MITIE (LSE: MTO) falls on mixed news, and Chariot (LSE: CHAR) drops, too.
The FTSE 100 (UKX) has perked up a bit today, gaining 36 points to 5,714, as the markets appear to be leaving last week's eurozone-led panic behind. With the zone being back in recession, the outlook for global brands has dimmed a little, but Fools really only care about the long term.
There will always be big day-to-day movements in individual share prices, and some of the falling ones often offer buying opportunities for those who do their research. Here are three constituents of the various FTSE indices on the way down today:
MITIE
MITIE Group (LSE: MTO) shares dropped 15p (5.1%) to 275p after reporting a 13% fall in interim pre-tax profit to £37.3m and a 15% fall in earnings to 8p per share -- though the dividend was lifted by 4.5% to 4.6p.
On the upside, the firm did see first-half revenues reach over £1bn, for a 5.6% increase, and expects the second half to be stronger. MITIE reported a 4.7% boost to its order book, to £9bn, with plenty of potential bids still to come.
Chariot
Chariot Oil & Gas (LSE: CHAR) lost a further 3.2% today, falling to 26.6p, though the only news today is that the Africa-focused explorer has commenced a 3D seismic survey on one of its blocks off the coast of Mauritania.
The share price has fallen badly this year, most notably in September when the firm's Namibian offshore exploration well at Kabeljou turned out to be dry. The price is down more than 70% since then, and down nearly 90% since its 52-week high of 204p in March.
SuperGroup
Fashionista SuperGroup (LSE: SGP), owner of the Superdry brand, saw its shares slide by 21.6p (3.4%) to 617p. There has been no news since the firm's second-quarter update on 8 November, but confidence in sales growth appears to be faltering after a broker downgraded its recommendation on the company. The current global economic situation is starting to look gloomier than previously thought, with the eurozone back in recession, and rapidly-growing fashion brands could easily feel the pain from that.
Finally, how does Britain’s ace investor Neil Woodford avoid share price falls? He goes for a strategy of buying solid blue-chip shares paying dependable long-term dividends. And in doing so, he's built a record of beating the FTSE for nine straight years.
If you want to see how Mr Woodford manages to beat the market, the free Motley Fool report "8 Shares Held By Britain's Super Investor" takes a look at some of his key holdings. To get your copy, click here while it’s still available.
> Alan does not own any shares mentioned in this article.
