On the downside, household goods manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser (RB.L) shares fell 1.2% or 40p to £34.28 after analysts at Morgan Stanley downgraded it to equal weight from overweight. Citigroup analysts cut their target price to £38.00 from £42.00.
Imperial Tobacco (IMT.L) shares dropped 1% or 22p to £20.63 after publishing a statement on a price war in Spain saying it could dent profits by £110 million.
The biggest faller was Aggreko (AGK.L) which fell 3.6% or 69p to £18.66 after Hugh Osmond's Horizon Acquisition vehicle said it would spend $855 million on a 59% stake in major US rival APR Energy. Analysts at Numis cut Aggreko's rating to sell from hold.
Gainers elsewhere included AssetCo PLC (ASTO.L) which owns London’s fire engines. The company’s shares, which trade on AIM, fell more than 90% over the year during which it has been trying to raise cash. Today the company confirmed press speculation that it was in takeover talks that were now at a ‘developed stage’. Assetco shares jumped 37% or 1.4p to 5p.
Faroe Petroleum (FPM.L) shares fell after it reported that it would have to close a North Sea oil well. Its shares fell 12% or 20p to 150p. The company's chief executive Graham Stewart said: ‘Whilst the outcome of the well is a disappointment, the presence of hydrocarbons has however now been proven and offers encouragement to continue our deep water exploration plans in the region.’
Another oil exploration firm hit by bad news today was Sterling Energy (SEY.L) which reported on its Kurdistan operations. Angus MacAskill, chief executive of Sterling which is 20% owned by asset manager Invesco, said: 'We are disappointed that the open hole flow test has not demonstrated commercial hydrocarbon flow rates.’ Its shares fell 26% or 12p to 33.7p.
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