BusinessJeeves United Kingdom (UK): London Stock Exchange (LSE) Analysis and Commentaries Archives

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 and the TechMARK 100 closed lower on fresh US corporate accounting troubles. Gainers included: 3i Group Plc, Aegis Group Plc, Aga Foodservices Group Plc, Aggreko Plc, Allied Domecq Plc, Ashtead Group Plc, Associated British Foods Plc, Associated British Ports Plc, Astrazeneca Plc, Avis Europe Plc, Aviva Plc, AWG Plc, BAE Systems Plc, Barratt Developments Plc, BG Group Plc, BHP Billiton Plc, Big Food Group Plc, BOC Group Plc, Bradford & Bingley Plc, British Airways Plc, British Biotech Plc, British Vita Plc, BT Group Plc, Cable & Wireless Plc, Cambridge Antibody Plc, Capital Radio Plc, Carlton Communications Plc, Cattles Plc, Celltech Group Plc, Chrysalis Plc, Chubb Plc, Cobham Plc, Compass Group Plc, Computacenter Plc, Cookson Group Plc, Cordiant Communications, Corus Group Plc, Debenhams Plc, Derwent Valley Plc, Dixons Group Plc, Easyjet Plc, Elan Corp, Electrocomponent Plc, Emblaze Systems Plc, EMI Group Plc, Enterprise Inns Plc, Eurotunnel Plc, Expro International Group Plc, Filtronic Plc, First Technology Plc, Galen Holdings Plc, GKN Plc, Granada Plc, GUS Plc, HP Bulmer Holdings Plc, Innovation Group Plc, IQE Plc, J Sainsbury Plc, Kidde Plc, LastMinute.Com Plc, Lattice Group Plc, Leeds United FC Plc, London Bridge Software Plc, Man Group Plc, Marlborough Sterling Plc, Meggitt Plc, ML Labs Plc, Morrison Supermarket Plc, National Grid, Old Mutual Plc, Oxford Glycosciences Plc, Oxford Instruments Plc, Parity Group Plc, PZ Cussons Plc, Rank Group Plc, Ricardo Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, Rolls Royce Plc, Roxboro Group Plc, Royal & Sun Alliance Plc, Safeway Plc, Schroders Plc, Schroders NV, Scottish & Southern Energy Plc, Severn Trent Plc, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group Plc, Six Continents Plc, Spectris Plc, Tesco Plc, Thus Group Plc, Turbo Genset Plc, UKbetting Plc, Unilever Plc, United Utilities Plc, Vodafone Group Plc, Whatman Plc, Xenova Group Plc.

Markets lost after US based Merck & Co. announced that its Medco Pharmaceutical unit, which is about to be floated sometime this week, announced that the unit booked some $14 billion in revenue it didn't collect.
Diageo lost 3.84% after giving a less than stellar trading statement, and making no mention about plans to dispose of Burger King.
Amey lost 10.80% after stating that first half results will be hurt by the delay in awarding the contracts for the London Underground Rail Network upgrade.
Oil shares closed lower due to a decline in oil prices.
Kingfisher lost 2.42% after independent Assesor, Rothschilds, announced that Kingfisher's £3.3 billion offer for France's Castorama is fair. Kingfisher also announced it will raise £2 billion through a 1-for-1 rights issue.
Telecommunications shares did remarkably better today.
Vodafone Group gained 2.14% after Germany's Ministry of Economics agreed to its planned sell of its 23.6% stake in Bergemann to German utility giant, E.ON.
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Pace Micro Tech. lost 24.49% after reporting full year pretax profits of £13.1 million, well below the £44.3 million seen last year, while turnover declined 33%.
Leeds United FC gained 11.11% after signing Terry Venables as its new manager for the next 2 years.
UBC Media Group was unchanged after reporting full year loss that declined to £3 million, while turnover rose 50% to £9.2 million.
UKbetting gained 1.82% after paying £670,000 to acquire online betting service, Sports.Com.
