SHARES STRONGLY UP/DOWN this week 26/12/05 (Master RSI)

London shares higher at midday; Cadbury Schweppes & retailers gain, offset
oils

LONDON (AFX) - London shares pushed back above the 5,600 level at midday in
very quiet trade with high street retailers buoyed after crowds were reported to
be flocking to the post Christmas sales, while Cadbury Schweppes rose after a
further divestment, dealers said.
By 11.50 am, the FTSE 100 was 16.3 points higher at 5,611.7, with the
broader indices mixed.
Volume remained thin following the Christmas break, with 312.3 mln shares
changing hands in 66,572 deals.
Looking ahead to Wall Street, spreadbettor Cantor Index is forecasting the
DJIA to open around 35 points higher following yesterday's fall.
In London this morning, the UK's beleaguered retail sector received some
timely seasonal cheer after John Lewis yesterday reported an 11.7 pct
year-on-year rise in same store sales in the 31-day period up to Christmas,
according to reports.
Reports of large crowds at some of the country's biggest shopping centres
also helped sentiment, with Next and Marks & Spencer leading the major retailers
higher, with the former up 13 at 1,557, while M&S rose to its highest level
since September 1998, up 8-1/2 to 507.
The sector was also helped by news that the closely watched Retail FootFall
Index yesterday showed that shopping numbers rose 17 pct year-on-year on Boxing
Day.
In other news, Cadbury rose 7 pence to 550 after it announced the sale of
another non-core business, this time Holland House brand of cooking wines, to
Mizkan Americas for 37 mln usd.
Elsewhere, AstraZeneca gained 33 at 2,828 on news of an exclusive global
licensing and research collaboration agreement with Targacept for the
development and commercialisation of Targacept's phase II compound, TC-1734.
The drug is used to treat Alzheimer's disease, cognitive deficits in
schizophrenia and other cognitive disorders.
On the downside, oil stocks were weaker as the price of crude futures eased
off following forecasts for warmer weather in the US.
BP dropped 7 to 610-1/2, with Royal Dutch 'B' shares 10 lower at 1,830.
ITV fell by 0-1/2 to 110 on reports of declining viewing figures.
BT, down 2-1/2 at 222-1/4, and Enterprise Inns, 10-1/2 lower at 934-1/2,
both fell victim to ex-dividend factors.
Among the mid-caps, retailers made up a good proportion of risers midmorning
following the Christmas spending bonanza, with Carphone Warehouse up 5 at
276-1/2, while Burberry Group rose 5-1/2 to 416 and Matalan ticked up 3-1/2 to
181-1/2.
Elsewhere, Rank, up 4 at 315-3/4, after news it agreed to sell Deluxe Film,
its film processing and creative services business, to DX III Holdings, a unit
of MacAndrews & Forbes, for around 430 mln stg.
Expro International, 20 lower at 570, Wolverhampton & Dudley, down 24 at
1,261, and Punch Taverns, 12 lower at 844, all went ex-dividend.
NXT was among the leading small cap risers, gaining 7 at 56-1/2. The flat
panel speaker technology group said the new FJ Cruiser Sports Utility Vehicle
from Toyota Motor Corp will be fitted with NXT-equipped roof liner sound system
when it goes on sale in North America from March 2006.
IT company Innovation Group jumped 1 to 26-3/4 after it said it won a
contract extension from a major UK insurer.
The client has extended the use of an existing licence and has also entered
into an agreement for the use of Innovations new Policy Services software.
Elsewhere, Aston Villa was 21-1/2 higher at 476-1/2 on hopes a takeover by
Michael Neville's consortium is imminent.
Retail Decisions jumped 5 to 135 after it said it gained Harvey World
Travel, an Australian travel company, as its first UK gift card client. This
first UK customer win comes only weeks after ReD acquired E Com Industries,
Australia's largest electronic gift card operator, it said
Energy Technique fell 0.25 to 0.87 after saying that since the end of the
group's first half on Sept 30 2005, sales have been significantly below budget,
substantially due to the poor performance of Diffusion DX, where revenue has
been around 40 pct of budget for the three months ending Dec 31 2005.
CamAxys Group was 1-1/4 lower at 6-3/4 after returning from suspension,
despite the company saying it has secured adequate funding to enable it to
pursue its investing strategy to find an appropriate reverse acquisition.