Welcome to the twilight zone. British stocks inched lower for the first day in six, although who exactly was trading them remained unclear. A half-day on the markets and a void of corporate news meant turnover was somewhere between slim and nil.
At the 12.30pm close ahead of the Christmas weekend (trading does not recommence in London until Wednesday), the FTSE 100 index was down 1.6 at 5595.4, having earlier reached 5608.2 -- its first break above the 5600 level since August 2001. Fewer than 600 million shares had been exchanged, about one-fifth of the usual daily total.
There was also a half day on the Irish Stock Exchange, while Japan was closed for the Emperor’s Birthday, and there is no after-hours trading in Milan.
Overnight, Wall Street stocks ended at session highs after a Government report showed tame inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 55.71 at 10,889.44.
There was nothing much to report across the tertiary markets either. Oil held steady at $58.15 a barrel, the dollar was little changed against the euro, copper crept to another record high and gold held steady above $500 an ounce
For more on US markets, click here.
House builders were one of the few points of interest back in London.
Persimmon was the top blue-chip market after the Office of Fair trading decided not to refer its £643 million purchase of rival Westbury, revealed last month, to the Competition Commission. Shares took on 24p to £12.75.
For detailed information on Persimmon, click here.
Consolidation hopes continued to lift the mid-cap house builders, with Wimpey leading on a gain of 12.25p to 487.5p. Barratt Developments was ended firmer, up 5p to 995p even after a downgrade to "sell" from Deutsche Bank. It kept a fair value of 810p.
Deutsche told clients: "Barratt Developments has outperformed the UK housebuilding sector by 20 per cent this year - not so staggering in itself for an industry leading group generating some of the best returns available until one considers that the sector itself is up 40 per cent in what was always meant to be a 'tough' year."
For detailed information on Barratt, click here.
No blue chip stock moved by more than 2 per cent in either direction.
Antofagasta was one of the few notable gainers, up 17p to £18.51. The copper miner made its first move out of Chile by forming a 50 per cent exploration joint venture with Pakistan's Tethyan Copper Company, at a total cost of about $133 million. "Cheap but dangerous," reckoned analysts.
"We see Antofagasta's acquisition of a potential growth prospect as a positive. However, we are a little surprised that they have gone so far from their traditional base of operation ... Given the history of the region, it seems to us that development of a project could be challenging," said Merrill Lynch.
Track Antofgagasta shares here.
AstraZeneca added 17p to £27.95 after it strengthened its portfolio of experimental cancer drugs with the $210 million acquisition of privately owned Kudos Pharmaceuticals.
For more on the deal, click here.
Vodafone inched up 0.25p to 123.75p. According to The Times, the European Court of Justice will hear mobile phone operators' argument for getting tax rebates on third-generation licences in February. The industry is looking to rake back VAT payments they claim they paid as part of the £22.5 billion spent on 3G licences at the height of the telecoms boom.
There were also continued rumours about a boardroom refocusing at Vodafone. Arun Sarin, the firm's chief executive, has been touring City institutions since warning in November of slowing growth. That tour has led some to believe there may be a change in the boardroom early next year, along with a clarification about what management intends to do with its struggling Japanese and US divisions.
Read the Times's story on the European Court of Justice here.
Among the small caps, Yoomedia rose 0.75p to 7.75p after it revealed a tie-up with Gala Group whereby the bookmaker will buy Yoomedia's Avago service, which runs roulette and horse racing games on Sky TV. The deal is expected to net between £5.1 million and £8.05 million depending on performance, Yoomedia said.
Track Yoomedia shares here.
Mincorp rose 0.5p to 2p after saying there has been further progress in its search for nickel deposits in the Phillipines. The firm said it has signed a memorandum of agreement with the locals in the pit area, which was explored then abandoned in the 1970s.
For detailed information on Mincorp, click here.
Radstone Technology, which makes indestructable computers for the defence sector, slid 48.5p to 247.5p after warning that delays in getting orders out the door will result in annual sales falling below expectations.
The firm, whose year-end is in March, said it had an order intake of £16 million in the last two months, up from £7 million a year ago. However, UBS reckoned that only £7.2 million of those will leave the factory by the year end, pushing consensus expectations for the full year down by between 30 and 35 per cent.
Track Radstone shares here.
Asos drifted 2p to 75.5p as shares returned from a two week suspension, which followed its warehouse burning down in the Buncefield oil depot fire. The online fashion retailer said it will be up and running again by mid January, and that its year to March should be in line with expectations.
The company also said it is confident that no long term damage has been done to the brand.
For detailed information on Asos, click here.
Greene King ended the day down 7.5p to 736.5p after UBS cut the stock from its "buy" list and recommended clients switch into peer Wolverhampton & Dudley, up 22p to £12.85.
Elsewhere on broker watch: ABN Amro sent clients a cryptic crossword-style quiz, and Dryden Wealth Management's morning note featured a doodle of a skier. It was not a busy day.
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