Scottish & Southern Energy gained 3.29% after the weekend edition of The Observer newspaper speculated that Germany's E.ON might bid for it.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 and the TechMARK 100 closed higher on Friday. Gainers included: Abbey National Plc, Acambis Plc, AEA Technology Plc, Alliance & Leicester Plc, Amersham Plc, Amvescap Plc, Anglo American Plc, ARM Holdings Plc, Astrazeneca Plc, Aviva Plc, BAA Plc, BOC Group Plc, Boots Co. Plc, BP Amoco Plc, British Land Co. Plc, BskyB Plc, BT Group Plc, Cable & Wireless Plc, Cadbury Schweppes Plc, Cambridge Antibody Plc, Canary Wharf Plc, Capita Group Plc, CMG Plc, Cobham Plc, Easyjet Plc, Elan Corp, Friends Provident Plc, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Granada Plc, Hanson Plc, HIT Entertainment, HSBC Holdings Plc, Invensys Plc, Kingston Communications Plc, Land Securities Plc, Lloyds TSB Group Plc, Marks & Spencer Plc, Marlborough Sterling Plc, Misys Plc, MmO2 Plc, Morrison Supermarket Plc, P&O Princess Cruise Plc, Pearson Plc, Prudential Plc, Reed Elsevier Plc, Reuters Group Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, Royal & Sun Alliance Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland Plc, Safeway Plc, Sage Group Plc, Schroders NV, Smith & Nephew Plc, Standard Chartered Bank Plc, Vodafone Group Plc, Wolseley Plc, WPP Group Plc, Xansa Plc, and Xstrata Plc.

The European Central Bank (ECB) held its repo rate at 3.25%.
Banking shares gained, and so did insurance and telecommunications shares.
BskyB gained 6.31% after taking over ITV Digital's Football League contract.
HIT Entertainment gained 3.16% after rival, Gullane, accepted its £139 million offer.
Easyjet gained 18.97% after reporting that its June passenger traffic rose 52%, and year-to-year rose 86.6%.
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HSBC Holdings gained 2.40% after filing with the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) to sell $3.75 billion in debt and equities over time.
Associated British Foods lost 0.42% after buying the remaining 18.75% stake of Australia's George Weston Foods.
Pearson gained 6.37% after dropping the plans to sell its FT Business unit.
Astrazeneca gained 5.69% after Japan approved its lung cancer drug, Iressa™.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 and the TechMARK 100 closed higher in the absent of US markets, which are closed for the Independence Day celebration. Gainers included: Abbey National Plc, AEA Technology Plc, Aga Food Services Plc, Alliance & Leicester Plc, Amey Plc, Amvescap Plc, Anglo American Plc, ARM Holdings Plc, Associated British Foods Plc, Astrazeneca Plc, Autonomy Corp, Aviva Plc, Barclays Plc, BG Group Plc BHP Billiton Plc, BOC Group Plc, Boots Co. Plc, BP Amoco Plc, British Airways Plc, BskyB Plc, BT Group Plc, Bunzl Plc, Cable & Wireless Plc, Canary Wharf Plc, Capita Group Plc, Carphone Warehouse Plc, Centrica Plc, Colt Telecom Group Plc, Compass Group Plc, Computacenter Plc, Cookson Group Plc, Easynet Group Plc, Elan Corp, EMI Group Plc, Fibernet Group Plc, Friends Provident Plc, Galen Holdings Plc, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, GKN Plc, Granada Plc, Greene King Plc, Hanson Plc, Hilton Group Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc, IQE Plc, Johnson Matthey Plc, Kidde Plc, Kingfisher Plc, Kingston Communications Plc, Land Securities Plc, Legal & General Plc, Lloyds TSB Group Plc, London Bridge Software, Man Group Plc, Marconi Plc, Marks & Spencer Plc, Marlborough Sterling Plc, Medisys Plc, Meggitt Plc, MmO2 Plc, Nestor Healthcare Plc, Next Plc, Northern Rock Plc, NSB Retail Systems Plc, P&O Princess Cruise Plc, Pace Micro Tech Plc, Pearson Plc, Project Telecom Plc, Prudential Plc, Psion Plc, Reed Elsevier Plc, Rentokil Initial Plc, Reuters Group Plc, Ricardo Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, Royal & Sun Alliance Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland Plc, SA Breweries Plc, Sage Group Plc, Scottish & Newcastle Plc, Shell Transport & Trading, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group Plc, Sommerfield Plc, Spectris Plc, Spirent Plc, Standard Chartered Bank Plc, Stanley Leisure Plc, Surfcontrol Plc, Telewest Communications Plc, Tesco Plc, Thus Group Plc, Unilever Plc, Vodafone Group Plc, Weston Medical Plc, WPP Group Plc, Xansa Plc, Xenova Group Plc, and Xstrata Plc.

