London close: 'Fiscal cliff' concerns keep markets under pressure

- Boehner says White House not serious about 'cliff'- Stocks shrug off Fed stimulus- Centamin plummets after mine suspensionStocks markets across Europe took a breather on Thursday, following a strong performance over the last month, as investors digested stimulus plans by the Federal Reserve and ongoing developments in the Eurozone.The Footsie finished the day slightly lower, pulling back after setting a new nine-month high at 5,946 on Wednesday (the last time the index closed higher was on March 19th at 5,961).Market analyst Michael Hewson from CMC Markets said today that a "trifecta of positive factors" managed to underwhelm the market this afternoon:"Three news items that ordinarily would have given markets a significant boost appear to have done anything but today, despite the Fed acting as expected by announcing a new round of asset purchases to the tune of $45bn, and EU leaders agreeing a framework towards a banking union inside their self-imposed deadline of year end, while Greece finally had its long awaited aid tranche finally approved by EU leaders," Hewson said.The Footsie staged a slight rally in afternoon trade following some better-than-expected jobless claims data Stateside. However, as he often has done in the past few weeks, House Speaker John Boehner dampened market sentiment before the close after attacking the Obama administration, saying that the White House is not serious about cutting spending to avert the 'fiscal cliff'."Unfortunately, the White House is so unserious about cutting spending that it appears willing to slow-walk our economy right up to - and over - the fiscal cliff," Boehner said in a press conference this afternoon.FTSE 100: Wood Group falls after mixed update Energy services giant Wood Group has said that it expects to deliver good growth this year, with overall conditions in energy markets remaining 'favourable'. However, shares were down over 4% in afternoon trade after the company reported mixed conditions in its Engineering and GTS divisions. Credit Suisse said that it has cut its Wood Group forecasts for 2013 and expects consensus forecasts to come down also, largely on softer profits from its GTS division. The broker maintained its 'neutral' rating and 925p target price for the stock. Canaccord Genuity also provided some additional downward pressure after reducing its target price for the stock today from 920p to 900p, retaining its 'hold' recommendation. AstraZeneca fell after revealing that its experimental drug for rheumatoid arthritis gave a disappointing performance during tests. The drug had been widely expected to perform some kind of wonder treatment. Burberry was lower on reports that it is planning to review its global media planning and buying account. A decline in Evraz shares appears to be linked to reports that the company has split its iron ore and coal mining divisions. The shares are also settling following decent gains the previous day. Meanwhile, Tullow Oil was recovering one day after Credit Suisse downgraded the stock from 'outperform' to 'neutral', saying that it may take some time for investor confidence to return. Barclays got a boost after Deutsche Bank raised its target price from 300p to 360p and maintained its buy recommendation. The rise comes amid reports claiming that the group is planning to cut 2,000 jobs, according to sources close to the group.FTSE 250: Centamin plunges on mine suspension Egypt-focused gold mining company Centamin saw shares tumble early on after saying that it has suspended operations at its Sukari mine due to issues with fuel suppliers and delays with gold exports. Canaccord Genuity downgraded the stock to 'hold' this morning and slashed its target price from 110p to 40p. Centamin said that it has received an "illegal" $65m retrospective claim from a local fuel company, which is now refusing to supply more fuel to Sukari until the claim is paid. In addition, the firm also announced that its process of gold exports has been hit by delays due to "an unforeseen and arbitrary request from customs officials" for the prior approval from authorities. High Street retailer Sports Direct fell despite delivering significant growth across the board in the first with with revenue up 22.5%. Bus and train group National Express gained after saying it is on target to deliver full-year results in line with company expectations despite challenging conditions. SuperGroup, the owner of clothing retail brand SuperDry, continued to rise one day after it posted a 16.2% rise in revenue for the first half of 2012 covering the 26 weeks to October 28th, according to its interim results published on Wednesday morning.FTSE 100 - RisersTullow Oil (TLW) 1,216.00p +2.88%United Utilities Group (UU.) 701.00p +1.67%Aviva (AV.) 372.80p +1.61%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,956.00p +1.09%BT Group (BT.A) 237.40p +1.06%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,338.50p +0.83%Hammerson (HMSO) 485.90p +0.77%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,153.00p +0.61%Capita (CPI) 758.50p +0.60%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,501.00p +0.60%FTSE 100 - FallersWood Group (John) (WG.) 733.50p -4.55%AstraZeneca (AZN) 2,958.50p -2.76%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,262.00p -2.62%Experian (EXPN) 999.00p -2.25%Amec (AMEC) 1,020.00p -2.21%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,220.00p -1.97%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 744.00p -1.78%Evraz (EVR) 259.10p -1.74%BG Group (BG.) 1,047.00p -1.69%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,836.00p -1.56%FTSE 250 - RisersSupergroup (SGP) 593.50p +6.55%Ruspetro (RPO) 88.30p +5.12%Man Group (EMG) 81.10p +4.51%National Express Group (NEX) 187.90p +4.27%Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 241.50p +3.12%Homeserve (HSV) 236.80p +2.73%Michael Page International (MPI) 386.90p +2.49%Savills (SVS) 460.00p +2.36%Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 314.20p +2.21%Dunelm Group (DNLM) 650.50p +2.12%FTSE 250 - FallersCentamin (DI) (CEY) 27.70p -47.44%Sports Direct International (SPD) 386.20p -5.64%Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 601.50p -5.42%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 263.60p -4.84%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 408.00p -4.00%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 30.05p -3.59%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 177.30p -2.64%Restaurant Group (RTN) 376.60p -2.54%Perform Group (PER) 350.00p -2.51%Petropavlovsk (POG) 332.00p -2.47%BC