Electricity group International Power sparked 3% on the London market today after reporting stronger-than-expected first quarter figures. The firm unveiled a strong rise in profits and sales, and said it was confident of meeting its targets this year.
The results helped its shares shoot to the top of the FTSE 100 risers board in early trading, up 6p at 207p.
However the jump failed to inspire the wider market, which was down a subdued 1.3 points at 5206.8 after an hour’s trading.
A poor performance on Wall Street last night weighed on shares. The Dow Jones lost more than 1% and the Nasdaq slid 2% as investors worried about security in the US and the pace of economic recovery.
In London there were few trends, although banks and oil stocks were generally under pressure.
Banks continued yesterday’s fall on the back of concerns about profitability in the sector. HSBC was down 8p at 845p, Royal Bank of Scotland slipped 12p at £19.74 and Standard Chartered was off 12p at 816p.
Oil stocks on the slide were Shell, off 3p at 524p, BP down a penny at 588p and BG off 2p at 301p.
Among firms reporting today, music group EMI slid 1% as it announced sharply lower profits today after a painful year at the recorded music division.
The figures were in line with analysts’ expectations but the shares still slid 4p to 285p.
M&S also saw a lacklustre reaction to its full-year figures, which saw an above-expected rise in profits and further evidence of the retail giant’s turnaround. Shares slipped 1p to 409p.
EGi News 21/05/02
