M&S and ITV take centre stage

Published on Wednesday 18 November 2009 19:33

LONDON FTSE 100 CLOSE 5,342.1 -3.8

LONDON'S benchmark share index ticked down yesterday, with weakness in food retailers and tobacco firms outpacing gains in miners and energy firms.

The end of lengthy searches for bosses at blue-chips ITV – a FTSE 250 stock – and Marks & Spencer provided some focus in an otherwise quiet session for the FTSE 100 index, which ended down 3.8 points at 5,342.1.

News that Bank of England policymakers were divided over the scale of its money-boosting scheme this month failed to provide much direction, while the proposed Financial Services Bill – outlined in yesterday's Queen's Speech – had little impact on market sentiment.

Within the banking sector, Royal Bank of Scotland was off 1.32p at 36.47p and Lloyds eased 1.42p to 89.58p.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "The news that the Bank of England monetary policy committee was split three ways on the issue of quantitative easing had little or no effect on the FTSE 100. The fact that the committee was split on the issue is testament that the market is in somewhat unknown territory.

"Trading in a fairly tight range up to the US open, dealings were dominated by higher commodity prices with gold continuing to gain, edging above $1,150 and dragging the miners higher."

Marks & Spencer shares jumped 6 per cent after its unexpected announcement that Morrisons' boss Marc Bolland will succeed executive chairman Sir Stuart Rose, who will continue at the firm as part-time chairman. M&S rose 21.7p to 390p. Supermarket chain Morrisons lost more than 5 per cent on the news of Bolland's departure, down 14.6p at 280.9p.

ITV was given a 3 per cent boost after naming former Asda boss Archie Norman as its new chairman, with investors seemingly impressed with his "turnaround" credentials.

Norman, whose first job will be to find ITV a chief executive as part of the replacement of executive chairman Michael Grade, is well regarded in the City after turning Asda into the UK's second-biggest supermarket chain and readying telecoms firm Energis for a sale to Cable & Wireless. ITV shares rose 1.8p to 53.75p.

Cadbury moved higher after confirmation from confectioners Hershey and Ferrero that they were considering their options over the firm. A possible counter-bid would be a blow to Oreos and Toblerone maker Kraft, which went hostile with a 9.8 billion offer for Cadbury last week. Shares rose 9.5p to close at 797.5p.

Land Securities failed to catch the attention of investors after the group effectively called an end to the two-year commercial property depression.

The bellwether company – owner of a string of major retail assets, including Livingston's new shopping centre – posted a 4.7 per cent dip in adjusted net asset value to 565p in the six months to end-September, ahead of a full-year consensus estimate of 559p.

However, LandSec's shares dipped 1.5p to 713p while those of sector peer British Land, which made upbeat noises on Tuesday, gained 5.2p, or just over 1 per cent, to 495.2p.

Housebuilder Bovis Homes dipped 2.5 per cent to 437.2p, despite saying it had seen further signs of an improving market with further price stability to come in the new year.

Aberdeen-based oil explorer Dana Petroleum nudged up 6p to 1,299p in the wake of renewed takeover talk. On Tuesday, BP had been touted as a potential suitor, although other dealers pointed to possible interest from state-owned groups, such as Korea National Oil Corporation.