Legal & General Share News (LGEN)

After hitting a near two-year high the previous trading session, profit-taking meant that the FTSE 100 opened slightly lower on Monday morning. This was despite relative strength in the banking sector on the back of some better-than-expected news on regulation.The FTSE 100 finished Friday at 6,090; just one point shy of the February 8th 2011 high of 6,091. "With little to stimulate stock markets today given the lack of economic data and ongoing concerns about the next showdown between US lawmakers, traders are taking profit," said market strategist Ishaq Siddiqi from ETX Capital."Most major stock markets are trading near fresh 12-month highs; this provides traders the perfect opportunity to take some cash off the table ahead of another week of key global macroeconomic data," he said.Investors will be keeping close eyes on decisions from central banks this week. Neither the Bank of England (BoE) nor the European Central Bank (ECB) are expected to make a move this week. However, until the budget negotiations Stateside are decisively concluded, economic uncertainty is expected to continue to cast a cloud over decision making, albeit to a lesser extent than was feared before last week's fiscal cliff agreement, "so that the need for further easing cannot be dismissed", according to analysts at Digital Look. "Unwelcome surprises out of the Eurozone" would also be a factor, they said.FTSE 100: Morrisons shrugs off "disappointing" ChristmasDespite saying that it was disappointed with its sales performance during Christmas, supermarket giant Morrisons was making gains early on, as investors shrugged off the news that sales (ex fuel) fell 0.9% in the six months to December 30th. Nevertheless, the company did say that its full-year performance would be in line with expectations. Seymour Pierce this morning reduced its target price for the stock from 250p to 230p, maintaining its 'reduce' rating. Sector peers Tesco and Sainsbury were also in demand.Insurance giant Legal & General gained after saying that it has improved the return on equity (RoE) and profitability of new business within its American subsidiary after completing a further phase of its capital efficiency programme.Power systems giant Rolls-Royce was under the weather on reports of further bribery allegations. The latest rumours suggest that the company paid bribes to a person involved in deals worth $2bn with two Chinese airlines.Banking peers RBS, Lloyds and Barclays were high risers after regulators eased rules on cash buffers, giving lenders more time and greater flexibility to comply with Basel III liquid coverage ratio requirements.Market analyst Michael Hewson from CMC Markets said: "The banks have been lobbying persistently over the past months to the effect that the strict timetable was impairing their ability to lend to the real economy, thus hampering the broader economic recovery. They also claimed that the narrow definition of assets they were allowed to hold was hampering their ability to make profits. It appears the banks have got their way in this regard."FTSE 250: Bumi gains after battling agains weak coal pricesMining group Bumi rose after saying that it continues to target a medium-term production target of 30mt each year and in light of the weak coal price environment, it will focus on lower cost pits and defer some of its expansion plans.Support services and construction group Interserve also rose after saying it is to expand its operational footprint in the oil and gas services market with the acquisition of a majority stake in Willbros Middle East.Euromoney, the international online information and events group, was higher after moving into the technology sector with an $8m-offer to buy up Californian outfit TTI/Vanguard.High Street betting shop Ladbrokes gained after confirming speculation that it is in talks to buy Irish betting exchange Betdaq.Also flying higher was budget airline easyJet after it managed to increase both its passenger numbers and load factor in last month.FTSE 100 - RisersBarclays (BARC) 287.40p +3.87%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 50.80p +1.89%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 339.10p +1.59%Meggitt (MGGT) 412.60p +1.50%British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,201.50p +0.85%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,646.50p +0.80%Hammerson (HMSO) 496.90p +0.73%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 672.10p +0.67%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 258.30p +0.55%Tesco (TSCO) 351.35p +0.54%FTSE 100 - FallersFresnillo (FRES) 1,777.00p -1.82%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 904.00p -1.53%Xstrata (XTA) 1,132.00p -1.31%Babcock International Group (BAB) 996.00p -1.29%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,900.00p -1.26%Centrica (CNA) 336.80p -1.23%National Grid (NG.) 703.00p -1.13%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,329.00p -1.04%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,262.00p -1.02%ARM Holdings (ARM) 794.00p -1.00%FTSE 250 - RisersFidessa Group (FDSA) 1,585.00p +3.12%Dunelm Group (DNLM) 699.50p +2.79%Bumi (BUMI) 273.90p +1.94%Raven Russia Ltd (RUS) 63.80p +1.92%Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 69.80p +1.82%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 39.90p +1.79%easyJet (EZJ) 835.00p +1.71%Redrow (RDW) 170.50p +1.49%COLT Group SA (COLT) 97.40p +1.46%KCOM Group (KCOM) 72.90p +1.18%FTSE 250 - FallersRenishaw (RSW) 1,900.00p -6.03%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 322.10p -2.63%Perform Group (PER) 378.10p -2.30%Senior (SNR) 209.84p -2.03%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 33.66p -1.87%Hiscox Ltd. (HSX) 453.07p -1.61%Pace (PIC) 188.00p -1.42%BTG (BTG) 348.90p -1.30%Diploma (DPLM) 543.50p -1.18%Elementis (ELM) 227.40p -1.13%BC