The Bank of England today held the Repo (Interest) Rate unchanged at 4.00%.
BskyB gained 4.70% after timing with BBC to win the ITC digital broadcast license.
Northern Rock gained 2.71% after paying £131 million to acquire 2 banking units of Legal & General. The Units have £1.3 billion in mortgages and £1.2 billion in retail deposits. Legal & General gained 1.04%.
Stanley Leisure gained 6.70% after reporting full year pretax profit that rose 43%, and turnover rose 21% to £743 million. Stanley also announced it is floating about £30 million in shares to pay for the £44 million needed to acquire rival, Towers Casino.
HSBC Holdings and Alliance & Leicester gained on analysts' upgrades.
Wolseley lost 0.32% after announcing that it is paying £38 million to acquire leading Dutch heating equipment retailer, Wasco Group.
Autonomy gained 0.61% after announcing that its software will power the new Department of Trade and Industry's biotechnology portal.
Tesco gained 2.45% after announcing that it will acquire Polish retailer, HIT Stores.
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Aga Food Services gained 5.09% after stating that it will meet full year financial estimates.
Compass Group gained 6.32% after its Japanese unit, Seiyo Food Systems, reduced its stake in Japanese rival, Yoshinoya, to 20% and made a tidy £35 million in the deal.
Spectris gained 3.15% after stating that it will meet full year results.
Easynet gained 19.72% after its CEO David Rowe, stated that the company will have an "excellent year" in 2002.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 and the TechMARK 100 closed lower again. Gainers included: Aberdeen Asset Management Plc, Anite Group Plc, Associated British Ports Plc, Autonomy Corp, Bookham Technology Plc, Brake Brothers Plc, British Energy Plc, CMG Plc, Cobham Plc, Colt Telecom Group Plc, Computacenter Plc, Davis Service Group Plc, Debenhams Plc, De Vere Group Plc, Fibernet Group Plc, Gallaher Group Plc, Game Group Plc, Genemedix Plc, Great Portland Estates Plc, Hammerson Plc, Imperial Tobacco Plc, Inchcape Plc, Isoft Group Plc, Man Group Plc, McCarthy & Stone Plc, ML Labs Plc, Morgan Crucible Plc, N Brown Group Plc, Northgate Information Solutions Plc, Novar Plc, NSB Retail Systems Plc, Premier Oil Plc, Redrow Group Plc, Rexam Plc, Roxboro Group Plc, Scottish & Newcastle Plc, Scottish Power Plc, Shanks Group Plc, Slough Estates Plc, Synstar Plc, Thistle Hotels Plc, Travis Perkins Plc, Vernalis Group Plc, Weston Medical Plc, and Wolverhampton & Dudley Brewery Plc.

The Confederation of British Industries (CBI) reported that UK Retail Sales growth slumped to an 18 month low of +16 in June.
The CIPS/Reuters™ Business (Service Sector PMI) Activity Index declined to 54.9% in June - any point above 50% is an expansion.
Euro Zone Services PMI rose to 52.9% in June - any point above 50% is an expansion.
George Wimpey lost 2.53% despite stating that UK first half home sales rose 27%, and average selling price rose to 18%.
Debenhams gained 3.45% after announcing a £100 million share buyback.
Peacock Group lost 1.78% after announcing that it paid £51.3 million in cash and stock to acquire retailer Bon Marché. Peacock also announced the resignation of directors, Michael Bullas and Steven Gipson
Telecommunications shares closed lower on concerns about Vivendi Universal and Worldcom.
Vodafone Group lost 6.40% on concerns that it might have to end up buying its joint ventures with Vivendi Universal, France's second largest mobile phone operator Cegetel, and internet unit, Vizzavi.
British Airways lost 5.19% after reporting that its overall load factor in June rose only 1.3% to 69%, due mostly to the European traffic controllers strike, the market's poor performances, public holidays, and the world cup.
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Sommerfield lost 9.21% despite reporting a full year pretax profit of £22 million, its first in 3 years, as turnover rose 1.4% to £4.84 billion.
