London midday: Footsie down after manufacturing data, BoE holds rates

5th Apr 2012 11:41

- BoE holds rates, QE- UK manufacturing in surprise decline- Financials lead Footsie lower, Ashmore bucks trendAfter a cautious start, the Footsie found its direction by mid-morning, falling steeply after some worse-than-expected domestic manufacturing data. Meanwhile, the Bank of England's policy decision had little effect initially after its release as the central bank did what was widely expected to stand pat. The BoE held its interest rate at the record low level of 0.5%, while its asset purchase programme was left at £325bn.UK industrial output increased by a better-than-expected 0.4% month-on-month in February, however manufacturing output fell by 1%, compared to consensus estimates of a slight increase. "We maintain our view that the economy will remain fragile during the first half of the year before gaining strength during the second half of the year," said Barclays Capital analyst Blerina Uruci following the release of the data.The Footsie fell 135 points, or 2.3%, yesterday on the back of worries over rising bond yields in Europe and fading hopes of extra stimulus for the US economy.FTSE 100: FINANCIALS DROP AFTER DATAFinancial stocks sank following the release of the manufacturing data, with Man Group leading the decline by midday, down nearly 4%. Lloyds, Resolution, Legal & General, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays following suit. HSBC was also lower after announcing that one of its most experienced bankers, Sandy Flockhart, is to retire as Executive Director from the main board, having served 37 years with the firm.Bucking the trend was fund manager Ashmore after UBS raised its rating on the stock from neutral to buy. The broker said that its recent underperformance, combined with the strong fund performance and record inflows at industry level, was the reason behind the upgrade.Quality control services provider Intertek Group was in demand after it acquired ATI, a provider of asset integrity support services in the US power sector. BT Italia, a subsidiary of UK telecoms titan BT, has sold its entire stake in consumer-focused broadband Internet service provider NGI, allowing it to focus on its core corporate and public sector customer base. Shares in BT were lower.FTSE 250: HALFORDS FACING SIGNIFICANT HEADWINDS Like-for-like sales are still heading south in 2012 at Halfords, the retailer focused on the needs of car and bike owners, albeit not as fast as they back-pedalled in 2011. LFL revenue in the UK and the Republic of Ireland was down 2.3% in the 13 weeks to March 30th compared to the corresponding period of 2011, whereas for the year to the end of March, LFL sales were down 2.7%. Shares still fell though, down over 3%. Sector peers Kesa Electricals, Home Retail and Dixons didn't fare any better.Micro Focus was making gains after UBS raised its recommendation on the stock from neutral to buy and lifted its target price from 440p to 525p. Budget airline easyJet was flying slightly higher after reporting 4.4% more paid seats in March, compared to the same month a year before. The load factor also improved by 1.9 percentage points.FTSE 100 - RisersAshmore Group (ASHM) 379.10p +3.38%Sage Group (SGE) 291.40p +1.36%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,716.00p +1.06%WPP (WPP) 834.00p +0.85%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,546.00p +0.85%Centrica (CNA) 312.10p +0.71%Diageo (DGE) 1,527.00p +0.69%Bunzl (BNZL) 995.50p +0.50%Next (NXT) 2,951.00p +0.48%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 707.50p +0.43%FTSE 100 - FallersMan Group (EMG) 117.80p -4.07%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 247.30p -2.25%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 31.18p -2.23%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,183.00p -2.23%Barclays (BARC) 214.00p -2.06%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 126.00p -1.95%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 25.59p -1.95%ICAP (IAP) 375.20p -1.93%GKN (GKN) 195.70p -1.61%BAE Systems (BA.) 290.90p -1.52%FTSE 250 - RisersBwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 161.80p +4.05%Micro Focus International (MCRO) 468.80p +3.28%National Express Group (NEX) 235.70p +3.15%Spirit Pub Company (SPRT) 60.50p +2.54%Grainger (GRI) 104.10p +1.76%AG Barr (BAG) 1,155.00p +1.76%Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 127.00p +1.68%Kentz Corporation Ltd. (KENZ) 445.00p +1.64%ITE Group (ITE) 219.90p +1.48%Anglo Pacific Group (APF) 306.30p +1.42%FTSE 250 - FallersPetra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 163.00p -8.38%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 17.40p -5.95%Exillon Energy (EXI) 133.00p -5.67%Avocet Mining (AVM) 167.40p -4.51%International Personal Finance (IPF) 253.90p -3.93%Booker Group (BOK) 81.50p -3.66%Kesa Electricals (KESA) 61.40p -3.38%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 406.00p -3.22%Home Retail Group (HOME) 105.90p -3.20%Halfords Group (HFD) 305.60p -3.11%BC