British Energy may have lagged but it ended the day in positive mood

Published on Friday 19 September 2008 21:52

SCOTS STOCKS

A DAY of recovery, not just for the whole of the FTSE but also British Energy. A perilous fall at the nuclear power group at the start of the day below 700p was corrected as the stock ended, if not on the high note enjoyed by others, still up 0.84 per cent to 720.5p.

Still with energy, Scottish & Southern Energy also had a volatile day, but ended up up 1.24 per cent to 1,388p.

Along with the days' surge were rebounds for a number of Scottish stocks, most of which were in line with the FTSE 100's recovery.

These included a boost for insurers including Standard Life, which was up 7.34 per cent to 246p. Even newspapers seemed more in favour as Johnston Press, the owners of The Scotsman, enjoyed a 7.36 per cent rise to 43.75p.

Higher crude also boosted Cairn Energy, up about 12.3 per cent to 259p. Dana Petroleum was also up, 9.2 per cent to 109p. Melrose Resources seemed somewhat ignored, although it rose 5.4 per cent to 370p.

Expectations that current turmoil will boost bus use prompted JP Morgan to raise its target prices on Stagecoach, albeit not as much as its English counterparts Arriva and National Express due to Stagecoach's exposure to more expansive rail travel. Stagecoach rose nearly 7.5 per cent to 21.75p.