1. The Market Today
2. Biggest Movers
3. Conquerors -- Barclays, ARM Holdings, 365 Corporation
4. Vanquished -- Colt Telecom, Sports Internet, Oriental Restaurants
5. Reporting Next Week
6. And Finally...
The Market Today
Carburton Street, London -- Trading in London lurched downwards in morning trade, depressed by weak overnight performances on American and Far Eastern markets, as US interest fears still played on dealers' minds. Short term volatility was also ensured as Wise traders played their last minute gambles on the derivatives market, ahead of the morning's FTSE futures and options "double-witching" expiry.
The market recovered its losses by lunchtime, and looked to Wall Street for inspiration. None was forthcoming, with US investors still harbouring fears over next month's interest rate decision. But it was the depressed financial sector that kept losses in London to a minimum, the sector returning to favour with some investors suggesting UK interest rate worries had been overdone. Offsetting falls in the popular pharmaceutical, telecom and IT sectors, the High Street banks kept the market steady in what, overall, was a flat and rather unexciting session.
Biggest Movers in the FTSE All-Share
Up
British Biotech (LSE: BBG) +14.1%
InterX (LSE: ITX) +11.7%
ARM Holdings (LSE: ARM) +10.0%
Rage Software (LSE: RGE) +8.9%
Scoot.com (LSE: SCO) +12.1%
Down
Travis Perkins (LSE: TPK) -10.2%
Laporte (LSE: LPRT) -9.4%
Computacentre (LSE: CCC) -9.4%
WH Smith (LSE: SMWH) -9.3%
Laird (LSE: LARD) -8.4%
Conquerors
Banks led the way as traders re-considered their interest rate fears. Barclays (LSE: BARC) leapt 95p (7%) to 1439p, Halifax (LSE: HFX) jumped 20p (4%) to 563p, National Westminster Bank (LSE: NWB) gained 66p (6%) to 1180p and Lloyds TSB (LSE: LLOY) soared 27.5p (4%) to 640p, as investors piled into the market, undoubtedly prompted by last night's Fool's Eye View.
ARM Holdings (LSE: ARM) regained favour in the market today as Wise brokers re-assessed the prospects of competition from the new Transmeta chip. Buy notes were issued and price targets were set, and the stock recovered 305p (10%) to 3363p.
365 Corporation (LSE: TSF) proudly announced the creation of 365Television this morning, a division to produces programmes and interactive content for digital broadcasting. After poaching three producers from the BBC, 365 have decided their initial offering will be the documentary "Mike Tyson in the UK". The shares, like the boxer, had no friends and were left unchanged at 200.5p.
Rage Software (LSE: RGE) announced a £1m investment in Internet Indirect (LSE: INI) and the purchase of Wayward Design Ltd, a Bristol computer games developer for £2.6m. The news caused Rage shares to soar 5.75p (7%) to 70.25p, while Internet Indirect firmed 0.5p to 83.5p.
The retail rumour mill was in full swing. Comments in the newspapers, reflected in today's Foolish Lunchtime News, suggested Kingfisher (LSE: KGF) are in merger talks with the German operator Metro. A prompt rebuff of the speculation caused early investor enthusiasm to dampen, but the supposition remained and the shares furthered 9p (3%) to 534p. Marks & Spencer (LSE: MKS) was also the centre of retail conjecture, with commentators suggesting an imminent announcement concerning the appointment of a new Chairman. The shares edged 2.75p (1%) to 308.75p.
Vanquished
Slight consternation was felt in the telecom sector this morning, as Deutsche Telekom was believed to have warned analysts to cut their profit expectations. Those caught up in the ripples of a potential German downgrade were Colt Telecom (LSE: CTM), shedding 105p (3%) to 3076p, Energis (LSE: EGS) losing 156p (5%) to 2834p, Marconi (LSE: MNI) plunging 27p (3%) to 878p and significantly, Vodafone AirTouch (LSE: VOD) falling 18p (5%) to 330p.
Sports Internet (LSE: SRT) revealed a new website for athletes today. The site is said to be of "considerable interest to all runners, from the casual jogger to the professional". But not even the involvement of famous Geordie jogger Brendan Foster could set investors pulses racing, as the shares tumbled 30p (3%) to 825p.
Terence Chapman Group (LSE: TCG) presented details of a new contract with Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCH), to replace the back office systems of the broker's European operation. The five year deal, worth up to £12m, failed to distract investors from the comment that a satisfactory full year profit outcome was dependent on a substantial increase in other business. The shares dropped 55p (8%) to 612p.
Oriental Restaurants (LSE: ORR) brought bad news to the table today, as problems at one of their restaurants are to cause an overall slump in profits this year. Although a roll-out of their new Yellow River Café concept should generate growth in the future, the market was unimpressed with the current story. The shares plunged 15p (14%) to 92p.
And Old English Inns (LSE: OEI) told the market of their gloomy trade over the Millennium period this morning. Poor sales over the New Year holiday, that were "in line with the rest of the sector", caused management to revise their expectations of near term profits. The shares dived 17p (15%) to 94p.
Reporting Next Week
The final few Christmas trading statements from the High Street are presented next week for investors. All round stationers WH Smith (LSE: SMWH) give details of their festive trade on Monday, while upmarket ladies fashion chain Monsoon (LSE: MSN) reveals its performance with half year results on the same day.
One company that should always benefit from Christmas is the giftwrap-to-crackers company International Greetings (LSE: IGR). Shareholders will be hoping for no bad jokes as they pull out the interim profit statement on Wednesday.
Those investing in the new breed of pub could be raising their pints next week. The rather unappealingly named Slug and Lettuce (LSE: SLU) serves up its half year profits on Monday, while Foolish Germinator favourite SFI (LSE: SUF), buoyed by a recent Millennium trading statement, dishes up its interim profits on Wednesday
Fans of computer companies will be concentrating on Qualiport favourite Misys (LSE: MSY) next week. Investors will be looking for news from the IT software group that customers will be re-opening their wallets after the Y2K "freeze".
Crest Nicholson (LSE: CRST) should be building on the housing boom as they unveil their final figures on Thursday. The same day witnesses the fast-expanding Fitness First's (LSE: FTF) interim story.
And finally: investors in Aston Villa (LSE: ASV) will be hoping for a half time lead when the football club announces the six month numbers on Tuesday; shareholders in car manual publisher Haynes Publishing (LSE: HYNS) will be hoping the group can jack up the profits when they announce their half year story on Wednesday; and Benson's Crisps (LSE: BNSN) give a taste of their recent performance when they deliver the full year figures on Thursday.
And Finally...
With competition on the Internet at intense levels, advertising has now become all-important. But it falls to a small town in the US to take the electronic age one step further in the world of publicity.
Can you believe the community of Halfway, Oregon have announced they are to rename their town Half.com, to become the world's first dot-com city? The name change comes as part of a one year agreement with (wait for it...) Half.com, an e-commerce website that allows users to buy and sell second hand goods.
"Just as Halfway's ancestors pioneered a new frontier, Half.com is pioneering the person-to-person e-commerce space" the founder of Half.com (the company) commented.
"We hope that through this exposure we can develop a number of cottage industries" the mayor of Half.com (the town) added.
In what appears to be straight from a tourist guide, the press release comments that Half.com (the town) offers "a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts", where visitors are encouraged to take part in activities such as wild river rafting, snowmobiling and llama excursions.
So, will this idea catch on? It has already been suggested that the Brazilian government should boost its tourism by renaming a large rainforest to that of a high profile online bookstore.
Please let us know your thoughts on changing place names to reflect the new digital era on the Evening Fool message board.
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