London midday: Euro concerns weigh on stock, BoE maintains rates

10th May 2012 11:27

- BoE leaves interest rates, QE unchanged- Greece fails to form a coalition...again- Reckitt drops after shareholder saleStocks were firmly lower by Thursday lunchtime as markets awaited a policy rate decision from the Bank of England. Concerns over the political uncertainty in Greece eased slightly today but were still very much in focus.As widely expected, the Bank of England maintained the bank rate once again at the record-low level of 0.5%, a rate not changed since March 2009. However, the Monetary Policy Committee also voted to keep the size of the asset purchase programme unchanged at £325bn. Some economists were calling for an increase in quantitative easing due to recent negative economic data.In other domestic news, UK industrial production fell by 0.3% from February to March. Analysts were expecting a 0.2% decline. Manufacturing output however grew by 0.9%, well ahead of the 0.4% gain foreseen by the consensus. Meanwhile, UK exports to countries outside the European Union (EU) grew by 14.4% to £13.5bn in March, their highest level since records started being kept for exports to non-EU states back in 1993. Non-EU imports increased by 6.4% from February's level.Turning to Greece, Alexis Tsipras from the left-wing Syriza party halt night gave up his attempt of crafting a coalition after failing to agree with the Pasok and New Democracy parties on the revoking of the austerity measures tied to the bailout package. This now leaves Pasok leader Evangelos Venizelos with the task of forming a coalition. If unsuccessful, elections are likely to be held as soon as next month.Last night, the European Financial Stability Facility's Board of Directors released a €5.2bn payment to Greece, allowing the debt-laden country to meet its near-term obligations. €4.2bn will be paid tomorrow while €1bn will be given at a later date "depending on the financing needs of Greece". In other news, Asian stocks fell in to the red overnight after Chinese trade data showed weaker-than-expected activity in April. Exports and imports rose 4.9% and 0.3% last month, respectively, well below forecasts of 11% and 10%. The trade surplus increased from $5.4bn in March to $18.4bn, mainly due to the weakness in imports. FTSE 100: Reckitt, Experian, BT lead the Footsie lowerAnglo-Dutch consumer goods firm Reckitt Benckiser was firmly lower after its biggest shareholder (JAB) sold around a third of its holding (4.9% of the issued share capital of Reckitt). The share went at 3,350p a pop, raising a total of £1.2bn for JAB.Experian, the credit check and financial data company, dropped after reporting underlying earnings below expectations for the full year to the end of March, while announcing the sale of its PriceGrabber price comparison service. Telecoms titan BT was lower after full-year revenue slipped 4%. Underlying revenue excluding transit revenue was down 1.9% for the year, within the group's target range, but underlying pre-tax profit rose 17% to beat expectations. In contrast, miners were performing well despite the gloomy Chinese data sparking concerns over demand for commodities from the world's second-largest economy. Polymetal, Kazakhmys and ENRC were on the rise with the latter making gains despite seeing a "significant" decline in group revenue in the first quarter, mainly as a result of a strong comparator and falling commodities prices.Risk, savings and investment management provider Legal and General rose strongly after appointing its Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Nigel Wilson as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), replacing Tim Breedon when he steps down from the board next month. South African financial conglomerate Old Mutual was higher after saying it saw positive net client cash flows throughout the group in the first quarter, while sales continued to be strong in emerging markets. FTSE 250: Barratt builds on gainsHouse builder Barratt Developments was in demand after reporting its "strongest spring selling season for five years". Average weekly net private reservations in the period between January 1st to May 6th were 25.3% higher than the previous year, as a result of higher sales rates per site and increased site numbers. Engineering software provider AVEVA was performing well, helped by an upgrade by UBS from sell to neutral. Jobs are being slashed and legal battles continue at inter-dealer broker Tullett Prebon, causing shares to drop this morning. The company has raised the number of redundancies targeted in a cost cutting drive to 140 from 80 as it looks to make £14m in savings.FTSE 100 - RisersPolymetal International (POLY) 818.00p +6.58%ARM Holdings (ARM) 506.50p +3.90%Old Mutual (OML) 147.10p +2.22%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 311.90p +2.16%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 30.46p +1.84%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 772.50p +1.78%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 356.30p +1.39%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 112.60p +1.17%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 502.00p +1.15%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,390.00p +1.02%FTSE 100 - FallersReckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,417.00p -4.18%Experian (EXPN) 928.50p -2.37%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 161.80p -1.94%Diageo (DGE) 1,527.50p -1.89%Man Group (EMG) 82.90p -1.78%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 830.50p -1.72%Sage Group (SGE) 258.80p -1.60%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,439.00p -1.57%Croda International (CRDA) 2,108.00p -1.50%Xstrata (XTA) 1,080.50p -1.50%FTSE 250 - RisersImagination Technologies Group (IMG) 583.50p +9.68%AG Barr (BAG) 1,120.00p +6.57%Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 136.80p +6.54%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 127.30p +6.17%Micro Focus International (MCRO) 450.40p +5.90%Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 46.09p +5.64%Wood Group (John) (WG.) 776.00p +5.43%Essar Energy (ESSR) 129.20p +4.62%Persimmon (PSN) 590.00p +4.61%Exillon Energy (EXI) 119.10p +4.11%FTSE 250 - FallersTullett Prebon (TLPR) 306.10p -3.50%Bumi (BUMI) 473.80p -2.51%Cobham (COB) 215.80p -2.35%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 105.10p -2.23%Invensys (ISYS) 196.00p -2.00%Northgate (NTG) 196.20p -1.90%Victrex (VCT) 1,325.00p -1.78%Bankers Inv Trust (BNKR) 402.30p -1.73%Inmarsat (ISAT) 461.10p -1.58%BH Global Ltd. USD Shares (BHGU) 11.65 -1.44%BC