London midday: Nervous wait for US jobs data

8th Oct 2010 12:25

The clock is ticking down on this afternoon's release of US non-farm payrolls data and the market is showing signs of nervousness, with the Footsie drifting back and in danger of slipping below 5600. Bank Barclays is down after PCP3, a vehicle linked to Man City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, sold 220m shares in the UK bank. The biggest faller in the morning session, however, was silver miner Fresnillo, which has been cut to "underperform" from "neutral" by Merrill Lynch. Broker comment also puts a dent in accountancy software firm Sage's share price; UBS has cut its rating on the stock from "neutral" to "sell". UBS has looked more kindly on oil explorer Heritage Oil, initiating coverage with a "buy" recommendation. The sun is shining on holiday company Thomas Cook. It and the Co-operative Group are merging their high street travel agents and foreign exchange businesses. Today's move creates Britain's largest high street travel network with over 1,200 shops - 803 Thomas Cook and 401 Co-op - and result in savings of over £35m a year.Residential property firm Grainger said the preliminary valuation of its UK residential portfolio indicates a year on year increase in vacant possession values of 4.5% compared to increases of 2.5% and 3.1% in the Halifax and Nationwide indices respectively.Tool and machinery hire firm Speedy Hire will take a £1.7m bad debt charge after the the collapse of social housing group Connaught, which was a big customer of the plant hire group.Israeli technology firm Emblaze has successfully appealed against a decision by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to withhold £8.8m of VAT repayments claimed since March 2006.The share price of Beowulf Mining continued its epic journey north on Friday after the company announced encouraging drilling results.Shares in real-time 3D and 2D x-ray imaging specialist Image Scan shot up after the company held out high hopes for its new products. The company has invested in the redesign of the Axis baggage screening system resulting in what the company called "highly competitive" 3D and 2D versions of the Axis product range. A sale into the Middle East has already been secured on the back of this revised costing and pricing model.FTSE 100 - RisersLonmin (LMI) 1,766.00p +0.91%BAE Systems (BA.) 353.30p +0.91%United Utilities Group (UU.) 588.50p +0.43%Rolls-Royce Group (RR.) 594.50p +0.42%Amec (AMEC) 994.00p +0.35%Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) 1,130.00p +0.18%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,601.00p +0.13%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 708.00p +0.07%Rexam (REX) 315.80p 0.00%Tomkins (TOMK) 324.40p 0.00%FTSE 100 - FallersFresnillo (FRES) 1,230.00p -4.58%Sage Group (SGE) 271.00p -4.07%Essar Energy (ESSR) 477.30p -3.43%Barclays (BARC) 295.10p -2.94%Land Securities Group (LAND) 669.00p -2.62%Unilever (ULVR) 1,799.00p -2.49%BT Group (BT.A) 148.10p -2.44%Autonomy Corporation (AU.) 1,507.00p -2.33%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,427.00p -2.11%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 102.60p -2.10%FTSE 250 - RisersHeritage Oil (HOIL) 337.40p +4.78%Telecity Group (TCY) 504.50p +3.81%CPP Group (CPP) 263.50p +3.33%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 184.40p +2.67%Avis Europe (AVE) 216.00p +2.45%FTSE 250 - FallersPetropavlovsk (POG) 1,007.00p -5.98%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 19.75p -5.91%Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 26.53p -4.47%Mcbride (MCB) 179.50p -4.32%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 469.40p -4.24%