London open: Glencore leads fallers early on

29th Aug 2012 08:25

- Spain a concern as Catalonia needs aid- Markets await Bernanke- Ex-div Glencore a heavy faller early onEx-div stocks and miners were weighing heavily on the FTSE 100 index in early trading on Wednesday morning with worries about Spain weighing on sentiment.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."Catalonia also seems stubborn on political conditions relating to the emergency funds, causing some anxiety for potential future lenders to Spain as a whole. This is pretty big news for the Eurozone as any seemed resistance to conditions relating to any emergency funds could cause a pretty big headache down the line," said trader Simon Furlong from Spreadex.Economists at FxPro said in an e-mailed note this morning that investors are now waiting for Ben Bernanke for a lift: "As the Chairman of the US Federal Reserve gets up to speak on Friday, his words will determine whether markets are imbued with hope or despair ahead of the next US monetary policy meeting in September."FTSE 100: Ex-div stocks, miners down early onEx-dividend stocks were providing a drag this morning, including heavyweights Croda International, Glencore, Legal & General and Xstrata.Nevertheless, Glencore and Xstrata were 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.FTSE 250: RusPetro drops after swinging into the redWest Siberia-focused oil and gas firm RusPetro was a heavy faller in the opening hour 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.UK and Continental property investment firm Hansteen gained after reporting a sharp rise in half-year profit despite adverse currency movement. On a like-for-like basis, occupancy, values and rent all improved.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) 1,373.00p +1.18%Serco Group (SRP) 567.00p +0.80%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 616.00p +0.65%Centrica (CNA) 328.90p +0.40%Reed Elsevier (REL) 580.00p +0.35%Pennon Group (PNN) 740.50p +0.27%WPP (WPP) 838.00p +0.18%Hammerson (HMSO) 451.60p +0.18%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,179.00p +0.17%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,419.00p +0.11%FTSE 100 - FallersGlencore International (GLEN) 368.50p -4.04%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 310.70p -2.48%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,793.00p -2.41%Xstrata (XTA) 918.00p -2.26%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 128.00p -1.99%Aviva (AV.) 321.00p -1.86%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 142.40p -1.73%Anglo American (AAL) 1,834.50p -1.66%Vedanta Resources (VED) 889.00p -1.66%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,905.50p -1.40%FTSE 250 - RisersSt James's Place (STJ) 346.99p +3.21%SVG Capital (SVI) 279.90p +3.13%Chemring Group (CHG) 332.60p +2.65%Homeserve (HSV) 216.50p +1.88%Kier Group (KIE) 1,320.00p +1.85%Galliford Try (GFRD) 632.00p +1.69%Perform Group (PER) 380.00p +1.55%Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 146.80p +1.52%Spirent Communications (SPT) 156.70p +1.42%ITE Group (ITE) 203.10p +1.30%FTSE 250 - FallersRuspetro (RPO) 130.60p -7.70%Redrow (RDW) 137.80p -4.90%Kentz Corporation Ltd. (KENZ) 369.40p -3.02%Dunelm Group (DNLM) 587.50p -2.81%Micro Focus International (MCRO) 544.50p -2.77%Henderson Group (HGG) 104.80p -2.69%Ted Baker (TED) 991.50p -2.51%Rank Group (RNK) 137.03p -2.47%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 288.80p -2.43%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 77.30p -2.28%BC