Internet poker companies crashed when the US Government banned online gaming. BP warned over oil and gas production, and profits jumped at Tesco.
London shares climbed above the 6,000 points level as the Bank of England kept interest rates unchanged at 4.75%. At mid morning on Friday the FTSE was up 49 points at 6,009.
Biggest Movers in the FTSE 350 (as at Friday 10am)
BP
(LSE: BP.)
made the news this week after it warned that oil and gas production may fall in the third quarter. BP, down 1% to 577p, blamed its woes on problems at its Alaskan oil fields. Other oil companies lost ground this week too, as crude prices dipped below $60 a barrel. Royal Dutch Shell
(LSE: RDSB)
lost 2% to 1,775p, Cairn Energy
(LSE: CNE)
slipped 2% to 1,830p and JKX Oil
(LSE: JKX)
slid 6% to 274p.
Online gamers were also under the cosh after the US Congress unexpectedly rushed through legislation to ban online gaming. PartyGaming
(LSE: PRTY)
crashed 58% to 44p, 888 Holdings
(LSE: 888)
stumbled 27% to 106p, and Leisure & Gaming
(LSE: LNG)
tumbled 84% to 5.5p. Elsewhere, online payment processing outfit FireOne
(LSE: FPA)
dropped 63% to 66p on a profit warning. Read more.
But Tesco
(LSE: TSCO)
made strong headway following a 13% rise in first-half profits. Tesco, which rallied 6% to 381p, also said its strategy to expand into non-food and the US was on track. Halfords
(LSE: HFD)
was static at 336p despite an upbeat trading statement, Topps Tiles
(LSE: TPT)
fell 2% to 252p as like-for-like sales decreased, and Ted Baker
(LSE: TBK)
dipped 3% to 488p on results.
Takeover talk was another big feature this week. Corus Group
(LSE: CS.)
jumped 22% to 474p after India's Tata Steel said it was running its slide rule over the company. Meanwhile, British Airways
(LSE: BAY)
climbed 3% to 439p on a report that two Middle Eastern groups may consider a bid, and Barclays
(LSE: BARC)
gained 4% to 699p on vague rumours that Citigroup
(NYSE: C)
was considering acquiring some European financial assets.
Sticking with mergers and acquisitions, Northgate Information Solutions
(LSE: NIS)
jumped 14% to 92p when it confirmed that it had received a number of unsolicited approaches. Britvic
(LSE: BVIC)
has also been touted as a takeover target, which sent its shares bubbling 8% to 250p, and recently floated Aer Lingus
(LSE: AERL)
zoomed 19% to €2.96 when Ryanair
(LSE: RYA)
launched a £1b bid.
AWG
(LSE: AWG)
hardened 4% to 1,603p after it agreed a bid from an investment consortium called Osprey. The news lifted Kelda
(LSE: KEL)
7% to 912p, Pennon
(LSE: PNN)
7% to 548p and Severn Trent
(LSE: SVT)
5% to 1,399p.
Other companies in the news included Jarvis
(LSE: JRVS)
, which jumped 19% to 63p after it said profitability will improve, and Fonebak
(LSE: FON)
climbed 7% to 147p on rising revenues. Stanleco
(LSE: SEO)
lost 41% to 1p after announcing plans to raise more finance to bolster its dwindling cash reserves.
Misys
(LSE: MSY)
tumbled 15% to a 193p on a profit warning, and Spirent
(LSE: SPT)
whizzed 14% to 59p on a positive trading update. Speedy Hire
(LSE: SDY)
gained 11% to 1,042p in response to last week's upbeat trading statement, and Viridian
(LSE: VIR)
hardened 12% to 1,202p after it accepted a £1.6b takeover approach.
The Market Next Week
Sainsbury
(LSE: SBRY)
and Carphone Warehouse
(LSE: CPW)
are pencilled in for trading updates, and WH Smith
(LSE: SMWH)
will report full-year results.
Notable announcements next week
Monday: YouGov
Tuesday: Air Partner, Burberry, Carphone Warehouse, Sainsbury and N Brown
Wednesday: DS Smith, Moss Bros, MSB Int'l and WH Smith
Thursday: Landround and Renishaw
Friday: Alexon and Civica
David owns shares in Barclays and Royal Dutch Shell.
