London midday: Stocks down despite revision to UK GDP

24th Aug 2012 11:46

- UK Q2 GDP revised upwards- Greece in focus as Samaras meets Merkel- US QE hopes fading fastUK stocks were volatile in morning trade on Friday but remained firmly in negative territory in spite of some upwards revision to second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data in the UK.The state of Britain's economy in the second quarter was bad but not as bad as initially feared, revised figures for GDP show. Having initially estimated that GDP fell 0.7% in the second quarter, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revised its numbers which now indicate a 0.5% quarterly decline in GDP, bang in line with market expectations."The revision doesn't make a huge amount of difference as it still confirms the UK is in its third quarter of recession," said analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari.Greece will likely remain in focus today, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras are scheduled to meet to discuss the extension of meeting the bailout terms. According to media reports this morning, the German Finance Ministry has established a group to look at the impact of contagion from a Greek exit from the Eurozone. "These issues have surely been studied and discussed within the government for some time now, but the official confirmation of a working group putting together a 'Plan B' is a clear signal to the Greek government and its PM Samaras, who is visiting Chancellor Merkel today, that there is very little room for renegotiating the current Greek aid programme," said analysts at Barclays in en e-mailed note.Meanwhile, hopes of further stimulus from the US Federal Reserve are quickly beginning to fade. "Mixed noises from two Fed members prompts the uncertainty this morning, unnerving investors before the Jackson Hole meeting next week," said market strategist Ishaq Siddiqi.FTSE 100: Miners and financials provide a drag Mining stocks were heavy fallers with Kazakhmys, Rio Tinto, ENRC, Antofagasta, Anglo American, Vedanta, BHP Billiton and Randgold falling sharply. ??Anglo American dropped after Jefferies downgraded the stock this morning from 'buy' to 'hold' despite yesterday's news that it had resolved a 10-month dispute with Codelco relating to assets in Chile. "While this outcome should be a modest positive for Anglo, we are increasingly concerned about the fundamental outlook for the company," the broker said. ??Financials were also out favour with fund manager Ashmore among the worst performers after Citigroup lowered its rating to 'sell'. ??Global banking group HSBC was under the weather on rumours that it is in talks about a settlement concerning the allegations of laundering funds of sanctioned countries such as Iran and Sudan. Meanwhile, utilities stocks were benefitting from as risk appetite is scaled back. National Grid gained after Nomura said that the stock remains a top pick in the European utilities sector. It is a "compelling growth story [with] rising visibility".?FTSE 250: Berendsen gains; Stobart and Lonmin drop Work-wear and wash-room facilities provider Berendsen rose after increasing profitability in the first half of 2012, despite a small dip in revenues. ??Logistics firm Stobart fell after saying its short-term performance in transport is lower than market expectations as the current recessionary climate continues to hurt the sector. ??Platinum miner Lonmin was out of favour after appointing Simon Scott, the group's Chief Financial Officer, as Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) while Ian Farmer is receiving treatment for his illness. ??In small caps news, upmarket cooker maker AGA Rangemaster dropped over 10% after deciding not to pay an interim dividend as revenues and profits slipped in the first half. FTSE 100 - RisersCentrica (CNA) 327.90p +1.45%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,948.00p +1.25%Aggreko (AGK) 2,284.00p +1.11%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,745.00p +1.10%United Utilities Group (UU.) 715.00p +1.06%SSE (SSE) 1,358.00p +0.97%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,464.50p +0.93%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 664.00p +0.91%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,594.00p +0.90%Diageo (DGE) 1,712.50p +0.85%FTSE 100 - FallersAshmore Group (ASHM) 329.40p -4.94%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 339.00p -3.56%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 659.00p -3.16%Anglo American (AAL) 1,882.50p -3.04%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,867.00p -3.04%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,918.00p -2.17%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,127.00p -2.17%GKN (GKN) 219.10p -2.14%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,704.00p -2.07%Barclays (BARC) 187.10p -2.04%FTSE 250 - RisersRedrow (RDW) 143.90p +2.79%Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 488.10p +2.28%KCOM Group (KCOM) 78.60p +2.14%QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 171.70p +2.08%Computacenter (CCC) 379.80p +2.07%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 3,100.00p +1.94%Greene King (GNK) 576.00p +1.86%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 39.05p +1.85%Dunelm Group (DNLM) 569.50p +1.79%Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI) (GEMD) 188.60p +1.67%FTSE 250 - FallersSIG (SHI) 98.35p -4.14%Hays (HAS) 77.50p -3.91%Man Group (EMG) 76.40p -3.35%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 39.76p -3.26%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 185.70p -3.18%Yule Catto & Co (YULC) 141.30p -3.09%Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 1,150.00p -2.95%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 200.10p -2.77%Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 115.90p -2.69%Domino Printing Sciences (DNO) 570.00p -2.56%BC