LONDON (ShareCast) - Following a massive jump the day before on the back of bid speculation, shares of Invensys plummeted on Thursday after it said that while rumours of an approach from Emerson Electric proved to be correct, these discussions ‘are no longer ongoing’.

The maker of rail signalling and industrial automation systems said that despite having been in “highly preliminary” discussions with other third parties, no more talks are taking place.

Electrical goods retailer Dixons surged after seeing a sharp up-tick in like-for-like (LFL) sales in the final quarter of its financial year. Group LFL sales were down 3% year-on-year over the 52-week period ended April 28th but were up 5% in the final quarter.

Also on the up was legacy software specialist Micro Focus after it delivered full-year results in line with guidance, with licence fee growth offsetting a foreseen decline in maintenance revenues. Merchant Securities initiated coverage on the stock with a 'buy' rating this morning, saying that it was impressed with its "excellent" cash generation.

Meanwhile, mining stocks were under pressure today on the back of some poor macro-economic data. Meanwhile, metals prices dropped after the dollar strengthened on the back of the absence of any further quantitative easing measures from the Federal Reserve.

Aquarius Platinum, Centamin, New World Resources, Kenmare Resources and Lonmin were suffering steep falls.


FTSE 250 - Risers
Dixons Retail (DXNS) 17.21p +7.56%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 478.60p +5.88%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 650.00p +3.92%
Ruspetro (RPO) 137.70p +3.53%
Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 498.20p +3.30%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 257.90p +3.00%
CSR (CSR) 222.50p +2.25%
Anite (AIE) 121.60p +2.18%
Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,226.00p +2.17%
William Hill (WMH) 282.10p +1.91%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Invensys (ISYS) 217.10p -15.53%
Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 53.30p -10.72%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 65.85p -4.70%
New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 314.00p -4.59%
Afren (AFR) 104.80p -4.38%
Betfair Group (BET) 759.50p -4.35%
Kenmare Resources (KMR) 43.00p -3.37%
EnQuest (ENQ) 112.40p -3.19%
Lonmin (LMI) 765.50p -3.10%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 260.20p -3.02%

BC

Email this article to a friend

or share it with one of these popular networks:

• DIGG
• FACEBOOK
• STUMBLEUPON
• MIXX
• YAHOO BUZZ
• DELICIOUS
• REDDIT
• NEWSVINE