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Utilities gained from continued bid talk, lack of much exposure to the U.S. dollar and a knock-on effect from Germany's biggest power generator RWE Power (RWEG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research), up 3.3 percent. Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE.L: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 2 percent, while Kelda Group (KEL.L: Quote, Profile, Research) was up 1.9 percent and Severn Trent (SVT.L: Quote, Profile, Research) added 1.4 percent. Among other standout gainers, shares in British Airways (BAY.L: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 1.4 percent as traders cited possible consolidation within the aerospace sector after exploratory talks between Alitalia (AZPIa.MI: Quote, Profile, Research) and Air France KLM (AIRF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) about a possible tie-up. ITV (ITV.L: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 1.4 percent on continued bid talk and also because it buys some of its programmes in U.S. dollars, benefiting from weakness in the currency, traders said. Oil stocks benefited as U.S. crude oil (CLc.L: Quote, Profile, Research) rose towards $60 a barrel, drawing strength from a supply disruption in Nigeria and as the U.S. dollar decline boosted other commodities. Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) tacked on 0.1 percent and BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) added 0.3 percent.
Source: Reuters.com

Labels: aerospace, AIRF, Airlines, AZPIa, BAY, BPO, CLc, energy, FTSE, ITV, KEL, Oil, RDSa, RWEG, SSE, SVT, United States, utlities

The FTSE 100 index .FTSE fell 0.3 percent on Friday after a plunge in the U.S. dollar hit stocks, but Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and other utilities rose on continued bid talk and helped markets end above the lows. Banks were among the main losers as traders expressed concern about the translation of dollar-denominated profits back into sterling. Shares in Barclays (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research) fell 1.1 percent and Standard Chartered (STAN.L: Quote, Profile, Research) fell 0.7 percent. The FTSE 100 closed down 17.9 points, or 0.3 percent, to 6,122.1, after Wall Street fell in early trade, but reversing much of its earlier decline as bid talk lifted some stocks. Mining stocks fell on the lower U.S. dollar, although higher base metals mitigated the impact. Rio Tinto (RIO.L: Quote, Profile, Research) slipped 0.3 percent while Kazakhmys (KAZ.L: Quote, Profile, Research) fell 0.3 percent and Xstrata (XTA.L: Quote, Profile, Research) lost 0.6 percent. Insurers were among other standout decliners as sector bid speculation faded. Shares in Prudential (PRU.L: Quote, Profile, Research) fell 1.9 percent and those in Old Mutual (OML.L: Quote, Profile, Research) slipped 1.6 percent. General retailers were weak. Kingfisher (KGF.L: Quote, Profile, Research) slipped 2.9 percent on a Deutsche Bank downgrade, the broker's note saying that the group's B&Q stores' profits were unlikely to rebound as fast as the market expects.
Source: Reuters.com

Labels: BARC, currency, dollar, FTSE, KAZ, KGF, OML, PRU, RIO, SSE, STAN, Stocks, United States, XTA