London afternoon: Downbeat banks hold back Footsie

Shares remain uncertain as the weekend approaches, with banks holding the leading share index back amid continuing eurozone worries.Ratings agency Moody's has slashed its credit rating on Ireland by five notches to Baa1 from Aa2 citing concerns over banking liabilities and economic prospects. Meanwhile, Lloyds Banking has sounded a warning on the Irish economy. "We are concerned that any economic recovery in the Republic of Ireland may take longer to achieve, and that asset prices will remain depressed for longer, than previously anticipated,' the bank says. It anticipates that a further 10% of its £26.7bn Irish portfolio will become impaired by the year end compared with the mid-year situation.Shares in the bank are firmly in the red, as are those of RBS, which also has strong Irish exposure. AstraZeneca has tumbled after it suffered another delay in getting US approval for its potential blockbuster blood-thinning drug Brilinta after the US Food and Drug Administration requested more information. The FSA issued AstraZeneca with a complete response letter requesting additional analysis of the data from a study of the effects of Brilinta (ticagrelor) on 18,600 patients in 43 countries compared with its main rival Plavix.Property companies are higher after Credit Suisse upgraded its recommendation for the sector to overweight. Land Securities and British Land are both higher. A surge in activity in the fourth quarter enabled temporary power and temperature control specialist Aggreko to nudge its full-year profit estimates higher. It now expects a pre-tax profit of around £305m for 2010, up from its estimate of £300m in October. However, next year will be tougher without such benefits as the World Cup, it warned.Petrofac, the oilfield services provider, thinks net profit for 2010 will be up by a fifth, in line with expectations, while the year-end order backlog should be a new record. In a statement ahead of full-year results due on 7 March, the company said it should match the $416.3m profit forecast by analysts.Bus and train operator National Express will complete its business recovery programme ahead of schedule and now expects full-year profit to beat expectations. Normalised profit before tax, which excludes one-off items, will be "a little above current market expectations and markedly stronger than was expected back in January 2010". FCAM is higher after AIM-quoted activist investment company Sherborne Investors requisitioned a general meeting to remove two directors of F&C Asset Management and replace them with three of its own appointees. Pub owner Punch is in demand today after it saw a modest improvement in both arms of its operation over the past 16 weeks, but trading for its tenanted arm still remains very difficult.Melrose Resources is also wanted after saying it is forecasting an average daily production rate in 2011 of 21.7 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (Mboepd) on a net entitlement basis, assuming a Brent oil price of $75 a barrel.The prediction, comprising 87% gas and 13% hydrocarbon liquids, is up 24% on this year's expected number of 17.5 Mboepd. Output on a working interest basis is forecast to hit 44 Mboepd, about 8% higher than the current 2010 market guidance of 40.7 Mboepd.FTSE 100 - RisersAutonomy Corporation (AU.) 1,542.00p +5.26%Amec (AMEC) 1,160.00p +2.56%Investec (INVP) 509.00p +2.41%British Land Co (BLND) 519.00p +1.96%BT Group (BT.A) 182.80p +1.90%3i Group (III) 329.20p +1.82%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,552.00p +1.77%Vedanta Resources (VED) 2,430.00p +1.63%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,041.00p +1.54%GKN (GKN) 217.10p +1.54%FTSE 100 - FallersAstraZeneca (AZN) 2,971.50p -5.76%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 38.00p -5.28%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 66.50p -3.57%Cobham (COB) 200.20p -2.58%BAE Systems (BA.) 324.30p -1.85%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,234.00p -1.83%Aviva (AV.) 383.50p -1.82%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 231.40p -1.74%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 124.10p -1.51%Barclays (BARC) 259.65p -1.46%FTSE 250 - RisersPunch Taverns (PUB) 74.65p +12.00%CPP Group (CPP) 307.00p +8.71%Melrose Resources (MRS) 235.50p +8.03%ITE Group (ITE) 233.90p +7.15%National Express Group (NEX) 240.00p +5.63%F&C Asset Management (FCAM) 78.50p +5.51%Avis Europe (AVE) 222.00p +5.36%JD Wetherspoon (JDW) 451.10p +5.32%SDL (SDL) 657.00p +4.12%Informa (INF) 407.00p +3.77%FTSE 250 - FallersDixons Retail (DXNS) 24.49p -3.92%Grainger (GRI) 100.30p -3.56%Supergroup (SGP) 1,375.00p -2.83%Premier Foods (PFD) 18.34p -2.76%Yule Catto & Co (YULC) 306.70p -2.63%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 161.70p -2.59%Unite Group (UTG) 193.00p -2.53%Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 50.80p -2.31%Greggs (GRG) 453.10p -2.03%Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 78.00p -1.95%