News

London closed in the red despite sterling work by Capita and Tate and Lyle, which both delivered better than expected trading statements.

US shares came under pressure after a gloomy statement from giant computer chip maker Intel, which knocked technology stocks.

Mobile giant Vodafone fell after corporate governance adviser Pensions and Investment Research Consultants advised shareholders to vote against its remuneration report at next week's AGM.

Support services giant Capita said it has made "considerable" progress during the first six months of the year as it delivered a better than expected 24% hike in interim profits.

Profit before tax, share based payment charge and intangible amortisation for the six months to 30 June jumped to £92.4m from £74.5m on turnover 23% higher at £845m.

Miners were mixed, with Xstrata, BHP Billiton and Anglo American dipping after early gains. Vedanta Resources said first quarter revenues more than doubled to $1.286bn due to bumper metal prices, while core earnings were up a whopping 280% to $589.1m.

Online poker giant PartyGaming gave back some of yesterday's recovery though ahead of Friday's Key Performance Indicator release. News that BetOnSports had been forced to shut its website badly hurt sentiment in the sector.

Power giant British Energy confirmed that the British government, which holds a 65% stake in the company, is looking to sell part of its stake in the group.

Alistair Darling, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, said, "I confirm that the Government will actively consider a sale of part of its stake in British Energy via a capital markets transaction."

JP Morgan downgraded the oil industry to "neutral" from "positive", one week after crude prices rocketed to record highs. The broker also cut back BP to "neutral" from "overweight" arguing there are risks in the near term.

Vague talk of a possible offer from Emirates Airlines gave British Airways a boost, while 'buy' advice from Merrill Lynch sent banks Barclays, Lloyds TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland north.

Tate and Lyle did well on the back an upbeat trading statement. The sugar group said it had made a strong start to the year with first quarter results "well ahead" of the same period the year before.

On the second line, Kesa Electricals expects to deliver a "satisfactory" first half profit performance following a hike in flat screen TV sales ahead of the World Cup, although it remains cautious about the outlook for the second half.

Telecoms carrier Colt narrowed half year pre-tax losses, but said 2006 revenues were likely to be broadly the same as last year as market conditions remain tough.

Furniture retailer MFI fell into the red, named Will Samuel as new chairman and said talks continue over the sale of its retail arm. The group reported a pre-tax loss of £5.7m for the 24 weeks to 10 June versus a £19.5m profit a year ago.

Condom and footcare group SSL said performance in the current year has been encouraging and in line with expectations.

Minerva said current chairman of Alfred McAlpine, Oliver Whitehead, will assume the position of non-executive chairman at the group's AGM meeting in November, replacing current incumbent Andrew Rosenfeld.

Casino operator Stanley Leisure rolled out a rise in full year pre-tax profit to £19.1m from £16.2m a year ago, but warned that lucky gamblers sent its first quarter win margin below budget.

Daniel Stewart improved after the broker more than doubled full year profit and turnover and said the group is well positioned for the year ahead following "firm" trading in the first quarter.

ServicePower was upbeat this morning as the field engineer software specialist said first half revenue should top £5.8m, while the EBITDA loss is reduced versus the same period last year.

Cartucho plunged to a new low after the stand-alone ink refill kiosks group warned of a hit to profits for this year and next as overall average refill rates remain below expectations.

Among the monnows, approval to sell its AD Ambulatory Syringe Pump in Europe gave Zi Medical a boost while another disappointing trading statement knocked antenna maker Sarantel.

FTSE 100 - Risers
Capita Group (CPI) 518.75p +9.27%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 668.50p +3.32%
British Airways (BAY) 368.25p +3.08%
Yell Group (YELL) 526.00p +2.63%
BSkyB (BSY) 544.50p +2.54%
BAE Systems (BA.) 347.75p +1.83%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
PartyGaming (PRTY) 87.25p -7.43%
Friends Provident (FP.) 175.50p -1.96%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,726.00p -1.94%
Carnival Corporation (CCL) 2,099.00p -1.78%
Prudential (PRU) 562.50p -1.57%
Old Mutual (OML) 155.75p -1.42%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Ultra Electronics (ULE) 1,100.00p +15.12%
easyJet (EZJ) 436.50p +4.74%
Morgan Sindall (MGNS) 1,083.00p +4.13%
Wincanton (WIN) 320.00p +4.07%
CSR (CSR) 1,112.00p +3.93%
Taylor Woodrow (TWOD) 332.00p +3.83%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Colt Telecom (COLT) 126.50p -23.33%
MFI Furniture Group (MFI) 85.00p -20.00%
888 Holdings (888) 161.00p -9.42%
Stanley Leisure (SLY) 590.00p -4.76%
Countrywide (CWD) 383.50p -3.58%
Greggs (GRG) 3,859.00p -3.50%