LONDON (ShareCast) - London equities closed off the bottom after the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s statement on the government’s plans for the banking sector, but the Footsie still closed at a level not seen since the 26 October 2004.

Chancellor Alistair Darling once again claimed the government will “do whatever is necessary to maintain stability”, but stopped short of announcing fresh measures to tackle the credit crunch.

"It's essential that we take action to both support the banking system as a whole - as well as being ready to intervene in particular cases when it's necessary to do so," he told MPs in the Commons this afternoon.

Predictably banks got it in the neck in the wake of the bail-out of German commercial property lender Hypo Real Estate, but their losses were surpassed by miners, where Kazakhmys, ENRC, Xstrata and Fresnillo lost between one-firth and one-quarter of their value in a single day. Metal prices are tumbling on fears of a slump in demand if global markets go into recession and mining stocks are falling in line with them.

UBS kicked the mining sector while it was down, downgrading its recommendations on Antofagasta, Kazakhmys, Lonmin and Vedanta while trimming its price target on Fresnillo from 550p to 360p and cutting its price target on Xstrata to 2,700p from 4,600p

Among banks, Royal Bank of Scotland, and HBOS were the major casualties, while elsewhere in the financial sector hedge fund manager Man Group was nursing a double-digit percentage fall.

Engine maker Rolls-Royce has won a £96m contract to power two Royal Navy aircraft carriers. The group said it will provide power and propulsion equipment, including four gas turbines, for the UK's new 65,000 tonne aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.

The volatile market conditions in September resulted in a 24% increase in the equity order books of the London Stock Exchange. The group said it saw “very strong trading” during the month with £302.8bn worth of equity trading, an 24% increase on September 2007, while the total number of trades increased 62% to 27.1 million.

Industrial ceramics group Cookson said overall trading in the third quarter showed a strong improvement in performance, reflecting the addition of Foseco's contribution and continuing currency translation gains.

Easyjet increased the number of passengers it flew in September as travellers continued using budget airlines amid tough economic times. About 4.2m passengers flew with EasyJet during the month, compared with around 3.4m in September last year.

Business outsourcing specialist Xchanging has acquired a 75% interest in Indian IT services provider Cambridge Solutions for approximately £83m. The consideration will comprise of 3,172m Indian rupees (equivalent to £45m at current rates) and the issue of 15.2m new Xchanging shares.

Engineering consultant WS Atkins has boosted its position in the nuclear sector with the acquisition of consultant MG Bennett & Associates Ltd for £2.5m cash.

Smart card and ID management software specialist Intercede said it has generated a profit at both pre and post tax level for the six months to September. Sales for the first half of the current financial year are more than 25% higher than for the comparable period last year, it said.

Beer flow monitoring company Brulines expects results for the half year ended 26 September to be in line with market expectations as while gas cylinder supplier Pressure Technologies expects to be ahead of forecasts.

Private firm Progressive Board has made a recommended cash offer for the remaining shares it does not own in the business media outfit SPG Media. The offer values SPG Media at approximately £11.85m.

Citigroup has issued a downbeat assessment of the UK pub sector, cutting its ratings for JD Wetherspoon and Marston’s while reducing the price targets for a host of other pub groups. JD Wetherspoon’s rating is cut to “sell” from “hold” and Marston’s to “hold” from “buy”, as the groups suffer from the squeeze on consumer spending and get to grips with rising costs.

Sportswear retailer JJB Sports is on the back foot after broker Altium Securities cut its price target. Altium, which maintained it “sell” recommendation on the stock, has trimmed its price target from 35p to 27p.

Nasstar, which designs software that allows users to access desktop applications over the internet, is a rare bright spot after signing a three-year deal with London planning consultant CGMS.


FTSE 100 - Risers
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FTSE 100 - Fallers
Kazakhmys (KAZ) 417.75p -26.58%
Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 425.00p -23.42%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 148.10p -20.46%
Fresnillo (FRES) 225.00p -19.86%
HBOS (HBOS) 160.80p -19.80%
Xstrata (XTA) 1,357.00p -19.23%
Man Group (EMG) 286.25p -18.10%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 313.75p -17.49%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 1,539.00p -16.99%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,511.00p -15.16%

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