FTSE 100: Burberry struts into top place

6th Jan 2012 12:59

Burberry was in the coveted top spot today, having risen close to 3%, bolstered by encouraging signs for its Asian business. China's Commerce Minister Chen Deming said the government is studying measures to boost consumption, including the promotion of online shopping and tourism. Chen spoke at the ministry's annual works conference, according to a statement cited by Bloomberg News.The company also got the good news it has reached the 1,000 "likes" mark on social networking site Facebook. ITV followed hot on Burberry's heals, with investors encouraged by the news that the firm has signed a deal over both new and archives shows with LoveFilm, the Amazon-owned online and video-rental service. Morgan Stanley expressed a keenness for the broadcaster, which it has upgraded to "overweight" from "equal weight".Meanwhile, Credit Suisse lowers Ashmore to "neutral" (from "out-perform"), after analysts at Credit Suisse decided to downgrade several of the UK´s fund managers as part of a wider reassessment of European asset managers. As a result of the same move, Man Group was in the bottom spot, having had its target price cut to 175p from 215p. Mobile phone networks giant Vodafone is on the up after a bullish note from Goldman Sachs, while satellite broadcaster BSkyB was brought to earth by Morgan Stanley downgrading the stock to "equal weight" from "overweight". FTSE 100 - RisersBurberry Group (BRBY) 1,239.00p +2.99%ITV (ITV) 71.45p +2.88%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 27.05p +2.68%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 712.50p +2.52%Amec (AMEC) 956.50p +2.46%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,009.00p +2.38%Whitbread (WTB) 1,602.00p +2.30%Barclays (BARC) 187.80p +2.26%Sage Group (SGE) 301.30p +2.24%WPP (WPP) 684.00p +2.24%FTSE 100 - FallersMan Group (EMG) 114.10p -7.24%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 321.80p -2.75%ICAP (IAP) 321.20p -2.40%Evraz (EVR) 378.10p -2.17%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 707.00p -1.94%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 310.30p -1.80%Unilever (ULVR) 2,141.00p -1.34%Next (NXT) 2,579.00p -1.34%Admiral Group (ADM) 854.50p -1.33%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 251.50p -1.22%NR