London afternoon: No US lift for FTSE 100

Footsie is still looking for direction following a mixed start on Wall Street.Oil giant BP is under pressure after news last night that the US government is to sue over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill It filed a civil lawsuit against BP and eight other companies over the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and the subsequent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The complaint, which has been filed at a District Court in New Orleans, names eight other defendants including the insurer Lloyds of London, rig owner Transocean and oil exploration group Anadarko. The US is seeking unlimited damages. Also in the oil sector, BG Group has hit a purple patch, announcing its second discovery in as many days, this time in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil, where the eleventh well on the BM-S-11 concession struck oil. The well, in the western Tupi area 275 kilometres off the coast of Rio de Janeiro State and 11 kilometres northwest of the original Tupi discovery well, drilled down over 2,000 metres. Oil samples confirmed the presence of a light oil accumulation and the well encountered a 90-metre reservoir section on the western flank of Tupi helping further delineate the size and quality of the field, BG said Thursday.An upbeat trading update from Serco has impressed. The outsourcing giant stated again it expects strong organic revenue growth this year with demand strong in most areas of operation. The group, which is a big outsourcer to the public sector, reiterated previous guidance of an increase in revenue to around £5bn and a rise in adjusted operating profit margin to about 6.3% by the end of 2012. Peer Capita is also higher.In the mid-cap index, Sports Direct is in demand after it posted a sharp rise in profits in the half year to 24 October as the football World Cup and strong growth in internet shopping boosted sales, but the sports shop chain is anticipating a tough start to the new year. Underlying pre-tax profits were up to £100.7m, from £71.9m the previous year on revenues that climbed to £819.9m from £756.9m. "The group has continued to perform strongly during the first eight months of this financial year," said boss Dave Forsey.Financial software provider Misys is also wanted after saying it will buy back £525m of shares at 310p each via its tender offer, with the remaining £145m dished out by way of a pro rata return of capital to all shareholders. The company committed to handing back £670m to investors following the sale of a big stake in healthcare division Allscripts earlier this year. It still owns 10%. Real estate company Segro, formerly Slough Estates, has shifted finance director David Sleath into the hot seat to replace Ian Coull who retires after the AGM in April. Sleath, 49, has been the company's chief number cruncher since 1 January 2006, and his switch triggers a hunt for a new FD. Five-a-side football pitch operator Goals Soccer has seen resilient trading recently though the recent snowfall will have an impact of about £0.7m on pre-tax profits for the year to 31 December.FTSE 100 - RisersGKN (GKN) 216.40p +4.29%Serco Group (SRP) 594.50p +3.66%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 382.60p +1.95%Pearson (PSON) 1,022.00p +1.69%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,144.00p +1.69%Whitbread (WTB) 1,799.00p +1.41%SABMiller (SAB) 2,232.00p +1.27%Diageo (DGE) 1,184.00p +1.20%Inmarsat (ISAT) 681.50p +1.19%Bunzl (BNZL) 721.00p +1.19%FTSE 100 - FallersMan Group (EMG) 286.10p -2.09%Intertek Group (ITRK) 1,847.00p -1.96%Lonmin (LMI) 1,844.00p -1.60%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 982.00p -1.55%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,570.00p -1.50%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,554.00p -1.46%BP (BP.) 470.05p -1.36%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,539.00p -1.35%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,777.00p -1.33%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 594.00p -1.25%FTSE 250 - RisersAshtead Group (AHT) 166.90p +6.10%Sports Direct International (SPD) 153.60p +5.21%Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 53.00p +3.52%Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 28.07p +2.71%Laird (LRD) 165.00p +2.61%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 26.60p +2.47%Charter International (CHTR) 794.50p +2.38%Persimmon (PSN) 420.10p +2.11%Logica (LOG) 127.50p +2.00%CPP Group (CPP) 285.50p +1.96%FTSE 250 - FallersPartyGaming (PRTY) 221.00p -4.33%Mondi (MNDI) 473.70p -4.24%Petropavlovsk (POG) 1,102.00p -3.08%Xchanging (XCH) 103.00p -2.92%Hansen Transmissions International NV (DI) (HSN) 58.10p -2.84%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 338.40p -2.53%Grainger (GRI) 106.30p -2.48%Gartmore Group Ltd. (GRT) 97.40p -2.40%International Personal Finance (IPF) 354.30p -2.34%Domino's Pizza UK & IRL (DOM) 531.50p -2.30%