Game Group, formerly Electronic Boutique, gained 7.30% after stating that for the first 22 weeks of this year, like-for-like sales rose 34%, thanks to the high demand for Nintendo's Game Cube, and the re-priced Microsoft Xbox™ is doing very well too.
Airports operator TBI lost 1.43% despite news that low cost airline Bmibaby has selected its Cardiff airport as its new hub. TBI expects a One million passenger increase, when the move is completed in Winter 2002.
Computacenter gained 3.19% after stating that its first half results were in line, but trading conditions are still depressed.
Bookham Technology gained 2.90% after the optical networking company announced plans to to close its plants in Swindon, and the one in Maryland, US.
Balfour Beatty lost 1.99% despite news that Lone Star Infrastructure, its joint venture with Flour Group and TJ Lambrecht, was awarded a $1.4 billion contract to build and maintain a toll road in the US state of Texas.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 and the TechMARK 100 closed lower on corporate debt and accounting concerns. Gainers included: AEA Technology Plc, Associated British Foods Plc, BAE Systems Plc, Biocompatibles Plc, British American Tobacco Plc, British Biotech Plc, British Land Co. Plc, Chubb Plc, Coats Plc, Colt Telecom Group Plc, Diagonal Plc, Fibernet Group Plc, Gallaher Group Plc, Genemedix Plc, Imagination Technology Plc, Imperial Tobacco Plc, Isoft Group Plc, Land Securities Plc, LastMinute.Com Plc, Marlborough Sterling Plc, NSB Retail Systems Plc, Oxford Glycosciences Plc, Parity Group Plc, Project Telecom Plc, Reckitt Benckiser Plc, Scottish Power Plc, Synstar Plc, United Utilities Plc, Weston Medical Plc, and Xenova Group Plc.

Euro Zone Business and Consumer Sentiment Survey declined to 99.6 in June.
Euro Zone Unemployment Rate held steady at 8.3% in May.
France's Vivendi Universal led media shares lower after the resignation of its controversial CEO Jean-Marie Messier, coupled with mounting debts with defaults on the horizon, and the failure of the board to name an outright successor. Moody's Investor Services downgraded Vivendi's debt to high yield (junk) status, while Standard & Poor's downgraded a step a way from junk status, and still has the company on Creditwatch.
Defensive shares like utilities and tobacco shares gained.
Irish drug company, Elan, lost 51% after warning that it might have a significant write off this year.
Cable boxes maker Pace Micro Technology lost 41.18% after announcing that its profits will be affected by a lopsided contract it signed with BskyB.
Banking and financial services shares closed lower on concerns they might be exposed to Worldcom and other troubled US corporations.
Electronics retailers, Dixons Group and Kingfisher, closed lower after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) referred to the Competition Commission its concerns that UK shoppers buying extended warranties on local electronic appliances are being exploited.
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Astrazeneca lost 5.78% after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a generic version of its Hypertension drug, Zestril™.
Bradford & Bingley lost 1.54% on its first day of trading on the FTSE 100 Index, after replacing Powergen on the venerated index. Powergen has been acquired by Germany's E.On.
Insurance shares were hit by some influential brokerage actions. Morgan Stanley downgraded Prudential to an "underweight", while JP Morgan cut the price target on many UK insurers.
Scottish & Newcastle closed unchanged after reporting a full year EBITDA pretax profit of £347 million, while sales declined to £4.12 billion. Scottish & Newcastle also announced that it will pay 2.32 Billion Euros for the remaining beer business of Danone.
