuations are rich and earnings are bolstered by low borrowing costs rather than management's efforts to improve results. "Confidence is fickle, and markets found that precious commodity in short supply [...]. Traders appeared flustered by US city sage Carl Icahn's warning of equity overvaluation," said Market Analyst Alastair McCaig from IG.Meanwhile, investors were restrained today after OECD revised down its global growth forecasts "significantly", blaming a slowdown in emerging markets. It expects the global economy to expand by just 2.7% in 2013 and 3.6% in 2014, compared with previous estimates in May of 3.1% and 4% growth, respectively.Comments from Philadephia Fed President Charles Plosser were in focus today ahead of the October Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes due to be released tomorrow. As speculation continues about the impending taper of quantitative easing, Plosser called for a fixed dollar amount on the Fed's asset purchase programme, proposing an end to the scheme once that limit is reached. "We cannot continue to play this bond-buying game by ear and risk the Fed's credibility while creating lingering uncertainty about the course of monetary policy," he said. The German ZEW economic sentiment survey, which attempts to predict economic conditions in six months' time, failed to move markets this morning despite showing an improvement month-on-month. The survey rose from 52.8 to 54.6 this month, ahead of the 54.0 level expected. easyJet flying high as profits surgeBudget airline easyJet surged after boosting annual profits by more than half and saying it is returning £308m to shareholders. easyJet said its allocated seating strategy, website improvements and its Europe by easyJet advertising campaign helped it to boost pre-tax profit in the year to September 30th rose 51% to £478m. Fund manager Aberdeen was in the red, pulling back after a 15% surge on Monday following the announced acquisition of the Scottish Widows Investment Partnership Group from Lloyds, as well a strong increase in annual profits. Numis downgraded the stock to 'hold' this morning but lifted its target price from 465p to 495p. Technology business Smiths Group was trading lower as investors were underwhelmed by the company's announcement that it was trading in line with expectations in the first quarter. ITV also failed to impress with third-quarter revenues rising ahead of guidance. Product testing firm Intertek was out of favour after saying that the industry-wide headwinds experienced in the first half have persisted for longer than expected. Shareholders reacted positively to the news that Enterprise Inns' founder and Chief Executive Ted Tuppen would step down after more than two decades at the helm. The pub group also announced like-for-like (LFL) net income grew by 0.6% in its final quarter. Afren, the oil and gas exploration and production company, jumped after reporting that well data indicated the recoverable resources at the Ogo-1 well were "significantly" ahead of pre-drill expectations.Bodycote retreated after it said economic growth in both Europe and North America continues to be muted. The stock was down around 5% by the close despite the firm reiterating its confidence in meeting full-year expectations.FTSE 100 - RiserseasyJet (EZJ) 1,345.00p +7.09%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,621.00p +1.96%Persimmon (PSN) 1,185.00p +1.72%Amec (AMEC) 1,184.00p +1.46%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,090.00p +1.34%G4S (GFS) 260.10p +1.28%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,628.00p +0.90%Sage Group (SGE) 348.70p +0.87%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,843.00p +0.82%Standard Life (SL.) 339.90p +0.74%FTSE 100 - FallersAberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 475.20p -2.96%Anglo American (AAL) 1,400.00p -2.68%Intertek Group (ITRK) 3,102.00p -2.48%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 353.50p -2.35%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,400.00p -2.30%William Hill (WMH) 361.30p -2.03%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,177.00p -1.92%Glencore Xstrata (GLEN) 321.00p -1.80%Vedanta Resources (VED) 971.00p -1.77%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 327.60p -1.71%FTSE 250 - RisersEnterprise Inns (ETI) 154.00p +11.59%Afren (AFR) 161.00p +8.13%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 147.50p +4.98%Keller Group (KLR) 1,048.00p +4.28%Serco Group (SRP) 441.00p +4.08%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 264.40p +3.36%Redrow (RDW) 268.60p +3.19%Halma (HLMA) 584.00p +2.28%3i Group (III) 352.80p +1.94%IP Group (IPO) 153.90p +1.92%FTSE 250 - FallersBodycote (BOY) 618.50p -4.55%Hays (HAS) 120.00p -3.69%Partnership Assurance Group (PA.) 305.00p -3.63%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 129.50p -3.00%IG Group Holdings (IGG) 599.50p -2.44%Kier Group (KIE) 1,674.00p -2.39%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 243.20p -2.33%Lonmin (LMI) 325.10p -2.17%Spirent Communications (SPT) 105.70p -2.04%Ashtead Group (AHT) 655.50p -2.02%BC