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FTSE 100 gives up gains; BT biggest loser

Published: 08:05 10 Jun 2014 EDT

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Footsie gave back recent gains and was trading down over 24 points at lunchtime.

The index of leading shares finished at 6,875 yesterday - its highest finish since May 14 when it set a new 14-year closing high of 6,878.49.

The biggest faller was UK communications giant BT (LONBT.), which dropped 2.73%, as rival BskyB announced plans to expand its sports TV package to punters - adding a new channel for European football.

On the winning front was brewer SABMiller (LON:SAB), which was up 1.68%, which was yesterday boosted by M& chatter. The firm has been a rumoured target of the Anheuser- Busch InBev for over ten years..

Another gainer was tobacco giant Imperial Tobacco (LON:IMT), which confirmed it is making plans to spin-out and float its European distribution business unit, Logista.

Logista, a cigarette distribution operation in southern Europe, delivers products for both Imperial and other groups to kiosks and petrol stations.

The quantum of the IPO has yet to be revealed, though analysts say the unit is worth in excess of £1bn.

In the junior space, the story was the same. FTSE AIM All-share lost 1.24 to 80.80, while FTSE AIM 100 lost 9.62 to 3499.20.

In the small caps, Magnolia Petroleum (LON:MAGP) gained over 8%.

The US focused oil play is confident that it will again see strong reserves growth, once a new report on its interests in Oklahoma's Mississippi Lime play is complete.

An industry-wide geological reassessment of the Mississippi Lime meant the area is no longer believed to have uniform characteristics, and is therefore harder to model in terms of size and productivity. 

This news recently spooked Magnolia investors as it impacts its reserves but the firm believes its acreage still benefits from having multiple 'sweet spots' in the Mississippi Lime play, and it is also looking to the increasingly prevalent Woodford formation as a source of new growth.

In mining, Alecto Minerals (LON:ALO) shares gained nearly 6% as chief executive Mark Jones said he was “extremely pleased” with the high-grade exploration results from the company’s Massakama target on the Kossanto Gold Project in Mali.

Reverse circulation drilling yielded 2 metres at 13.54 grams per tonne and 1 metre at 12.8 grams as well wider intersections at lower grades such as 23 metres at 1.35 grams and 28 metres at 0.67 grams.

Andes Energia (LON:AEN) shares were also up over 7% on the day. Yesterday, there was a note from broker GMP, which has kicked off its coverage of the AIM oil firm with a ‘buy’ recommendation.

GMP describes Andes Energia as “unique” among the companies listed in London, as it set a pricetarget of 90p per share (current price 42p).

Andes Energia is, indeed, the only London listed firm with direct exposure to Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale – which, as the largest outside either America or China, is being ranked among the top shale plays in the world.

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