London midday: Footsie pares losses but still in the red

11th Jul 2012 11:33

- Burberry leads stocks lower after Q1 update- Johnson Matthey, Lloyds, Centrica, SSE fall after broker downgrades- FOMC minutes due out laterThe FTSE 100 had pared some of its earlier losses but was still trading firmly in the red by Wednesday lunchtime with a disappointing trading update from Burberry and some broker downgrades weighing heavily on the blue-chip-index."The markets are very pessimistic about the upcoming US corporate earnings which began reporting yesterday. While Alcoa reporting a slightly better EPS figure, revenues were down as expected due to lower prices and falling demand. This trend is likely to continue over the next few weeks, which could pull the markets lower," said analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari.Investors will be keeping an eye on the minutes of the latest Federal Open Market Committee in the US which are due out this evening. "Last month, the Fed opted to expand 'Operation Twist', dashing the markets hopes for more quantitative easing. Today, we will get a chance to understand what went on behind the scenes at the Fed, and if the central bank will follow other major peers and turn aggressive on policies," said market strategist Ishaq Siddiqi from ETX Capital this morning.A court hearing in Germany began yesterday attempting to decide whether the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the EU's permanent bailout fund, abides by German law. "A considerable postponement of the ESM, which was foreseen for July this year, could cause considerable further uncertainty on markets beyond Germany and a substantial loss of trust in the eurozone's ability to make necessary decisions in an appropriate timeframe," according to Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble.Meanwhile , according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), state austerity plans could lead to four-and-a-half million more people losing their jobs in the Eurozone by 2016.FTSE 100: Burberry sinks after disappointing first quarterLuxury brand Burberry sank early on after underlying sales growth slowed down from 15% in the fourth quarter to 11% in the first quarter. Analysts were expecting a 13% increase. Both Nomura and Bank of America Merrill Lynch cut their target prices for the stock today.Chemicals group Johnson Matthey dropped after UBS downgraded the stock to 'neutral' while banking group Lloyds was suffering from a ratings cut by Liberum Capital to 'sell'. Utilities peers Centrica and SSE were heavy fallers after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stocks to 'equal weight' and 'underweight', respectively. In contrast, insurance firm Aviva was benefiting after the US broker upgraded its rating to 'overweight'.Power systems group Rolls-Royce fell despite winning a $280m order from Avianca for Trent 700 engines to power four Airbus A330 freighter aircraft. Royal Dutch Shell was lower after splashing out $74m to buy up the remaining shares of Norwegian liquid natural gas supplier Gasnor it does not already own. Heading the other way was pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline after test results suggested that its HIV treatment might be more effective than a competitor's. ??Interdealer broker ICAP also advanced despite saying that profits were down in the first quarter and trading volumes would remain subdued for at least the next few months. The stock has experienced a sharp fall over the last four months though.FTSE 250: Britvic hammered by recall and weather Soft drinks group Britvic plummeted after saying the recall of its Robinsons Fruit Shoot and Fruit Shoot Hydro drinks could cost the company up to £25m. Added to this, poor weather conditions and weak consumer sentiment means the group now expects to deliver a full-year results at the bottom end of market expectations - before taking account of the impact of the recall. Panmure Gordon downgraded the stock to 'sell' this morning.Pub chain JD Wetherspoon rose after announcing that it had been boosted by strong trading around the fortnight of the Jubilee celebrations and during the Euro 2012 championships. FTSE 100 - RisersARM Holdings (ARM) 491.30p +2.25%ICAP (IAP) 315.80p +1.51%Aviva (AV.) 290.20p +1.33%Schroders (SDR) 1,328.00p +1.22%Capital Shopping Centres Group (CSCG) 325.80p +0.93%Vodafone Group (VOD) 183.30p +0.91%National Grid (NG.) 689.00p +0.88%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,465.50p +0.79%CRH (CRH) 1,190.00p +0.76%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 109.40p +0.74%FTSE 100 - FallersBurberry Group (BRBY) 1,208.00p -5.92%Polymetal International (POLY) 850.00p -3.08%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,536.00p -2.72%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,109.00p -2.68%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 319.00p -2.68%Aggreko (AGK) 2,031.00p -2.45%WPP (WPP) 790.50p -2.17%Old Mutual (OML) 153.10p -2.17%GKN (GKN) 211.00p -2.09%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 873.00p -1.91%FTSE 250 - RisersAquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 42.98p +6.92%Spirit Pub Company (SPRT) 49.50p +4.76%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 70.75p +3.44%Grainger (GRI) 91.70p +3.03%Avocet Mining (AVM) 68.50p +2.93%BH Global Ltd. USD Shares (BHGU) 11.4 +2.61%Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 432.50p +2.56%Perform Group (PER) 430.00p +2.26%Bumi (BUMI) 314.40p +2.08%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 2,800.00p +1.82%FTSE 250 - FallersBritvic (BVIC) 251.60p -16.19%FirstGroup (FGP) 187.10p -8.46%Senior (SNR) 183.00p -5.62%Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 413.40p -3.55%Bodycote (BOY) 331.90p -3.26%Renishaw (RSW) 1,344.00p -3.17%Halfords Group (HFD) 191.80p -3.13%Chemring Group (CHG) 281.60p -3.03%Dialight (DIA) 990.00p -2.94%ITE Group (ITE) 195.50p -2.93%BC