The FTSE Small Caps index is up 0.1 percent at midday, mirroringmodest gains by the FTSE 250 index, also up 0.1 percent, with the FTSE100 index flat.
Quadrise Fuels International jumps 10.5 percent after issuing apositive update with respect to its Marine MSAR fuel programme with Maerskshipping.
"Today's positive update reinforces our SOTP NAV (sum-of-the-parts net assetvalue) of 163.9 million pounds - equating to 20.6 pence per share. Applyingappropriate commercial discounts .... our target price of 15 pence per shareremains and we reiterate our Buy recommendation," Westhouse Securities says in anote.
Xcite Energy gains 1.7 percent as Merchant Securities initiatescoverage of the oil explorer, which owns 100 percent of the Bentley field in theBritish North Sea, with a "buy" rating and 167.8 pence price target.
"We believe that until Xcite has secured funding to advance the Bentleyfield to first oil it will trade at a discount to its fundamental value.However, we believe that a funding solution such as a farm-out would focusinvestor attention on the potential of a very attractive undeveloped oil field,"Merchant Securities says in a note.
SQS Software Quality Systems drops 12.1 percent in Londonas the world's leading specialist in quality services software says its 2012adjusted pre-tax profit will be below consensus forecasts, while revenues willbe slightly ahead of consensus, due to deferrals of higher-margin ManagedServices work in the last working week of 2012 by clients that had alreadysignificantly exceeded their minimum contracted spending commitments.
"With (SQS) management remaining fully committed to the long-term marginimprovement strategy and the likelihood that Managed Services will show afurther significant increase as a percentage of revenue in 2013," WesthouseSecurities analyst Rob Sanders says, maintaining a "buy" recommendation and 325pence target price on SQS shares.
Reuters messaging rm://jon.hopkins.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net
SQS Software Quality Systems AG (SQS)
