Mobile phone group Orange failed to stir the London market today with the long-awaited announcement of its opening share price. Orange will trade at 640p (¬10) when it makes its return to the London Stock Exchange at lunchtime.
But the figure, which is at the low end of the range predicted by analysts, did little to impact on the volatile telecoms sector, which had enjoyed strong gains yesterday.
By 9am, the FTSE-100 Index of blue-chip shares was holding steady, down 1.2 points at 6240.2. Among the telecoms, BT was off 5p at 633p, Vodafone down a penny at 223p, and Colt Telecom up 15p at £15.40.
Technology stocks also remained firm after strong gains overnight in the US, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average finishing ahead by more than 100 points. Hi-tech risers included computer services group CMG, up 22p at 922p, telecoms equipment firm Spirent, ahead 11p at 503p, and software group Autonomy up 21p at £17.13.
The major fallers included sensors manufacturer First Technology, which issued a warning over profits and announced a restructuring of its manufacturing operation. Shares in the FTSE-250 company fell 12%, or 54p, at 395p.
Online auction house QXL ricardo also dipped more than 8%, down a penny at 11p, after unveiling third-quarter losses of £12.1m.
EGi News 13/02/01