Nestor Healthcare lost 41.30% after losing a UK government contract to study lung diseases in coal miners.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 started the second half of the year higher, while the TechMARK 100 closed lower. Gainers included: AEA Technology Plc, Aegis Group Plc, Alliance Trust Plc, Anglo American Plc, Anite Group Plc, Arc International Plc, Arriva Plc, Associated British Foods Plc, Axis-Shields Plc, BAE Systems Plc, Barclays Plc, BG Group Plc, Big Food Group Plc, BOC Group Plc, BP Amoco Plc, BHP Billiton Plc, British American Tobacco Plc, British Biotech Plc, BskyB Plc, BT Group Plc, Bunzl Plc, Cable & Wireless Plc, Cadbury Schweppes Plc, Canary Wharf Plc, Carlton Communications Plc, Carpetright Plc, Chrysalis Plc, Colt Telecom Group Plc, Compass Group Plc, Corus Group Plc, Daily Mail & General Trust Plc, Dairy Crest Plc, Dimension Data, Egg Plc, Eidos Plc, Emap Plc, EMI Group Plc, Exel Plc, Express Dairies Plc, Fibernet Group Plc, Filtronic Plc, Gallaher Group Plc, GKN Plc, Granada Plc, GUS Plc, Hays Plc, Holmes Place Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc, ICI Plc, Imperial Tobacco Plc, Invensys Plc, John Laing Plc, Johnson Matthey Plc, J Sainsbury Plc, Kingfisher Plc, Land Securities Plc, LastMinute.Com Plc, Legal & General Plc, Lloyds TSB Group Plc, Logica Plc, Marks & Spencer Plc, Morse Plc, MmO2 Plc, Next Plc, Northern Rock Plc, Northgate Information Solutions Plc, NSB Retail Systems Plc, Pearson Plc, Prudential Plc, Reed Elsevier Plc, Reuters Group Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, Rolls Royce Plc, Royal & Sun Alliance Plc, SA Breweries Plc, Schroders Plc, Schroders NV, Scipher Plc, Scottish & Newcastle Plc, Scottish & Southern Energy Plc, Shell Transport & Trading, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group Plc, Six Continents Plc, Skyepharma Plc, Smith & Nephew Plc, Smiths Group Plc, Standard Chartered Bank Plc, Tesco Plc, Unilever Plc, Vodafone Group Plc, Weston Medical Plc, WPP Group Plc, Xansa Plc, and Xenova Group Plc.

Euro Zone Retail Sales declined 0.6% in April.
Reuters™ Euro Zone Purchasing manager Index (PMI) rose to 51.8% in June - any point above 50% is an expansion in manufacturing activity.
Construction and engineering company John Laing gained 3.24% after stating that its sales in the first half are in line with estimates, and that its Housing unit sold 640 residential units in the period.
BHP Billiton gained 0.14% after stating today that the demerger of its BHP Steel unit will be completed sometime today.
Vodafone Group gained 1.94% after announcing that its Arcor subsidiary sold its remaining stakes in Telemalik to Deutsche Bahn for 1.1 Billion Euros.
Telecommunications shares also gained on a Financial Times story that the French government might re-nationalize the indebted France Telecom SA. Comments from head of Alecta, the largest shareholder in Sweden's Ericsson that Ericsson's declining share prices might make it an acquisition target also helped the sector.
GlaxoSmithKline lost 1.27% after the AIDS Health Foundation, an organization that intends to make AIDS drugs available to all irrespective of price, challenged its patents on AZT™ and other AIDS drugs in court. The AIDS group is contending that GlaxoSmithKline's patents have expired.
Holmes Place gained 20.40% after confirming that 2 of its directors are reviewing a possible management buyout.
Logistics and shipping company Tibbet & Britten lost 4.32% after stating that though its first half trading is in line, it will incur a £800,000 cost associated with the closure of its Britain Fashion Network.
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BAE Systems gained 3.73% after selling a defence business unit to Meggitt for £14.6 million. Meggitt gained 0.23% on the news.
Express Diaries gained 6.19% after announcing plans to sell its UHT unit of Express and Frome creamery operations to Milk Link for £33.1 million.
Corus Group gained 4.46% after selling its 23.2% stake in Finish Stainless Steel company, Avestapolarit Oyl Abp to Outokumpo Oyl for 530 Million Euros (£359 million).
Land Securities gained 0.64% on news that it might make a bid for Irish property investment group, Green Property.
CGNU lost 1.23% on the eve it starts trading under the new name, Aviva.
Xstrata lost 6.89% after CS First Boston initiated coverage with a "sell".
