The number of FTSE 100 constituents in the red today is in single figures as investors chase up share prices in the wake of relatively upbeat comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke last night. Bernanke said the US recession 'is very likely over at this point,' prompting an advance by global equity markets.Irish oil firm Tullow Oil is the best performer after the FT reported it is part of a consortium headed by US firm Andarko that has established a new oil frontier that stretches 1,100km along the African coast from Ghana to Sierra Leone.Fashion retailer Next is going well after it reported better than expected progress in the first half, though it kept its 'conservative' forecasts for second half like-for-like sales unchanged. Pre-tax profit for the six months to 25 July rose 7% to £185.5m, in line with analysts' forecasts.The response to the London Stock Exchange's acquisition of Sri Lankan trading platform software group MillenniumIT for $30m (£18m) has been favourable, with the share price advancing briskly in early trade.Lloyds Banking is higher despite a report that the EU could force it to divest Halifax under state aid rules. EU Commissioner Neelie Kroes has apparently rejected the proposed sale of Cheltenham & Gloucester and disposals in Scotland as not being sufficient.Sticking with the banking sector, Barclays is restructuring $12.3bn of credit market assets by selling them to a new fund which will buy the assets with a loan from the UK bank. Knee and hip joint supplier Smith & Nephew said it is launching two extensions to the ALLEVYN Ag range of dressings; ALLEVYN Ag Gentle Border and ALLEVYN Ag Gentle.Rolls-Royce and French power company EDF Energy are collaborating on a project to help build four new nuclear power plants in the UK. The tie-up covers engineering and technical support during both the pre and post construction phases.Most of the laggards are classic defensive stocks such as utilities Centrica, Scottish & Southern Energy, National Grid and Severn Trent.Away from Footsie, miner UK Coal is to raise approximately £100m though the issue of 142m shares at a big discount to yesterday's closing price. Major shareholder Peel Holdings, which has a 28% stake, supports the share issue and will take up its full entitlement to maintain its percentage holding. The money will be raised through a firm placing (£41.7m) and open offer (£64.9m) at a price of 75p.Bus and train group Stagecoach motors forward after Morgan Stanley raised its 2011 and 2012 earnings forecasts for the company. Mark Selway, chief executive of the engineering group Weir, is to leave the company to take up a position with Australian building materials supplier Boral. He will be replaced by Keith Cochrane, currently finance director of Weir.Specialist printer De La Rue said trading remains in line with expectations underpinned by strong banknote volumes. A strong order book for currency should support year-on-year increases for banknote volumes and revenues, the firm said.Business at Synergy Healthcare is 'comfortably' meeting management's expectations, the high-flying healthcare support services group said Wednesday. 'The positive start in Q1 has continued in Q2 with notably strong cash generation and continued improvements in operating margin,' chairman Steve Wilson said in a brief statement ahead of today's AGM.Business advisory firm Tenon reported a dip in full year pre-tax profit but said it looks to future trading with confidence. Full-year pre-tax profit fell to £12m for the year ended 30 June 2009 from £12.4m previously. Revenues fell to £150.8m during the period from £160.3m before.Van hire group Northgate has reported higher utilisation rates in the UK and Spain after cutting fleet sizes. Northgate said it was seeing an improvement in hire rates since lows in March in the UK and that the used car market, which is an important source of revenues for the firm, was stabilising.Volga Gas, the oil and gas exploration and production group operating in the Volga Region of European Russia, virtually eliminated losses in the first half of 2009 as the revenue started to roll in. The shares headed higher after the company said loss before tax in the six months to 30 June 2009 narrowed to $0.22m from $5.03m in the first half of 2008, while revenue catapulted higher to $3.37m from $0.11m a year earlier.
