LONDON (ShareCast) - Traders in London were left twiddling their thumbs for most of the day after a technical glitch forced the LSE to suspend dealing early on until half hour before the scheduled close.

Yesterday’s news that the US government will bail-out troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac prompted massive interest in UK banks as the session started. Much of the surge in activity was blamed on investors moving to close short positions taken during Friday's sell-off.

As much as £110bn of US taxpayer’s money will be pumped into Fannie and Freddie in what has been described as the biggest financial bail-out in history.

Analysts hope the US action will inject some much needed confidence into housing markets on both sides of the Atlantic. Bankruptcy could have triggered an economic collapse, they said.

Investors filled their boots with mortgage lenders HBOS, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB and Barclays, which all surged more than 10%. But dealing came to an abrupt halt at around 9am when connectivity issues forced the LSE to suspend trade.

A lively final half hour saw a fresh scramble for financial plays as Wall Street rallied 200 points in quick time. Fund manager Schroders and insurer Standard Life proved popular, while Wolseley, which has large US businesses, also went well.

KBC Peel Hunt reckons the US news will give British housebuilders a shot in the arm. The broker, which maintained its ‘positive stance’ on the sector, thinks the deal could encourage European banks to begin issuing mortgage-backed securities. Barratt Developments, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon rallied.

Drug giant GlaxoSmithKline missed the party though and AstraZeneca managed just slim gains as their defensive qualities proved less attractive.

Elsewhere, another good showing by its discount chain Primark will help Associated British Food hit its targets this year. Like-for-like sales growth of 2% is expected at Primark in the second half despite weak trading in April when the weather was poor.

Oil and gas firm Venture Production has upgraded its estimate of proven plus probable reserves and resources.

Industrial conveyor belt maker Fenner's results for the year ended August will be at the top end of expectations, it says. Group operations have performed strongly in the final quarter of its 2008 year.

Expectations of improving sales momentum in a tough market prompted JP Morgan to lift its earnings estimates on JD Wetherspoon, retaining its ‘overweight’ stance on the pub group.

Confectionery maker Glisten saw full year profits fall to £2.71m in the year to June, from £4.81m, as one-off costs rose sharply. Underlying profits rose by 18% to £6.68m. Revenues rose from £58.6m to £73.8m. "The first 9 weeks of the current year has started with overall sales ahead 15% whilst showing no like for like growth," it said.

Speech recognition specialist Eckoh has won a “landmark deal” with a global financial services company to provide a pan-European telephonic customer services system. The multi-million pound contract runs for three years and is expected to start generating revenue in the first quarter of 2009.

Petrochemical firm HaiKe Chemical said it has won a major production contract from Sinopec Shandong Petroleum Branch (SSP) worth about 230m yuan.

Around 25m shares in software house Micro Focus changed hands on Monday as a result of a secondary placing organised by UBS.

Shares in cannabis-based medicine group GW Pharmaceuticals were on a high for the month after positive test results for its Sativex treatment for multiple sclerosis sufferers.


FTSE 100 - Risers
Schroders NV (SDRC) 950.00p +12.56%
Schroders (SDR) 1,069.00p +11.94%
Barclays (BARC) 355.00p +11.90%
HBOS (HBOS) 307.00p +11.43%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 244.50p +11.26%
Lloyds TSB Group (LLOY) 310.00p +11.11%
Standard Life (SL.) 259.00p +11.04%
Wolseley (WOS) 485.00p +10.73%
Experian Group (EXPN) 431.25p +9.94%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,502.00p +9.32%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,249.50p -1.61%
Unilever (ULVR) 1,580.00p -0.69%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 667.50p +0.07%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 2,609.00p +0.15%
BAE Systems (BA.) 456.00p +0.39%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 163.60p +0.49%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 794.50p +0.57%
British Energy Group (BGY) 733.50p +0.76%
Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 1,775.00p +0.79%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 185.50p +0.82%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Cattles (CTT) 125.00p +13.64%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 165.75p +12.76%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 61.75p +11.26%
BlueBay Asset Management (BBAY) 285.25p +10.35%
Mapeley (MAY) 1,174.00p +9.51%
Johnston Press (JPR) 52.00p +9.47%
Persimmon (PSN) 420.00p +9.45%
Investec (INVP) 406.75p +8.47%
Quintain Estates & Development (QED) 206.75p +7.82%
Brit Insurance Holding (BRE) 193.25p +7.81%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Micro Focus International Plc (MCRO) 280.00p -3.70%
Bodycote International (BOY) 215.00p -2.93%
PV Crystalox Solar (PVCS) 170.00p -2.30%
Salamander Energy (SMDR) 235.00p -1.98%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 439.00p -1.40%
PartyGaming (PRTY) 210.00p -0.47%
Carpetright (CPR) 670.00p -0.45%
BH Macro (GBP) (BHMG) 1,490.00p -0.33%
Chloride Group (CHLD) 237.25p -0.21%
PZ Cussons (PZC) 171.75p -0.15%

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