Scottish & Newcastle gained on the eve of its earnings report.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 and the TechMARK 100 closed higher for the second day in a row on optimism after stronger-than-expected US economic data. Gainers included: 3i Group Plc, Abbey National Plc, Aberdeen Assets Management Plc, AEA Technology Plc, Aggregate Industries Plc, Aggreko Plc, Alliance & Leicester Plc, Anglo American Plc, Arc International Plc, ARM Holdings Plc, Autonomy Corp, Axis-Shields Plc, Barclays Plc, BHP Billiton Plc, Biocompatibles Plc, Bookham Technology Plc, BP Amoco Plc, Bradford & Bingley Plc, Brambles Industries Plc, British Airways Plc, BT Group Plc, Bunzl Plc, Cadbury Schweppes Plc, Celltech Group Plc, CGNU Plc, CMG Plc, Compass Group Plc, Corus Group Plc, Diageo Plc, Dicom Group Plc, Eidos Plc, Generics Group Plc, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Granada Plc, GUS Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc, ICI Plc, Imperial Tobacco Plc, Innovation Group Plc, Isoft Group Plc, Kidde Plc, Kingfisher Plc, LastMinute.Com Plc, Legal & General Plc, London Bridge Software Plc, Man Group Plc, Marks & Spencer Plc, Misys Plc, Ncipher Plc, Next Plc, Northern Rock Plc, Northgate Information Solutions Plc, NSB Retail Systems Plc, Old Mutual Plc, Pace Micro Tech Plc, Parthus Technology Plc, Powderject Pharmaceuticals Plc, Project Telecom Plc, Prudential Plc, Psion Plc, Reckitt Benckiser Plc, Rentokil Initial Plc, Rio Tinto Plc, RM Plc, Royal & Sun Alliance Plc, Sage Group Plc, Schroders Plc, Scipher Plc, Shell Transport & Trading, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group Plc, Smiths Group Plc, Standard Chartered Bank Plc, Vodafone Group Plc, Weston Medical Plc, Wolseley Plc, Xansa Plc, and Xenova Group Plc.

The UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for Q1 2002 grew only 0.1% , and 1.1% over the year.
Insurers led the rally after UK regulators relaxed rules about how insurers invested in assets.
Jewellery company, Signet Group, lost 8.01% after announcing that it will take legal action to stop its founder and former head, Gerald Ratner, from starting an online jewellery company to be called "Ratners Online". Signet Group was formerly known as Ratner.
Cookson Group lost 4.81% after dropping plans for a rights issue. Cookson successfully renegotiated its credit lines with bankers.
Anglo American gained 5.41% and led mining shares higher after announcing that it is increasing its stake in South Africa's second largest gold miner, Gold Fields, to 20%. Anglo American already owns 51.5% of Anglogold Ltd, South Africa's largest gold producer.
Shares gained after US Consumer Sentiments rose. Telecommunications, media, etc. all had a good day.
Marconi lost 0.75% after it was delisted from the US based NASDAQ National Market for not meeting minimum bid requirements.
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Bradford & Bingley gained 5.72% after stating that its lending and savings business is doing quite well.
Psion lost 4.0% despite denying market rumours that it is finding the North American market conditions worst than previously expected.
Compass Group gained 4.74% after announcing that it is selling its Travelodge Hotels to Little Chef Roadside Restaurants.
Irish drug company, Elan Corp, lost 10.49% after announcing that its second half sales will be affected by generic competition for its muscle spasm drug, Zanaflex™. The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved Eon Lab's generic version.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 and the TechMARK 100 closed higher today after some better than expected US economic data. Gainers included: 3i Group Plc, Abbey National Plc, AEA Technology Plc, Alfred McAlpine Plc, Alliance & Leicester Plc, Alliance Unichem Plc, AMEC Plc, Arc International Plc, Arcadia Plc, ARM Holdings Plc, Autonomy Corp, Axis-Shields Plc, Barclays Plc, Biocompatibles Plc, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, Bookham Technology Plc, Bovis Homes Group Plc, BP Amoco Plc, Brambles Industries Plc, British Airways Plc, BT Group Plc, BTG Plc, Bunzl Plc, Cadbury Schweppes Plc, Cambridge Antibody, Celltech Group Plc, CGNU Plc, CMG Plc, Cobham Plc, Colt Telecom Group Plc, Compass Group Plc, Corus Group Plc, Diageo Plc, Dicom Group Plc, Domino Printing Plc, eBookers Plc, Eidos Plc, Fibernet Group Plc, Filtronic Plc, First Technology Plc, Galen Holdings Plc, Generics Group Plc, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Granada Plc, GUS Plc, HMV Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc, ICI Plc, Imperial Tobacco Plc, Innovation Group Plc, Isoft Group Plc, Johnson Matthey Plc, Kidde Plc, Kingfisher Plc, Kingston Communications Plc, Legal & General Plc, Logica Plc, London Bridge Software Plc, Man Group Plc, Marks & Spencer Plc, Misys Plc, MmO2 Plc, Ncipher Plc, Next Plc, Northern Rock Plc, Northgate Information Solutions Plc, Old Mutual Plc, Pearson Plc, Powderject Pharmaceuticals Plc, Project Telecom Plc, Prudential Plc, Psion Plc, Reckitt Benckiser Plc, Reed Elsevier Plc, Rentokil Initial Plc, RM Plc, Royal & Sun Alliance Plc, Sage Group Plc, Schroders Plc, Schroders NV, Scipher Plc, Shell Transport & Trading, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group Plc, Skyepharma Plc, Smiths Group Plc, Standard Chartered Bank Plc, Surfcontrol Plc, Synstar Plc, Telewest Communications Plc, Tesco Plc, Tomkins Plc, Turbo Genset Plc, Vernalis Group Plc, Vodafone Group Plc, Weston Medical Plc, Wolseley Plc, Xenova Group Plc, and Xstrata Plc.

