By Simon Kennedy
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- British stocks held steady Wednesday as
markets took a break from the previous session's heavy selling,
while credit-checking firm Experian PLC posted strong gains after
beating earnings expectations.
The FTSE 100 index was virtually unchanged at 5,682.19. Other
European markets moved modestly higher after euro-zone finance
ministers said a team of officials from the European Central Bank
and International Monetary Fund would consult with Ireland over the
country's debt crisis.
Worries over Ireland, along with fears of a possible rate hike
in China, knocked around 2.4% off the U.K.'s benchmark index in the
previous session.
Experian was the biggest gainer on the main index Wednesday,
rising 4.1% after the company reported a 5.6% rise in fiscal
first-half profit to $280 million and lifted its dividend by
29%.
Drug company GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) was another strong
performer. The firm's stock rose 2.4% after an advisory panel
recommended that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approve
Benlysta, a lupus drug developed by Glaxo and Human Genome Sciences
Inc. (HGSI).
On the downside, shares in Centrica PLC dropped 1.6% after a
trading update.
The natural-gas producer and utility said operating profit for
the year should be slightly ahead of the consensus forecast, but
added that this would be offset by higher-than-expected interest
and tax charges.
Outside the main index, shares in Northern Foods PLC and
Ireland's Greencore Group jumped 24% and 21% respectively after the
pair agreed to a merger.
Shareholders in each of the two convenience-food companies will
hold around 50% of the combined business, which will be rebranded
as Essenta Foods. The merger will also cut costs by around 40
million pounds ($64 million) a year within three years, the
companies said.