MARKET REPORT: Royal Mail posts loss after competition forces rating cut
ROYAL Mail delivered a 22¼p loss to 432¼p as JPMorgan Cazenove cut its rating from overweight to neutral amid concerns over competition from Whistl, formerly TNT Post.
Marks & Spencer rose 23¼p to 498¾p after RBC told clients to buy with a 550p target, while a solid trading update lifted engineering support services outfit Babcock International 26p to 1054p.
Bid chatter boosted energy group Drax 22¾p to 412½p, while drink cans maker Rexam, a takeover target for US rival Ball Corporation, fizzed up 15½p to 534p. Anite, which tests telecom networks and handsets, rang up a 6½p rise to 88p after strongerthan-expected trading.
A deal with home improvement group Intu to sell and install its electricity-generating Flow Boiler fired up efficient energy products firm Flowgroup 1¼p to 36½p. Flight simulation software firm SimiGon took off 4p to 25p after flagging a significant increase in annual profit, but oil company Northern Petroleum sank 2.28p to 7¼p after a disappointing well result in Canada.