AFTER CLOSE: The US Department of Justice charged 3 former Greenwich NatWest employees: Gary Steven Mulgrew, Giles Robert Hugh Darby, and David John Bermingham in a $7.3 million wire fraud scheme involving the bankrupt US energy company, Enron. Greenwich NatWest is now part of Royal Bank of Scotland.
The Office of National Statistics reported that the UK Business Investment in the first Quarter of this year declined 3% to £25.7 billion, or 9% over the year.
The European Central Bank (ECB) reported that its Balance of Payment in April was a 5.8 Billion Euros deficit - its first deficit in a while.
BT Group gained 0.41% after paying a paltry £5 million and assuming about £3 million in debt to acquire the once mighty Scoot.Com.
Bloomsbury Publishing gained 2.46% after stating that it sees profitability in 2002, as it expects Harry Potter™ book sales to rise after the release of the second Potter movie late this year.
Cadbury Schweppes gained 0.32% after acquiring Dandy's chewing gum for £201 million.
Home Building shares gained on upbeat trading statements from Bovis Homes and Persimmon.
Royal Bank of Scotland lost 0.33% despite making the trading statement that it sees strong growth in income.
Railtrak lost 18.32% on the first day of trading after its relisting.
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Oil shares gained as Brent Crude futures rose to close at $25.43 a barrel.
Tomkins gained 0.19% after reporting full year pretax profit that rose to £264.4 million, while turnover rose 1.2% to £3.4 billion. Tomkins also stated that the worst might be over for the engineering company.
Fibernet Group gained 2.11% after announcing that it is suspending its services in France and Germany, now that its supplier, KPNQwest, is in administration.
Arcadia gained 1.17% after reporting that for the first 17 weeks of the new fiscal year, its like-for-like sales rose 7.6%. ABN AMRO and CS First Boston both reiterated their "buy" recommendations.
AMEC gained 5.24% after stating that its trading is in line with estimates, and that its book order is currently at a healthy £4.7 billion.
Music retailer HMV gained 4.79% after reporting full year pretax profit that rose to £48.6 million, well better than the £17.8 million loss seen last year.

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) FTSE 100 and the TechMARK 100 closed lower on concerns about Worldcom. Gainers included: Aegis Group Plc, Aggregate Industries Plc, Aggreko Plc Associated British Ports Plc, Autonomy Corp, Barratt Developments Plc, Berkeley Group Plc, Boots Co. Plc, Brake Brothers Plc, Bunzl Plc, Cadbury Schweppes Plc, Cattles Plc, Coats Plc, Debenhams Plc, Go-Ahead Group Plc, Hays Plc, Innovation Group Plc, Johnston Press Plc, Lattice Group Plc, MFI Furniture Plc, Man Group Plc, Marks & Spencer Plc, Marshalls Plc, Pearson Plc, Pennon Group Plc, Piller Property Plc, Serco Group Plc, Smith & Nephew Plc, Somerfield Plc, TBI Plc, Thistle Hotels Plc, Tomkins Plc, TTP Communications Plc, Vernalis Group Plc, Whitbread Plc, and Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries Plc.

LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY MARKET SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS (Late Edition) ARCHIVES

LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY MARKET SUMMARY
AND ANALYSIS (Late Edition) ARCHIVES