London midday: Shares still seeking direction

The top share index remains little changed despite the M&A excitement. US markets are closed today, so shares will have to look elsewhere for inspiration if they are to burst into life.BP is in demand after the oil giant announced a controversial landmark deal with Rosneft, the Russian state oil company.As well as confirming the tie-up with Rosneft, BP said it has been awarded four deepwater blocks off the coast of south Australia. BP said that it will explore Exploration Permit for Petroleum (EPP) areas EPP 37, EPP 38, EPP 39 and EPP 40 covering an area of 24,000 square kilometres for oil and gas reserves, with the right to develop any commercially viable discoveries.It's the Rosneft deal, however, that has garnered most interest. The two companies have put in place a share-swap deal to cement an alliance that will see them jointly explore and develop three license blocks, EPNZ 1,2 & 3, on the Russian Arctic continental shelf.Engineer Smiths Group has soared after it turned down a £2.45bn cash approach for its medical division, Smiths Medical."The board has carefully considered this approach with its advisers and has concluded that it would not be in the interests of shareholders to pursue discussions on the basis of an indication at this price level," it said in its statement. Smith & Nephew is also in demand on weekend reports that Johnson & Johnson is mulling a higher offer for the knee implants group.Miners such as Kazakhmys and Fresnillo are out of favour amid lower metals prices after China increased reserve requirements for banks in an attempt to curb inflation.Rolls-Royce has won its biggest ever marine naval surface ship contract, sealing a deal to supply gas turbines and waterjets for ten of the US Navy's Littoral Combat Ships (LCS).Document and patent translation specialist SDL expects both revenue and profits for the year just ended to come in ahead of market forecasts.Coal miner UK Coal increased fourth quarter total production to 2.3m tonnes compared to 0.2m tonnes the same quarter a year earlier. Total production for the year ended 25 December 2010 rose to 7.2mt compared to 7mt the year before. "We are expecting a non-cash revaluation loss for the year, reflecting the market for the larger residential development sites in particular, of approximately £30m," it added.Stanley Gibbons will beat revenue forecasts for 2010 and reveal profits in line with expectations, the stamp and collectibles trader said Monday. The company has also continued to grow operating profit despite spending big money on developing its websites, database asset management system and international marketing campaigns. Better than expected demand for its kidney transporter will mean Lifeline Scientific's profits coming in "significantly ahead of market expectations".FTSE 100 - RisersSmiths Group (SMIN) 1,381.00p +7.72%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 712.00p +3.94%GKN (GKN) 228.70p +3.02%Capita Group (CPI) 716.50p +2.72%Reed Elsevier (REL) 557.50p +1.73%Pearson (PSON) 1,014.00p +1.71%Vodafone Group (VOD) 174.75p +1.63%BAE Systems (BA.) 351.90p +1.50%Essar Energy (ESSR) 558.00p +1.45%Intertek Group (ITRK) 1,837.00p +1.44%FTSE 100 - FallersAutonomy Corporation (AU.) 1,491.00p -3.37%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,444.00p -3.22%Schroders (Non-Voting) (SDRC) 1,428.00p -3.19%Schroders (SDR) 1,831.00p -2.92%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 68.08p -2.20%Investec (INVP) 520.00p -2.07%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 107.90p -1.91%Barclays (BARC) 305.70p -1.70%Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,361.00p -1.69%Old Mutual (OML) 126.50p -1.63%FTSE 250 - RisersBetfair Group (BET) 968.00p +4.93%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 284.60p +4.48%CPP Group (CPP) 330.60p +3.60%Exillon Energy (EXI) 402.80p +3.28%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 907.50p +3.12%United Business Media Ltd. (UBM) 712.00p +2.89%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 553.00p +2.50%COLT Group SA (COLT) 143.90p +2.49%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 31.00p +2.48%Balfour Beatty (BBY) 329.90p +2.45%FTSE 250 - FallersRotork (ROR) 1,698.00p -2.80%Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,085.00p -2.69%International Personal Finance (IPF) 366.70p -2.21%Hunting (HTG) 788.50p -2.17%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 430.00p -2.09%Ashtead Group (AHT) 159.00p -1.85%Henderson Group (HGG) 148.70p -1.85%Provident Financial (PFG) 968.50p -1.63%Afren (AFR) 154.50p -1.59%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 21.36p -1.57%