London close: Footsie ends lower
London's tops stocks ended the day with losses as the positive open on Wall Street proved to be a false dawn and shares drifted back lower.
Vodafone was the biggest loser of the day after it warned that European markets are set to remain tough and said EBITDA margin for the UK business is expected to be lower in the second half than the first.
But it did say continued strong growth in data revenue and increasing penetration of 3G devices helped compensate for the regulatory and pricing pressures in Europe.
British Airways hit reverse Friday after ABN Amro cut the UK airline to 'sell' from 'hold' and chopped its price target to 430p from 540p as it reduced earnings forecasts for the group.
The move comes as the Dutch broker assessed the impact of the Open Skies deal, which it says will see new entrants encroach on BA's Heathrow stronghold, sending fares lower. Oil prices near $66 a barrel are also hurting shares.
Resolution was also deep in the red after it said talks that could have led to the sale of the group have been terminated. It continues to look at possible acquisitions and business combinations, it added in a statement.
M&A news stemmed some of the losses. Home improvement group Kingfisher rallied on press reports that the group may receive a takeover bid from Goldman Sachs's private-equity unit.
Brewer Scottish & Newcastle also rose on continued speculation it may get a bid from Heineken, while KKR and Pessina's increased their offer for Alliance Boots to £10.40 per, valuing the chemist chain at £10bn.
Man Group fell after it announced plans to demerge its US brokerage arm and list it in New York in a move that could value Man Financial at $5bn.
Rentokil Initial managed strong gains after it announced plans to sell its Initial Electronic Security Group to United Technologies of the US for £595m. The deal is expected to complete before the end of June.
Fund manager New Star Asset Management is to return £363m to shareholders after a bumper year in 2006 that saw profits jump from £16.8m to £50m and assets under management climb to £21.1bn.
Amongst the midcaps, Autonomy surged after Goldman Sachs added the group to its Conviction Buy List and raised target price to 800p from 640p.
Pub group Enterprise Inns said it has traded well in the first half of its financial year and operating and pretax profit are on track. Enterprise will continue its share buy back programme in the second half of the year.
RC Group enjoyed gains Friday after the fingerprint and recognition products firm said it is raising £43.7m from a placing at 131p to finance growth in Malaysia, the Middle East and China.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Centrica (CNA) 386.50p +2.93%
Kingfisher (KGF) 278.25p +2.87%
Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,171.00p +1.83%
Reuters Group (RTR) 466.00p +1.47%
Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) 1,541.00p +1.45%
Land Securities (LAND) 2,140.00p +1.37%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 517.75p +1.37%
ICAP (IAP) 530.50p +1.29%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,902.00p +1.29%
Legal & General (LGEN) 159.00p +1.27%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Vodafone (VOD) 135.50p -4.31%
Resolution (RSL) 620.50p -4.17%
British Airways (BAY) 486.00p -2.41%
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Man Group (EMG) 555.00p -1.77%
Shire (SHP) 1,049.00p -1.41%
Alliance and Leicester (AL.) 1,134.00p -1.39%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,691.00p -1.11%
BP (BP.) 552.00p -1.08%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,406.00p -1.06%
Wolseley (WOS) 1,191.00p -1.00%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Autonomy (AU.) 685.00p +6.12%
British Energy Group (BGY) 487.25p +5.01%
Galiform (GFRM) 155.75p +4.01%
Collins Stewart (CLST) 254.50p +3.88%
PartyGaming (PRTY) 51.75p +3.50%
Keller Group (KLR) 921.00p +3.31%
Wincanton (WIN) 372.25p +3.26%
Johnston Press (JPR) 465.25p +3.05%
UK Coal (UKC) 551.25p +2.70%
Redrow (RDW) 651.50p +2.68%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Warner Estate (WNER) 810.00p -4.99%
Woolworths Group (WLW) 30.75p -3.91%
Mitie Group (MTO) 230.25p -3.66%
Croda (CRDA) 638.00p -3.33%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 151.00p -3.21%
Dimension Data (DDT) 50.25p -2.90%
Henderson Group (HGI) 146.50p -2.82%
Renishaw (RSW) 755.00p -2.77%
Helical Bar (HLCL) 429.25p -2.39%
Grainger (GRI) 644.50p -2.35%
