Office hire firm Regus rose 2.5p to 106.5p after reassuring that trading is in line with its expectations and that the outlook remains positive. It revealed 11-month sales of £418.8 million, up from £216 million at the interim stage. (About 12 per cent of Regus shares are held in short positions, meaning any news that is not explicitly negative can trigger a bit of covering.)
Michael Page also said trading was in line with expectations. The bigger news was that Terry Benson, its chief executive, revealed he will stand down at next year’s annual general meeting. He will be succeeded by Stephen Ingham, who is currently managing director of the recruitment group's UK business.
Analysts at Seymour Pierce commented: "The company is very much associated with Terry and the news will fuel speculation that Michael Page is about to be taken over, perhaps by one of the big European staffers. However, Terry does not own much stock, and we would be cautious about getting too carried away with take-over speculation."
Get carried away they didn't, with Michael Page shares ending up 1.75p to 270.75p.
Vedanta was among the mid-cap risers after the India-based miner gave the green light to a £2.1 billion aluminium smelter in Jharsuguda, northern India. The plant will produce 500,000 tonnes per annum.
Citigroup repeated "buy" advice on Vedanta in reaction, on a price target raised by £1.50 to £10. (While Jharsuguda was news to retail shareholders, Vedanta management had told City analysts that the plant was under construction during a recent junket to India.)
Misys added 6p to 214p in advance of a trading statement next week, which is about the only corporate news left for release before Christmas. The software firm warned in September about orders getting delayed at its banking unit, which led to a shareholder revolt againt the board.
Merrill Lynch was repeating "buy" advice ahead of Misys's statement, commenting that while its banking unit is the sector's "weakest vendor", it will benefit from an industry-widel upturn "given its renewed organization, recent product launches and strong installed base".
Carphone Warehouse eased 2.75p to 240p on concerns about pay-as-you-go mobile competition led WestLB to cut the stock off its "buy" list.
The Gerrman broker argued that the City "is not taking adequate account of the growth in the pre-paid market". It noted that Tesco's own-brand mobile offers are being copied by supermarkets throughout Europe, such as Germany's Aldi. This trend that is likely to eat into Carphone Warehouse's subscription business as customers favour a lower bill over the extra content offered though monthly payment.
WestLB told clients: "Household budgets for IT are already stretched by the high charges for Broadband. The large price discrepancy between subscription contracts and pre-pay may increasingly influence households' spending decisions in mobile."
UBS moved IG Group to "neutral" from "buy" and cut Trinity Mirror to "reduce" from "neutral". Future went to "buy" from "neutral".
GUS was moved to "hold" from "buy" at ING.
Arriva was raised to "hold" from "reduce" at Investec.
Merrill Lynch rates Hikma Pharmaceuticals a "buy" in new coverage, setting a price target of 440p. It also cuts both Grainger Trust to "neutral" from "buy".
Wincanton goes to "sell" from "hold" at Citigroup.
Deutsche Bank cuts the mining sector to "neutral" from "overweight" in a strategy call.
And Sportingbet is rated "neutral" in new coverage at HSBC.
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