London midday: Markets look to Jackson Hole for boost

29th Aug 2012 11:37

- Greece agrees on budget plan- Spain a concern as Catalonia in need of aid- Markets look ahead to Jackson Hole meetingThe Footsie remained firmly in the red in morning trade as concerns over the Eurozone and speculation about the upcoming Jackson Hole meeting in Wyoming continue to be the focus of market attention.According to media reports this morning, leaders in Greece have largely agreed on the country's budget plan to identify €13.5bn in spending cuts for 2013 and 2014, aimed at lowering the deficit to under 3% of gross domestic product (GDP)."If all parties agree that Greece have abided by the bailout agreement, this could be a significant step for Greece in remaining in the Eurozone. The country has been in recession for five years and these cuts are likely to ensure that the recession will deepen which will lead to a lot more unrest. However it will also put them in a position to alter the focus from austerity to growth, while also putting them on a more sustainable path than they have been on for years," said analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari.It was revealed yesterday that the recession in Spain was deeper than first thought in the second quarter, with concerns intensifying after reports that the regional government of Catalonia would be requesting around €5bn from Spain's liquidity fund. Investors are hoping that the Jackson Hole meeting of central bankers on Friday will see the US Federal Reserve hints at further stimulus measures, such as quantitative easing, like it has done in the past. Meanwhile, European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi is being forced to miss the meeting due to "a heavy workload", increasing optimism that he could be drawing up plans for strong action ahead of an ECB meeting next week.FTSE 100: Ex-div stock Glencore down as merger at riskEx-dividend stocks were providing a drag this morning, including heavyweights Croda International, Glencore, Legal & General and Xstrata. Glencore and Xstrata were also being pressured lower by reports that Xstrata shareholder Norges Bank Investment Management has raised its stake in the miner in the last few weeks. The Norwegian fund is expected to join forces with Qatari Holdings to vote to block the merger between the two groups. Copper producer Antofagasta was also lower despite beating EPS estimates in the first half as a decrease in copper prices was offset by higher levels of production. Outsourcing group Serco was higher after saying that it expects good growth in full-year organic revenues in 2012 despite a 2.1% fall in the first half. Shares in Marks and Spencer were in red once again as takeover speculation continues to fade. The stock jumped on Friday after Bloomberg reported that private equity firm CVC was considering making an offer. However, analysts at Investec have said this morning that a successful bid is unlikely and the "bid spec bubble" is expected to burst.FTSE 250: RusPetro drops after swinging into the red West Siberia-focused oil and gas firm RusPetro was a heavy faller after reporting a pre-tax loss of $26.4m, compared with a profit of $0.6m in the first half of last year. Revenues, however, tripled as production ramps up. ???A host of second-tier stocks went ex-dividend today and were trading in the red, such as African Barrick Gold, Devro, Ferrexpo, Henderson, Hikma, Hochschild Mining, Lancashire Holdings, Rotork, Wood Group, Micro Focus, Rank Group and Stagecoach. FTSE 100 - RisersSSE (SSE) 1,376.00p +1.40%Centrica (CNA) 331.40p +1.16%Rexam (REX) 429.20p +0.94%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,188.00p +0.93%Reed Elsevier (REL) 583.00p +0.87%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,456.00p +0.78%Whitbread (WTB) 2,120.00p +0.76%WPP (WPP) 841.50p +0.60%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 278.80p +0.58%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,335.00p +0.53%FTSE 100 - FallersGlencore International (GLEN) 373.65p -2.70%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,789.50p -2.53%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 128.00p -1.99%Aviva (AV.) 320.70p -1.96%Anglo American (AAL) 1,831.00p -1.85%Barclays (BARC) 185.75p -1.69%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,654.00p -1.66%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 142.60p -1.59%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 33.52p -1.56%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 220.40p -1.56%FTSE 250 - RisersHomeserve (HSV) 222.20p +4.56%SVG Capital (SVI) 282.00p +3.91%Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 150.20p +3.87%CSR (CSR) 333.10p +2.71%Ophir Energy (OPHR) 542.50p +2.17%Chemring Group (CHG) 331.00p +2.16%Savills (SVS) 399.60p +1.94%Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust (ASL) 627.00p +1.70%Dialight (DIA) 1,114.00p +1.55%Hiscox Ltd. (HSX) 456.70p +1.51%FTSE 250 - FallersRuspetro (RPO) 131.50p -7.07%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 76.25p -3.60%Henderson Group (HGG) 104.70p -2.79%Bumi (BUMI) 331.30p -2.56%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 288.60p -2.50%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 39.15p -2.37%SIG (SHI) 101.00p -2.23%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 176.10p -2.17%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 131.90p -2.15%Micro Focus International (MCRO) 548.00p -2.14%BC