London midday: Stocks maintain gains but C&C tumbles

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still in the black by midday on Friday amid hopes a deal will be reached to avert a US debt default. The FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 7,771.20.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "Growing optimism for a resolution to the debt ceiling negotiations lifted sentiment, although the mood was slightly tempered by question marks over the Federal Reserve's next move on interest rates.

"The mood music from the politicians involved in brokering a deal to raise the debt ceiling and avoid an unthinkable US default was more positive, with investors reacting with cautious optimism until such time as a deal is finalised."

On home shores, a survey out earlier showed that consumer confidence continued to recover in May despite record-high food prices.

GfK's consumer confidence index printed at -27, up three points from April.

Within that, all individual measures were higher on the month. The index of expectations for personal finances over the coming year ticked up five points from April to -8 in May. The gauge for expectations for personal finances over the past 12 months rose one point to -20.

The index for the general economic situation over the next year came in at -30.0 in May, up from -34.0 a month earlier, while the same index but for the situation over the last 12 months rose one point to -54.0.

The major purchase index edged up four points to -24 and the savings measure was flat on the month in May at 19.0.

In equity markets, St James's Place was the top performer on the FTSE 100 after an upgrade to 'outperform' from 'sector perform' at RBC Capital Markets. It said STJ has the strongest distribution model in UK wealth, and following a de-rating, the shares now stand out as offering value.

BT Group was also higher, having tumbled on Thursday after it announced plans to cut 55,000 jobs.

Smiths Group ticked up as it lifted revenue guidance after a strong third quarter, driven by volume and price growth.

On the downside, drinks company C&C Group tumbled after it said chief executive David Forde had decided to step down and announced a €25m hit from problems implementing a system upgrade in its Matthew Clark and Bibendum (MCB) businesses in the UK.

The Bulmers and Magners owner said it had "encountered significant challenges" in the system changes at MCB.

"The implementation process has taken longer and been significantly more challenging and disruptive than originally envisaged, with a consequent material impact on service and profitability within MCB," it added.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,771.20 0.37% FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,330.42 0.17% techMARK (TASX) 4,704.83 0.25%

FTSE 100 - Risers

St James's Place (STJ) 1,149.00p 2.13% Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 648.40p 2.11% BT Group (BT.A) 143.45p 1.95% Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 16,385.00p 1.90% Anglo American (AAL) 2,370.50p 1.80% SSE (SSE) 1,866.00p 1.58% Convatec Group (CTEC) 229.40p 1.50% Schroders (SDR) 470.10p 1.45% Prudential (PRU) 1,180.50p 1.42% Legal & General Group (LGEN) 235.80p 1.29%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Burberry Group (BRBY) 2,330.00p -2.47% Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,270.00p -1.57% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 170.15p -1.45% Persimmon (PSN) 1,325.50p -1.30% Next (NXT) 6,620.00p -1.11% Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 125.05p -0.99% B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 488.90p -0.93% GSK (GSK) 1,411.60p -0.86% Vodafone Group (VOD) 82.23p -0.86% InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 5,378.00p -0.85%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Man Group (EMG) 218.60p 3.80% Future (FUTR) 912.50p 3.69% Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 224.60p 2.65% Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 1,326.50p 2.39% Drax Group (DRX) 632.60p 2.26% Hill and Smith (HILS) 1,368.00p 2.24% FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 673.00p 2.12% National Express Group (NEX) 119.90p 2.04% Genus (GNS) 2,506.00p 1.95% Softcat (SCT) 1,354.00p 1.80%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 129.20p -15.99% International Distributions Services (IDS) 202.90p -2.87% Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 742.50p -2.81% ASOS (ASC) 441.20p -2.71% Energean (ENOG) 1,109.00p -2.55% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,048.00p -2.09% Genuit Group (GEN) 332.00p -2.06% Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 92.60p -1.91% Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 680.50p -1.87% easyJet (EZJ) 519.60p -1.59%