Thursday, November 29, 2012

London Markets: London stocks weaken; banks, resources off

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) ? U.K. stocks ended a volatile session on an upbeat note on Wednesday, as rising shares of Vodafone Group PLC provided support, although banks and mining firms on the decline added pressure.

The FTSE 100 index /quotes/zigman/3173262 UK:UKX +0.06% ?inched 0.1% higher to close at 5,803.28, after swinging between small gains and losses.

/conga/story/misc/fiscal_cliff.html 237980

Shares of Vodafone /quotes/zigman/421253 UK:VOD +0.89% ? /quotes/zigman/101873/quotes/nls/vod VOD +0.98% supported the index, up 0.9%, after Fitch Ratings affirmed the wireless telecom firm?s rating at A- and said the outlook is stable. The analysts highlighted that Vodafone benefits from global scale, diverse operations, sound liquidity, and stable cash flow generation.

Also on the rise, shares of United Utilities /quotes/zigman/514680 UK:UU +2.77% ?added 2.6%, after the firm reported a rise in earnings per share for the six months ended Sept. 30 and said it?s on track to meet its regulatory targets. See: United Utilities profit up, on track for targets

Shares of BP PLC /quotes/zigman/210014 UK:BP -0.50% ? /quotes/zigman/247026/quotes/nls/bp BP -0.35% ?gave up 0.4%, after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it has temporarily suspended the oil major from new contracts with the government.

Pointing in the other direction, shares of Bunzl PLC /quotes/zigman/378681 UK:BNZL -4.00% ?dropped 4% to 10.31 pounds ($16.50), after Citigroup cut the consumer-products firm?s price target to ?11.90 from ?12.50 to reflect a new earnings forecast.

Resolution Ltd. shares /quotes/zigman/602765 UK:RSL -0.47% ?slipped 0.6%, after UBS cut the insurer to neutral from buy. The analysts said they expect the firm to miss its 2013 targets.

Cars that monitor a driver's health

Auto makers are researching technology that could feed your heart rate, blood pressure and other biometric responses into the car's computers, the better to determine when you're drowsy or overwhelmed with distracting media.

Most U.K. stocks were for most of the session weighed by comments from U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The Nevada Democrat said late Tuesday that only little progress has been made in negotiations between Democrats and Republicans to avert the so-called fiscal cliff, slated to trigger automatic spending cuts and tax hikes in the new year. See: Senate fiscal cliff bickering spooks market

Stocks, however, staged a comeback late in the day as House Speaker John Boehner, Republican from Ohio, said he was optimistic that a deal can be reached with President Obama to avoid the cliff.

Among other notable movers in London, miners posted some of the biggest losses, as metals prices headed south. See: Gold slumps on firm dollar and See: Crude oil pushes lower ahead of supply data

Mining firms decline in Wednesday?s action, as metals prices fall.

Shares of heavyweight miner BHP Billiton PLC /quotes/zigman/184879 UK:BLT -0.44% ? /quotes/zigman/270355/quotes/nls/bhp BHP +0.28% ? /quotes/zigman/180893 AU:BHP -0.58% ?dropped 0.5%, while Fresnillo PLC /quotes/zigman/510593 UK:FRES -1.46% and Rio Tinto PLC /quotes/zigman/155899 UK:RIO -1.21% /quotes/zigman/182541/quotes/nls/rio RIO -0.70% /quotes/zigman/176317 AU:RIO -1.87% ?both tripped 1.3%.

Most banks were also on the decline. Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC /quotes/zigman/255656/quotes/nls/lyg LYG +0.68% /quotes/zigman/126322 UK:LLOY -0.68% ??gave up 1% and Barclays PLC /quotes/zigman/301787 UK:BARC -0.49% /quotes/zigman/152323/quotes/nls/bcs BCS +0.10% ?fell 0.6%.

Shares of Smith & Nephew PLC /quotes/zigman/263642 UK:SN -0.91% ? /quotes/zigman/264745/quotes/nls/snn SNN -0.67% ?gave up 1.2%. The health care firm said it agreed to buy the assets of Healthpoint Biotherapeutics, a wound-care-treatment developer, for $782 million in cash. See: Smith & Nephew buys Healthpoint Biotherapeutics

Shares of Marks & Spencer Group PLC /quotes/zigman/298234 UK:MKS +2.16% ?added 2.2%, after the firm agreed on a 10-year funding plan with its pension trustees. See: Marks & Spencer okays plan with pension trustees

ARM Holdings PLC shares /quotes/zigman/254777 UK:ARM +1.78% ? /quotes/zigman/67211/quotes/nls/armh ARMH +1.91% added 1.9% to ?7.72 a share, as Barclays lifted the chip maker?s target price to ?8.20 from ?7.50.

