News

Blue chips drift gently lower albeit on a broad front, after the latest consumer confidence survey from the Nationwide building society showed confidence at its lowest level since the survey started in 2004.

Bus and train operator Stagecoach goes off the rails after gloomy comments on future prospects accompanying this morning's results. First half pre-tax profits rose but the group said it is likely to see downward pressure on 2009/10 rail profits. Rivals FirstGroup, National Espress and Go-Ahead are lower in sympathy.

Software firm Sage posted a rise in full year profits despite challenging market conditions that saw markets weaken in the UK and North America. Pre-tax profit for the year rose to £241m from £223m before on revenue that increased to 7% to £1.29bn.

BHP Billiton said it is temporarily cutting manganese production at its 60% owned Samancor operation due to weak market conditions, reducing ore production by about 21% and alloy production by about 23% in the 2009 financial year.

BHP shares hold steady, helped by a "buy" recommendation from Citicorp, though its one time bid target Rio Tinto, also rated a "buy" by Citi, is lower on reports it is mulling an equity issue.

A number of stocks going ex-dividend today is further dragging down the index. Among them are 3i, Associated British Foods, Land Securities, London Stock Exchange, National Grid, Severn Trent and Vedanta, although the latter is actually higher on the day following its announcement yesterday of its intention to buy back 10% of its shares.

Royal Bank of Scotland continues yesterday's good run which was sparked by US broker Merrill Lynch resuming coverage with a "buy" recommendation and a price target of 93p.

Property-focused Irish bank Anglo Irish scrapped its final dividend after taking a €500m impairment provision that cut annual profits by more than a third.

Heavily indebted housebuilder Barratt Developments perks up on news that it has raised in the region of £109m through the sale of assets since its interim management statement on 18 November.

Irn Bru maker AG Barr posted strong growth over the three months to October though the soft drinks group is more cautious going forward.

Packaging firm DS Smith profits slid for the half year as it saw a slowdown in demand across all its markets, but investors applauded the company's moves to cut costs. Profit before tax for the half-year to October was £44.1m versus £56.1m previously on revenue that increased 17% to £1.10bn.

Shaftesbury, which owns a portfolio of over 400 properties in London's West End and Covent Garden, saw adjusted diluted net asset value slump 25% in the year due to falling property prices.

Music, films and games retailer HMV is wilting after HSBC downgraded the stock to "neutral" from "overweight" and cut its target price from 155p to 127p.

Touch screen manufacturer Zytronic posted a 155% jump in full year pre-tax profit and said it is confident about the group's prospects going forward.

Small-cap focused stockbroker Numis's profits more than halved in the year to September after "a virtual cessation of capital markets activity".