Last checked at LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the biggest risers and fallers within the main London indices midday Friday.
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FTSE 100 WINNERS
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Royal Bank of Scotland, up 3.1%; Lloyds Banking Group, up 0.8%. The banking giant has seen the best of the relief rally that has gripped the London market following the much-anticipated referendum over Scottish independence. The final results showed that 55.3% voted in favour of maintaining the union, against 44.7% that wanted a split. While the banks had previously said they would have moved south of the border in the event of a "Yes" vote, this would have been a costly exercise, so the fact that it is business-as-usual Friday has caused a rebound in recent weakness.
Babcock International Group, up 2.3%. The temporary power supplier has significant operations in Scotland and is another stock that had been subdued in the run up to Thursday's vote.
SSE, up 1.7%. The Scottish energy supplier also is recovering from recent weakness following the "No" vote. HSBC has raised its rating on the stock to Neutral from Underweight Friday now that the event risk has passed.
Diageo, up 1.7%. The world's biggest seller of Scotch whisky is another name feeling the benefit from the certainty that the UK will remain undivided.
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FTSE 100 LOSERS
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Randgold Resources, down 1.0%; Rio Tinto, down 1.1%; BHP Billiton, down 0.7%; Anglo American, down 0.7%. The mining stocks are providing a drag on the rally being seen in other sectors Friday amid ongoing concerns over the strength of the Chinese economy and as precious metal prices continue to slump at long term lows. Gold and silver are both trading near their lowest levels of the year, at USD1,222.49 per ounce, and USD18.46 per ounce, respectively.
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FTSE 250 WINNERS
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Domino Printing Sciences, up 7.4%. The inkjet and laser printing company Friday said trading in the year to date has been ahead of the year before, with sales in the ten months to August 2014 up 4% year-on-year. The company said underlying growth in its core business was up 9.0%, although it took a 5% hit from foreign exchange movements.
Infinis Energy, up 4.7%. The renewable energy company is seeing a boost from the Scottish vote. In a statement Friday, Infinis said the result "preserves the status quo of an integrated UK energy market and the UK-wide applicability of the RO-legislative framework in support of continued investment in renewable energy."
Hiscox, up 3.9%. The insurance group was upgraded to Hold from Sell by analysts at Deutsche Bank Friday.
Imagination Technologies, up 2.9%. The micro-chip maker holds its annual general meeting Friday, while the shares also may be seeing a boost from the launch of the new Apple iPhone, which goes on sale Friday.
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FTSE 250 LOSERS
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African Barrick Gold, down 1.4%. The gold miner is underperforming, along with its large-cap peers, amid continued weakness in the price of gold.
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AIM ALL-SHARE WINNERS
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African Minerals, up 6.3%. The iron ore miner reiterated its guidance that it will produce 16-18 million tonnes per annum for the full year 2014, with cash costs in the range of USD34 to USD36 per tonne. The company said Chief Executive Alan Watling has progressed with the company's financial recovery plan and the board has also agreed a revenue enhancement strategy.
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AIM ALL-SHARE LOSERS
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Surgical Innovations Group, down 37%. The medical instrument manufacturer said a continued fall in original-equipment-manufacturer (OEM) revenue and slower-than-expected revenue from its US dealer network, in combination with the decision made by the group to cut inventories in the customer supply chain, means it expects full-year profit and revenue to fall significant below market forecasts. In addition, the group said that given the challenging trading environment, it will focus on the growth of its brand, cash conversion and OEM products which add value to its brand. As a result of this strategic shift, the group will book an exceptional non-cash impairment charge of GBP2.2 million.
Clean Air Power Limited, down 37%. The producer of combustion technology said it is facing challenging trading conditions at present and said it expects its full-year results to fall significantly below market expectations, sending its shares down heavily. The group said it is becoming increasingly difficult to predict with any certainty the timing of orders in Europe for the Genesis-EDGE, the group's combustion technology for heavy-duty diesel engines.
Tandem Group, down 13%. The Bromwich-based designer, developer and distributor of sports and leisure products posted pretax profit of GBP213,000 for the six months to June 30 compared with a GBP498,000 loss a year earlier, as revenue rose to GBP13.7 million from GBP11.3 million. Despite the swing to profit, the shares have fallen after the group said the 11 week period to September 12 was more challenging even though weather conditions were "reasonable".
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By Jon Darby; jondarby@alliancenews.com; @jondarby100
Copyright 2014 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
18 Apr 2024 16:52
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