London midday: Bank sits on hands

7th Jan 2010 11:51

London drifted lower ahead of the announcement of the Bank of England's quantitative easing and interest rate decision, which, as expected, left both the level of interest rates and the scale of the quanititative easing programme unchanged.Mining stocks are proving to be a millstone round Footsie's neck with Eurasian Natural Resources, Randgold Resources, Antofagasta, Xstrata and BHP Billiton among the worst performers.Food retailers Sainsbury, Tesco and Morrison's are going well after Sainsbury said a record Christmas performance completed a strong third quarter in which like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, rose by 3.7%. Like-for-like sales, including fuel, rose by 3.8% in the 13 weeks to 2 January, while like-for-like sales excluding fuel and VAT were up by 4.2%.In contrast, clothes sellers Next and Marks & Spencer are left on the shelf after their trading updates earlier this week.Building supplies giant Wolseley is going well for after UBS upgraded to buy from neutral. Accountancy software supplier Sage gets a similar upgrade for the Swiss bank.In the media sector Yellow Pages publisher Yell is looking decidedly off colour after Goldman Sachs cut the stock to 'sell' from 'neutral' but ITV receives a boost from Goldman added it to its 'conviction buy' list.Sweeteners firm Tate & Lyle sees its share price dissolve after Credit Suisse cut its rating from 'outperform' to 'neutral'. Housebuilders have got a boost from Persimmon, which saw a rise in the number of home sales on which it achieved completions in the second half of 2009, but said it remains cautious on mortgage availability and the general economic situation. The shares climb higher, taking sector peer Barratt Developments with them.Drugs firm AstraZeneca has come to an agreement with Israel-based rival Teva Pharmaceuticals generic version of Astra's Nexium ulcer capsules. Astra will withdraw its patent litigation against Teva and has granted Teva a licence to enter the US market with its generic esomeprazole on 27 May 2014, subject to regulatory approval, or earlier in certain circumstances.Corporate infrastructure giant Autonomy has won what it termed 'a significant licence agreement' with UK defence firm BAE Systems. As is usually the case with Autonomy, financial details were not disclosed, though it went so far as to reveal that the contract award was for a seven figure sum.Business is finally stabilising all over the world for recruitment firm Hays, while Asia Pacific has seen a modest quarter on quarter improvement in demand. While the quarter on quarter picture is looking better, the year on year comparisons continue to make miserable reading. Sportswear fashion seller JD Sports expects full-year profit before tax and exceptional items to significantly exceed current market forecasts.Digital TV set-top box maker Pace said it is on target to meet management expectations for the twelve month ended 31 December. Fund and wealth management operator Rathbone Brothers saw funds under management rise in 2009 despite net redemptions in its Unit Trust division.Engineering and construction group Costain said trading during the final quarter of 2009, and for the year as a whole, remained in-line with the board's expectations. Specialist insurer and reinsurer Beazley, which took a £49.8m foreign exchange related hit to profits last year, has moved to reduce the impact of currency movements by matching the group's underwriting capital by currency to the principal underlying currencies of its written premiums.Laundry and workwear firm Davis Service Group has acquired a Scandinavian matting provider and a German workwear business for a combined total of £44.5m.Flexible risers and flowlines designer Wellstream Holdings said earnings for 2009 will be broadly in line with expectations.Cinema chain operator Cineworld is rubbing its hands with glee at the prospect of more 3D films after box office returns rose well above the rate of inflation in 2009.The practice of storing stem cells as a medical safety net is growing, if figures from Dutch firm Cryo-Save are anything to go by.Loss-making speciality pharmaceuticals firm ProStrakan expects to make an operating profit in 2010 on the back of continued strong revenue growth. The board has reiterated guidance of total revenues of between £78m and £79m for 2009, which would represent an improvement of around 40% on 2008.