The FTSE small cap index falls 0.3 percent but the junior-listed AIMshares rise 0.2 percent, outperforming the mid-caps and the bluechips down 0.2 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.
AIM-listed Lekoil jumps 16 percent after its partner Africa-focusedoil firm Afren annonces an exploration well in an under-exploredoffshore Nigerian basin had found far more oil than expected,.
Results from the Ogo-1 well, drilled in partnership with fellow independentsOptimum and Lekoil, suggest an initial resource estimate of 774 million barrelsof oil equivalent (mmboe), well above pre-drill expectations of 202 mmboe.
Paddy Power falls 7.5 percent after the bookmaker says itexpects full year operating profit to be about 11 million euros ($15 million)lower than forecast three months ago.
Reuters messaging rm://david.brett.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net