Prudential Share News (PRU)

Disappointing inflation data seems to have put paid to Footsie's attempts to continue its recent revival.The inflation rate, as measured by the consumer prices index, rose to 4.4% in February from 4.0% in January. The rate topped market expectations of a figure of 4.2% and will pile on the pressure on the Bank of England's rate setting committee to hike rates in order to rein in inflation.Though the blue-chip index has dipped into the red there are still a number of firm features to be found, especially in the financial sector. Prudential is "firing on all cylinders", with its final results beating consensus expectations on all key performance measures, according to UBS. The Swiss bank remains a buyer and ups the target price from 800p to 850p, saying "our detailed analysis suggests a strong underlying picture."Elsewhere in the financial sector Royal Bank of Scotland is buoyed by comments from the group's managing director and head of corporate finance, Tom Emmet, who said the bank is rubbing its hands at the prospect of being involved in at least two flotations in the Middle East and Africa region in 2011 and a further seven to ten mandates for bond issuances.Cairn Energy is another stock holding on to early gains in a generally firm oil sector. Anyone hoping that the release of the results would coincide with an agreement with the Indian authorities over the proposed sale of its Rajasthan assets to Vedanta was disappointed, as the sale of its 51% stake in Cairn India is still awaiting approval. Cairn posted a net profit of $1.08bn in 2010, up from $53m. An update on the oil explorer's plans for Greenland was generally well received. RBS analyst Phil Corbett said that Greenland is an exciting exploration opportunity over the long term, "and that the shares deserve to trade at a premium to our 400p estimate of the read through from the Vedanta deal." RBS rates the shares a "buy" and has a 510p target price for the stock.Turkish Airlines has signed a $200m order for Rolls-Royce's flagship Trent 700 engines to power three Airbus A330 freighters.Punch Taverns, the biggest pubs group in Britain, is to split itself in two by the end of the summer and sell thousands of boozers. The review, which started in October, has concluded that the way forward is to separate the Spirit managed pubs business from the struggling leased operation - Punch. This will create two independent public companies and allow the investment and development needed to speed up its operational turnaround and drive growth. The market - most of it anyway - raised a glass to news of the deal. Broker Peel Hunt was a dissenting voice. "The proposed demerger is less favourable to equity shareholders than we would have assumed, and as a result we expect to reduce our valuation of Spirit to c70p. Although shareholders still get the potential benefit of equity in the tenanted division of Punch, we struggle to attribute any value to this," the broker said, as it moved its rating from "buy" to "hold".Another stock getting downgraded is advertising giant WPP. Exane BNP Paribas has moved to a neutral stance on the company that some pundits speculate may be the subject of a move by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in tomorrow's Budget to move its tax base back to Britain from Ireland. Troubled sportswear retailer JJB Sports is wanted as speculation grows that its controversial restructuring plans will get the thumbs up from credits and investors later today. The share price has shot up by around one-fifth, prompting the company to put out a statement of the obvious, namely that the outcome of the votes on the company voluntary arrangement (CVA) will not be known until the votes have been counted. Ports operator Forth Ports has agreed a bid worth 1,630p a share from major shareholder, the Arcus European Infrastructure Fund. Shareholders will also get to keep the proposed final dividend of 20p a share expected to be paid on 13 May. "The Arcus offer gives Forth Ports shareholders the opportunity to realise their investment for cash at a fair price," chairman David Richardson said.An extensive exploration programme in 2010 has hauled gold miner Petropavlovsk's proven and probable reserves up by 36%.Treatt, which makes ingredients for the flavour, fragrance and cosmetic industries, said results for the full year are expected to be materially higher than previously anticipated after strong trading at its US division. Trading during the half year 'significantly exceeded expectations' while order books have remained strong, the group. Beowulf Mining pulled out of its recent share price slump after releasing assay results for the first 10 drill holes on its Kallak South iron ore project in Sweden. The drilling programme has confirmed the presence of a high grade iron ore of a similar type and quality to the ore uncovered at Kallak North.FTSE 100 - RisersEssar Energy (ESSR) 451.70p +2.57%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 42.15p +1.84%Cairn Energy (CNE) 426.80p +1.69%BG Group (BG.) 1,497.50p +1.08%Schroders (Non-Voting) (SDRC) 1,374.00p +1.03%Sage Group (SGE) 270.20p +0.97%Barclays (BARC) 292.00p +0.86%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 61.21p +0.76%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,162.00p +0.69%BP (BP.) 467.75p +0.68%FTSE 100 - FallersGKN (GKN) 190.20p -3.21%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,826.00p -3.08%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,368.00p -2.98%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,447.00p -2.56%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,671.00p -2.17%TUI Travel (TT.) 228.10p -1.98%ITV (ITV) 85.25p -1.56%IMI (IMI) 970.50p -1.52%Unilever (ULVR) 1,812.00p -1.47%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 616.50p -1.36%FTSE 250 - RisersExillon Energy (EXI) 420.00p +9.26%Premier Foods (PFD) 28.22p +4.33%Punch Taverns (PUB) 76.50p +4.01%Petropavlovsk (POG) 1,048.00p +3.25%Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI) (GEMD) 291.10p +2.43%FTSE 250 - FallersInchcape (INCH) 346.90p -5.30%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 173.90p -3.07%Croda International (CRDA) 1,585.00p -2.40%William Hill (WMH) 175.40p -2.34%Fenner (FENR) 342.90p -2.25%Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 283.10p -2.21%