London open: SSE leads the fallers in early trading

27th Jul 2011 08:31

The top share index saw a sharp decline in early trading, as the debt crisis in the US continues to weigh on market sentiment. Energy supplier Scottish & Southern Energy was the heavy faller, tumbling 4.85% after going ex dividend. Meanwhile, sector peer Centrica also fell lower, albeit by a lesser extent (-1.2%), after utilities firm British Gas (owned by Centrica) received a £2.5m fine for mishandling customer complaints. The miners were in demand as gold and silver futures head higher. Lonmin, Fresnillo and Randgold Resources are among the highest risers.BG Group is higher, extending gains after Tuesday's results, while BP also also firmed, attempting to recover after yesterday's sell-off.Terrestrial broadcaster ITV fell lower after warnings that the outlook for the TV advertising market remains uncertain, despite earnings and revenue beating estimates in the first half.Accountancy software titan Sage edged higher after saying that it has continued to deliver good growth despite an uncertain economic backdrop, and full year results should be in line with the board's expectations.Interim figures from cigarettes maker British American Tobacco underwhelmed as shares fell lower, despite numbers coming in slightly ahead of expectations, as higher prices offset volume weakness.A high riser on the FTSE 250 was bluetooth chip specialist CSR as second quarter revenue came in line with management guidance, and slightly ahead of what the City was expecting.Electrical components manufacturer Laird rose after it reported a 65% surge in half year underlying pre-tax profit and said it expects further progress through the rest of 2011 and beyond.Also wanted was Dignity, the provider of funeral-related services, after it said that revenue grew 6.7% in the six months ended 1 July.BCFTSE 100 - RisersLonmin (LMI) 1,318.00p +1.00%BG Group (BG.) 1,493.00p +0.44%IMI (IMI) 1,103.00p +0.36%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,697.00p +0.30%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,615.00p +0.27%Sage Group (SGE) 277.60p +0.18%BP (BP.) 464.00p +0.16%BHP Billiton (BLT) 2,340.00p +0.06%Vodafone Group (VOD) 164.90p -0.03%Schroders (SDR) 1,653.00p -0.06%FTSE 100 - FallersScottish & Southern Energy (SSE) 1,333.00p -4.85%Investec (INVP) 494.20p -2.81%GKN (GKN) 225.60p -2.34%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 44.37p -1.78%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 35.56p -1.69%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 236.90p -1.62%John Wood Group (WG.) 679.50p -1.52%ITV (ITV) 67.00p -1.47%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,451.00p -1.29%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,160.00p -1.28%