Lloyds Share News (LLOY)

Oil and gas group BG was a heavy faller today after lowering its 2014 production milestones due to the instability in Egypt, delays to the start-up of production in Norway and low natural gas prices in the US. Food ingredients peer and retail group Associated British Foods was also lower despite saying a strong finish to the year from Primark will help it deliver adjusted operating profit ahead of expectations for the second half. Instead, the market was focusing on comments about low EU sugar prices next year.GlaxoSmithKline was another heavy faller. The group announced today that it had reached a deal with Japanese firm Suntory Beverage & Food to sell the rights to its Ribena and Lucozade business for £1.35bn. Sugar and food group Tate & Lyle wasn't far behind after UBS downgraded the stock from 'neutral' to 'sell', saying that its current valuation is too high and does not reflect that 'sucralose prices continue to decline as 'generic' competitors improve product quality and access greater scale'.Meanwhile, Burberry was on the up after HSBC raised its target price on the stock to 1,900p (from 1,750p) saying the group's strategic initiatives are "coming together" and that its digital vision "sets the group apart". Lloyds was also on the up, helped by Swiss Re after its Chief Underwriting Officer, Matthias Weber, said that while it takes this inflow of alternative capital seriously, it was "not alarmed". His comments follow a warning by Lloyd's London Chief, John Nelson, last week, when he said the banking industry could potentially be facing a flood of fresh capital. FTSE 100 - RisersARM Holdings (ARM) 917.50p +2.80%TUI Travel (TT.) 347.40p +2.72%Aviva (AV.) 399.80p +2.25%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,635.00p +2.19%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 76.78p +1.82%Kingfisher (KGF) 413.20p +1.67%ITV (ITV) 177.40p +1.66%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 193.80p +1.63%Whitbread (WTB) 3,216.00p +1.55%British Land Co (BLND) 557.50p +1.46%FTSE 100 - FallersBG Group (BG.) 1,217.00p -5.07%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 779.50p -3.41%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,818.00p -1.78%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,914.00p -1.50%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,397.00p -1.34%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,052.00p -1.27%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,455.50p -1.12%United Utilities Group (UU.) 673.00p -1.10%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,059.00p -1.03%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 701.10p -1.02%BC