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London close: FTSE ends almost flat after quiet end to busy week

Fri, 04th Jul 2014 16:59

- FTSE closes up just 0.84 points at 6,866.05- Experian leads following broker comment- UK new car registrations rise 10.6% YOYtechMARK 2,855.66 +0.13%FTSE 100 6,866.05 +0.01%FTSE 250 16,050.16 +0.13%It was an almost flat finish for the UK's top tier index on Friday, with the index coming off this afternoon's gains in the final 30 or so minutes of trade. The FTSE 100 closed up just 0.84 points at 6,866.05 after a relatively quiet session which followed a much busier few days. US markets are closed for the Fourth of July holiday. "America's celebration of its independence brings with it the usual quiet day in London, while French and German traders will have been forgiven for long since closing their books and choosing a comfortable spot for a tense start to the weekend," said Will Hedden, IG's Premium Client Manager. "The old adage of America coughs and Europe sneezes applies to share volumes too, as today [as of 4pm] was the lowest volume day of trading [...] this year for the FTSE 100." UK new car market has best six-month performance since 2005The new car market notched up its best half-year performance since 2005 in the first six months of 2014, figures released today showed.The Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) said 1,287,265 new cars were registered between January and June, up 10.6% on the same period a year ago. In June, new car registrations rose 6.2% to 228,291 units.SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes said: "The overall market has risen faster than we were expecting but, after a bumper March, growth is showing signs of stabilising around our forecast level."Across the Channel, Markit's Eurozone retail purchasing managers' index (PMI) increased to 50 in June from 49.9 a month earlier. A level above 50 signals expansion. In Germany, which is the Eurozone's largest economy, registered a bigger-than-expected drop in industrial orders, according to data published by the country's Economy Ministry.May factory orders fell 1.7% from the prior month, compared to the consensus forecast of a 1.1% decline.Nevertheless, April's figure was revised upwards to a 3.4% increase, from the initial reading of a 3.1% rise.Experian lifted by broker comment as airlines soarExperian shares jumped after Deutsche Bank reiterated its 'buy' rating on the global information services provider. Budget airline easyJet rose strongly as it posted a 10.1% jump in its June passenger numbers, which leapt from 5.5m to 6.1m year-on-year. British Airways operator IAG, which yesterday reported a 4% rise in traffic in June, was also flying higher today.Vodafone was lifted late on in the session on reports its €7.2bn acquisition of Spanish cable operator Ono has received approval from the European Commission (EC). Meanwhile, Sports Direct was lower as the company continued to make headlines following the narrow shareholder approval of its controversial bonus scheme this week that includes founder Mike Ashley. The latest reports are that the board may face an investor revolt over the re-election of board members at the next shareholder meeting.On the second tier, Greene King recovered from yesterday's declines, which came after the pub owner warned that consumers were still cautious, despite posted a rise in profit. Computacenter rose after UBS upgraded its from 'neutral' to 'buy'. Having risen strongly for the past two days, today's session saw Ocado sink into the red. FTSE 100 - RisersExperian (EXPN) 1,021.00p +1.79%easyJet (EZJ) 1,361.00p +0.96%Aggreko (AGK) 1,700.00p +0.95%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 183.90p +0.93%Vodafone Group (VOD) 198.35p +0.92%Associated British Foods (ABF) 3,125.00p +0.87%Antofagasta (ANTO) 827.00p +0.85%Shire Plc (SHP) 4,635.00p +0.74%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 367.60p +0.66%G4S (GFS) 262.10p +0.58%FTSE 100 - FallersSports Direct International (SPD) 753.00p -2.08%British Land Co (BLND) 693.50p -1.42%Mondi (MNDI) 1,059.00p -1.30%CRH (CRH) 1,535.00p -1.29%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 381.70p -1.22%IMI (IMI) 1,510.00p -1.11%GKN (GKN) 368.80p -1.05%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,458.00p -1.02%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 75.68p -0.94%Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,040.00p -0.86%FTSE 250 - RisersGreene King (GNK) 869.00p +6.43%Computacenter (CCC) 665.00p +5.72%Evraz (EVR) 97.00p +4.13%RPS Group (RPS) 297.10p +3.30%Fidessa Group (FDSA) 2,310.00p +2.99%Berendsen (BRSN) 1,059.00p +2.92%ITE Group (ITE) 242.70p +2.62%Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) 1,061.00p +2.41%Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 1,400.00p +2.19%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 387.10p +2.16%FTSE 250 - FallersOcado Group (OCDO) 416.10p -5.43%Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 315.00p -3.88%Just Retirement Group (JRG) 150.50p -2.53%International Personal Finance (IPF) 591.00p -2.31%Pets at Home Group (PETS) 195.50p -2.15%Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 193.20p -1.88%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 366.50p -1.82%Supergroup (SGP) 1,118.00p -1.76%ICAP (IAP) 375.30p -1.75%Bellway (BWY) 1,589.00p -1.61%NR

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