Friday lunchtime market update

Dec 18 2009 By nebusiness

LLOYDS Banking Group was back under pressure today amid fears over the impact of proposed new demands on the financial sector.

Shares in the part-nationalised bank were 8% lower last night and fell another 2% today - 1p to 50.1p - after the Basel Committee on financial supervision signalled that extra capital should be put aside to prevent another crisis.

The tougher-than-expected proposals wrong-footed investors and caused Barclays to fall 2.85p to 271p and Royal Bank of Scotland to drop by 0.7p to 30p, although the wider London market was higher, with the FTSE 100 Index ahead 53.7 points at 5271.6, after a strong morning for mining stocks.

The commodities sector recovered from losses yesterday as Antofagasta climbed 24.5p to 929.5p and Kazakhmys lifted 34p to 1279p. Oil giant BP was 11.3p higher at 585.6p.

In a quiet session for corporate news, temporary power specialist Aggreko topped the FTSE 250 Index risers board after reporting better than expected trading for the fourth quarter. Shares were 5% or 41.5p higher at 876p after the company also forecast further progress next year.

Meanwhile, Ryanair’s decision to pull out of the acquisition of up to 200 planes from Boeing was well received by investors. Shares were 6% higher - up 0.2 to 3.29 euros - as the airline said it would return cash to shareholders instead.

Rival easyJet was also higher, despite the disruption caused by bad weather closures at several UK airports. Shares were 14.1p higher at 355.5p.

Topps Tiles shares were 4% higher after the floor coverings firm jettisoned its Dutch business and said trading continued to improve in the UK. Shares were 3.5p higher at 84.25p, even though Topps expects a £1 million write-down from the closure of the Dutch operation.