UK Election Date; Stocks Up, Pound Down

Mayank Mehta
06 Apr, 2010
New York City

The UK benchmark index closed at a 21-month high and the pound declined 1%. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown scheduled national election on May 6. Virgin Money attracts

[R]4:00 PM London, 11:00 AM New York – The UK benchmark index closed at a 21-month high and the pound declined 1%. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown scheduled national election on May 6. Virgin Money attracts £100 million commitment from Wilbur Ross controlled fund.[/R]

The UK benchmark index closed to a 21-month high after metal prices edged higher.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown set national election date May 6. The UK pound declined 1% against the dollar and election watchers are forecasting a hung parliament and neither the Labour Party nor the Conservative Party is likely to have a clear majority.

The election will decide the fate of 650 members of House of Commons.

In London FTSE 100 Index closed higher 35.46 or 0.62% to 5,780.35 and the pound edged lower to close at $1.517 and edged higher to close at €1.134.

U.S. based investor Wilbur Ross agreed invest £100 million in Virgin Money controlled by Richard Branson. Ross also said in an interview that is he is prepared to invest up to £500 million if Virgin bids to acquire branch network of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc

Gainers & Losers

Assura Group Limited fell 1% to 46.50 pence after the wholesaler of pharmaceuticals said that the company is in merger discussions that may not lead to a transaction.

Balfour Beatty plc rose 0.4% to 297.10 pence and the infrastructure developer said its subsidiary was awarded a £47 million to upgrade 16 fire stations in the north west of England.

Brightside Group plc the insurance broker surged 10.3% to 28.15 pence.

Beacon Hill Resources Plc fell 2.6% to 0.27 pence and the AIM listed resource company said no revenues in 2009 compared to £28,772 a year ago. Net loss for the year was £484,758 or 0.03 pence per diluted share compared to net loss of £1.73 million or 1.43 pence per share a year.

Connaught plc rose 3.1% to 261.50 pence after the support services group said it had won a £125 million ($190 million) contract with Norwich County Council which had been delayed because of an injunction brought by the incumbent provider.

Gulfsands Petroleum Plc increased 2.5% to 338 pence after the Sunday Telegraph reported that its largest shareholder asked the company to negotiate with two bidders from India.

Findel plc gained 7.2% to 26.00 pence after the home shopping and educational supplies group announces that Keith Chapman has decided to step down as chairman of the group and as a director of the company immediately.

Hampson Industries Plc fell 0.8% to 61.00 pence after the aerospace engineering contractors expects to report trading profit for the fiscal year ended March in line with market expectations despite lower-than-anticipated tooling revenues in the final quarter.

HSBC Infrastructure Company Limited closed unchanged at 118.00 pence after the investment trust has bought a 50% interest in the Newcastle city libraries PFI project for £3 million from Kajima Partnerships Ltd.

Intertek Group plc rose 0.6% to 1,505.00 pence after the testing and inspections firm announces that it has acquired for cash the regulatory and safety testing businesses of Ciba Expert Services from BASF SE.

May Gurney Integrated Services plc closed unchanged at 230.00 pence after the specialist utility contractor today confirmed that earnings for the period are in line with market expectations. In addition, the business continues to generate significant cash, with a strong net cash position in excess of £27 million at the period end.

Northgate plc added 4.1% to 190.00 pence after the rental car fleet operator said Steve Smith is stepping down from the board now rather than the earlier planned retirement date in June, in order to build a portfolio of non-executive positions.

Vitec Group plc added 1.3% to 410.50 pence after the supplier of broadcasting, entertainment and photographic equipment agreed to sell its holding in subsidiaries to HM Electronics, Inc for a total cash consideration of up to £8.7 million.

FTSE 100 Index Movers

Of the stocks in the FTSE 100 index, 78 increased, 22 declined and 3 were unchanged.

British Airways Plc decliners in the FTSE 100 index with a loss of 2.25% followed by losses in Vodafone Group Plc of 1.35%, in BAE Systems Plc of 1.34%, in Imperial Tobacco Group Plc of 1.25%, and in Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc of 1.04%.

Petrofac Limited led gainers in the FTSE 100 index with a rise of 6.44% followed by increase in Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Plc of 3.35%, in Man Group Plc of 3.11%, in Kingfisher Plc of 3.09%, and in Kazakhmys Plc of 3.03%.