SHARES STRONGLY UP this week 29/12/04

London shares flat in thin midday trade awaiting fresh lead from Wall Street

LONDON (AFX) - UK blue chips were flat in very thin midday trade on the
final full session of 2004, stuck in a very tight trading range in the absence
of any corporate news and awaiting a fresh lead from Wall Street, dealers said.
At 11.45 am, the FTSE 100 index was 0.5 points firmer at 4,820.3, above the
early morning low of 4,813.5 but unable to reach back to an opening peak of
4,821.4.
All the broader FTSE indices stayed higher, with the FTSE 250 index standing
out -- up 14.6 points at 6,910.9 amid some bid interest.
Volumes remained unsurprisingly thin on the last full trading session of the
year, with just 500 mln shares changing hands in 43,059 deals.
By midday, US stock futures had recovered slightly, pointing to a modest
rally by the DJIA, with spread bettors IG Index now expecting around a 3 point
opening gain after last night's 25 point retreat.
End-year window-dressing is likely to be the order of the day, although
fresh gains in Brent crude futures could limit the gains.
Before the bell, traders will also have the latest US weekly jobless claims
to digest, while at 3.00 pm December's Chicago NAPM survey will attract
attention.
On the macro front in London, UK consumer confidence picked up slightly this
month, with the headline index rising by one point to -3 from -4 in November,
according to a survey by research company GfK Martin Hamblin.
Turning to corporate matters, among the blue chips fallers at midday
Anglo-Dutch steel group Corus remained under pressure, losing 0-1/2 pence at
51-3/4 after an article in the Wall Street Journal Europe pointed out that China
could be about to deflate steel prices as it exports more than it imports.
According to the newspaper, China exported one million more metric tons of
steel than it imported in November, more than double October's level.
Elsewhere, most mining stocks stayed weak following sharp overnight falls in
New York last night, with the price of gold, platinum, palladium and copper all
dropping.
Anglo American topped the FTSE 100 fallers list, shedding 12 pence at 1,222,
while Antofagasta lost 5 pence at 1,117, and BHP Billiton fell back 2 pence to
609.
Rio Tinto however, bucked the dull trend, adding 11 pence at 1,533 helped by
a report in the Wall Street Journal Europe which noted that the mining giant is
weighing up how best to use its cash.
Elsewhere, hotel stocks recovered from yesterday's knee-jerk falls made in
reaction to the Asian tsunami disaster, with Hilton Group gaining 0-3/4 pence at
283-1/2 and InterContinental Hotels up 1-1/2 pence at 654.
Selected insurance stocks also edged higher as the cost of the damage is
expected to be less than feared -- Royal & Sun Alliance took on 0-1/2 pence at
77-1/2, Aviva added a penny at 632-1/2, and Legal & General edged 0-1/4 pence
higher to 110-1/4.
Meanwhile Man Group shares continued to top the FTSE 100 risers board with a
gain of 24 pence to 1,463 after announcing that the NAV of its core AHL
Diversified Futures fund was up 1.94 pct from the previous week.
And Scottish & Newcastle shares were 2 pence firmer at 436 as investors
responded to reports of strong beer sales from its Russian joint venture.
Preliminary figures show that sales in Russia of Baltic Beverages Holding
AB, the 50-50 venture between Scottish & Newcastle and Carlsberg AS, grew by 23
pct in 2004, a spokesman at the BBH brand Baltika in St Petersburg said today.
On the second line, shares in SSL continued to be the top performer, adding
another 18-1/4 pence at 314-1/4 as revived bid speculation surrounding the
condom and rubber gloves maker continued.
But on the downside, mid cap retailers continued to reflect uncertainties
over the strength of the high street over Christmas and in to the Boxing Day
sales period -- Woolworths lost 0-1/2 pence at 39-3/4, JJB Sports shed 2 pence
at 176, and HMV Group eased back 2-1/2 pence to 255.
Among the small cap gainers, MyTravel shares were well off their best but
still up 0.43 pence to 8.63 after UBS today raised its target price to 6 pence
from 5 and hiked its estimates following bondholders' approval of the group's
restructuring scheme.
The Swiss broker, however, maintained its 'neutral' stance, noting that
"with a large stock overhang following the restructuring, we believe that the
shares are now fair value".
Eidos was also higher, adding 3 pence to 82 as bid speculation continued to
surround the troubled games developer and publisher, while fellow software group
Bits Corp was also boosted by bid hopes.
Among the fallers, IMS Maxims lost over 40 pct of its value, shedding 1.25
pence to 1,87 hit by disappointing interim results.
The healthcare group said its pretax loss for the half year to September
widened as the company continued to experience a "planning blight" in its sector
of the UK healthcare market.
IMS's pretax loss for the period came in at 1.8 mln stg from 1.3 mln in the
year-earlier period. Sales were down 18 pct meanwhile, coming in at 1.6 mln.
And Jarvis reversed some its recent strong gains, shedding 3.75 pence at
33.25, hit by profit taking as investors took a breather to digest yesterday's
interim results and Friday's sale of the group's Tube Lines stake.