FTSE 100 movers: Rolls-Royce drops on fraud investigation

6th Dec 2012 15:42

Power systems giant Rolls-Royce tanked after saying that it is to report to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) after matters of bribery and corruption involving so-called 'intermediaries' were discovered in Indonesia and China. BAE Systems performed well today. Lockheed Martin is close to winning Pentagon backing to build all 29 F-35 fighters planned for the coming fiscal year after three years of cutbacks in orders for the nation's costliest weapon, US officials told Bloomberg. The British firm is one of the leading contractors in the consortium responsible for the manufacture of the Royal Navy's next generation carrier based interceptor. Accountancy software group Sage was a heavy faller after yesterday's full-year results with Natixis downgrading the stock to 'neutral' this morning. UBS also cut its price target for the shares. Meanwhile, mining stocks were doing a good job of propping up the footsie as metal prices got a boost and following a vote by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee to maintain the Bank Rate at 0.5% at today's meeting and left its asset purchase programme unchanged at £375bn. Antofagasta, ENRC, Vedanta, Anglo American, Xstrata, and Glencore were all making strong gains. Mining behemoth BHP Billiton advanced on rumours that it could be ready to make a $55-a-share cash offer for Alabama-based 'pure play' metallurgical coal producer Walter Energy. However, when contacted BHP remained tight-lipped, a spokesperson said: "It is market speculation and not something we care to comment on." Shares in Wolseley were heading back down after getting a boost from a number of broker upgrades on Wednesday. FTSE 100 - RisersAntofagasta (ANTO) 1,342.00p +3.55%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 285.20p +2.89%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,121.00p +2.47%Anglo American (AAL) 1,816.00p +2.02%Xstrata (XTA) 1,042.50p +2.01%BAE Systems (BA.) 339.50p +1.95%Evraz (EVR) 240.60p +1.86%Rexam (REX) 448.80p +1.86%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,405.00p +1.78%Glencore International (GLEN) 346.55p +1.78%FTSE 100 - FallersWeir Group (WEIR) 1,820.00p -3.24%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 885.00p -3.12%Pennon Group (PNN) 601.50p -2.83%Sage Group (SGE) 291.90p -2.83%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 730.00p -1.82%Capita (CPI) 759.00p -1.81%Meggitt (MGGT) 386.30p -1.68%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,492.00p -1.42%Pearson (PSON) 1,191.00p -1.16%Experian (EXPN) 1,035.00p -1.05%NR