Reuters: Hot Stocks: Britain's FTSE down as EU meets to discuss bailouts

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Britain's FTSE down as EU meets to discuss bailouts Apr 12th 2013, 07:53 Fri Apr 12, 2013 3:53am EDT * FTSE 100 down 0.3 percent * Banks drag as EU minister discuss bailouts * Insurers mixed after JP Morgan note * Aggreko rises on inline results By David Brett LONDON, April 12 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index succumbed to a bout of profit taking early on Friday, after climbing higher over the past four days, with some concerns building over extra funding needed to bail out euro zone strugglers such as Cyprus. By 0745 GMT, London's blue chip index was down 20.52 points, or 0.3 percent at 6,395.62, having added 2.7 percent since Monday. The bailout package for Cyprus will top the agenda of an informal two-day gathering of EU finance ministers in Dublin, after some documents showed the total bailout package will now cost 23 billion euros. "There may be some caution regarding if euro zone policymakers will allow extra funds needed," Jawaid Afsar, sales trader at SecurEquity said. He added the falls would likely be shallow before investors attempt a retest of recent highs. The equity market remains firmly underpinned by ongoing central bank stimulus, which has favoured equities and depressed yields in other classes, and by technical factors too. "The FTSE100 index has broken the four-month up-trend and developed a sideways range between 6,250 and 6,500. Longer-term support is at 6,000," Dominic Hawker, technical analyst at Westhouse Securities, said, highlighting the tight range the FTSE 100 is likely to be bound into in the short-term. On Friday, the cautious mood ahead of the EU meet fed through to those sectors acutely exposed to the plight of the euro zone such as the banks. The sector fell 0.6 percent and continued it's underperfomance in the year-to-date as political and economic woes in Europe crimped investor appetite for lenders. Other financials were mixed, with UK life insurers in focus after a note from JP Morgan in which it said the best names in the sector offer a better combination of growth, cash/capital and valuation. The investment bank upgraded its rating on Resolution -- third top FTSE 100 riser, up 1.7 percent, and cut its rating on Legal & General -- top FTSE 100 faller, down 4.3 percent -- on valuation concerns. JP Morgan comment also weighed on defence firm BAE Systems , which fell 2.4 percent. The investment bank cut its earnings forecasts for BAE by up to 11 percent and downgraded its rating to "underweight" after learning the company cut its self-funded research and development for a third time. Elsewhere, temporary power provider Aggreko endured a mixed opening but eventually rose 1.1 percent after reporting an inline trading update and reiterating full-year guidance. Panumre Gordon raised its rating on the company to "buy", while Espirito Santo said in light of the recent profit warnings the update should provide some reassurance to investors. The market view of Aggreko is a solid buy, according to Thomson Reuters Starmine data. (Reporting by David Brett/editing by Chris Pizzey, London MPG Desk, +44 (0)207 542-4441) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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