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Shares in London edge ahead but without conviction

Yesterday’s M&A news in the US took some of the selling pressure off equities, but it is not at all clear that the downtrend is over for now. Early on there was buying in London, but this has again petered out to leave the FTSE 100 index up around 30 points.

There are some bright spots, with selected rises in the mining sector on improved commodity prices, and the housebuilders have seen speculative support on hopes of more cash support to alleviate the gloom and talk that bargain hunters and vulture funds are circling. A big rise in the oil price overnight has helped the likes of Cairn Energy and BG but fuel users British Airways and Carnival are naturally weak.

For a change it has been a quiet results session, and the only statement of note comes from C&C, where revenue for the four months ended 30th June fell by 8%. There were mixed performances with a 10% fall for the Cider division and growth of 3% for Spirits & Liqueurs. It added that revenue in the half year to August was unlikely to match last year's level but improved operating margins during the period should offset this. All in all, it looks shaky to say the least and we see more downside after another 85 fall so far today.


Head of Research at Blue Index, specialists in trading Contracts For Difference
11/07/2008

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