?We continue to view ARM as one of the best positioned shares globally when it comes to smartphone and tablet growth,? the analysts said.

/quotes/zigman/3173262

UK : FTSE Indices

Volume: 0.00

Nov. 28, 2012 4:35p

/quotes/zigman/421253

UK : U.K.: London

Volume: 85.31M

Nov. 28, 2012 4:24p

Market Cap

?77.16 billion

Rev. per Employee

?517,257

/quotes/zigman/101873/quotes/nls/vod

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

Volume: 7.88M

Nov. 28, 2012 1:19p

Market Cap

$124.24 billion

Rev. per Employee

$824,819

/quotes/zigman/514680

UK : U.K.: London

Volume: 4.19M

Nov. 28, 2012 4:35p

Rev. per Employee

?307,084

/quotes/zigman/210014

UK : U.K.: London

Volume: 57.63M

Nov. 28, 2012 4:35p

Market Cap

?82.19 billion

/quotes/zigman/247026/quotes/nls/bp

US : U.S.: NYSE

Volume: 6.65M

Nov. 28, 2012 1:19p

Market Cap

$131.74 billion

/quotes/zigman/378681

UK : U.K.: London

Volume: 1.23M

Nov. 28, 2012 4:35p

Rev. per Employee

?441,594

/quotes/zigman/602765

UK : U.K.: London

Volume: 2.48M

Nov. 28, 2012 4:35p

Rev. per Employee

?996,686

/quotes/zigman/184879

UK : U.K.: London

Volume: 4.37M

Nov. 28, 2012 4:35p

Market Cap

?41.05 billion

Rev. per Employee

?983,627

/quotes/zigman/270355/quotes/nls/bhp

US : U.S.: NYSE

Volume: 1.32M

Nov. 28, 2012 1:19p

Market Cap

$114.63 billion

/quotes/zigman/180893

AU : Australia: Sydney

Volume: 5.33M

Nov. 28, 2012 4:32p

Market Cap

$109.67 billion

/quotes/zigman/510593

UK : U.K.: London

Volume: 586,327

Nov. 28, 2012 4:35p

Market Cap

?14.20 billion

Rev. per Employee

?512,014

/quotes/zigman/155899

UK : U.K.: London

Volume: 3.48M

Nov. 28, 2012 4:24p

Market Cap

?42.03 billion

Rev. per Employee

?527,959

/quotes/zigman/182541/quotes/nls/rio

US : U.S.: NYSE

Volume: 3.98M

Nov. 28, 2012 1:19p

Rev. per Employee

$836,487

/quotes/zigman/176317

AU : Australia: Sydney

Volume: 3.21M

Nov. 28, 2012 4:43p

Rev. per Employee

$821,334

/quotes/zigman/255656/quotes/nls/lyg

US : U.S.: NYSE

Volume: 884,778

Nov. 28, 2012 1:18p

Rev. per Employee

$574,687

/quotes/zigman/126322

UK : U.K.: London

Volume: 90.75M

Nov. 28, 2012 4:25p

Market Cap

?31.76 billion

Rev. per Employee

?360,302

/quotes/zigman/301787

UK : U.K.: London

Volume: 32.82M

Nov. 28, 2012 4:35p

Market Cap

?29.83 billion

Rev. per Employee

?276,634

/quotes/zigman/152323/quotes/nls/bcs

US : U.S.: NYSE

Volume: 2.66M

Nov. 28, 2012 1:19p

Rev. per Employee

$437,826

/quotes/zigman/263642

UK : U.K.: London

Volume: 3.27M

Nov. 28, 2012 4:35p

Rev. per Employee

?246,078

/quotes/zigman/264745/quotes/nls/snn

US : U.S.: NYSE

Volume: 11,961

Nov. 28, 2012 1:03p

Rev. per Employee

$384,867

/quotes/zigman/298234

UK : U.K.: London

Volume: 11.02M

Nov. 28, 2012 4:35p

Rev. per Employee

?122,574

/quotes/zigman/254777

UK : U.K.: London

Volume: 5.50M

Nov. 28, 2012 4:35p

Market Cap

?10.46 billion

Rev. per Employee

?260,113

/quotes/zigman/67211/quotes/nls/armh

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

Volume: 1.48M

Nov. 28, 2012 1:19p

Rev. per Employee

$412,193

Sara Sjolin is a MarketWatch reporter based in London. Follow her on Twitter @sarasjolin.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/marketwatch/financial/~3/LVgHdly2xHw/story.asp

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