MARKETS

Shares in Cairn Energy were down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after the group posted its results for the first half of the year.

Shares in British banks were down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading as investors continued to fret about the prospects of economic recovery.

Shares in WPP were down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading despite the company reporting a rise in pre-tax profit of 36 per cent in the first half of the year.

Shares in WPP were up on the FTSE 100 in afternoon trading ahead of the advertising firm's half year results, due out tomorrow.

Shares in British banks were up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading following reports that HSBC is considering buying a majority stake in South African company Nedbank.

Shares in Bovis Homes were up on the FTSE 250 in morning trading after the housebuilder reported a return to profit in the half year ended 30 June.

Shares in Lloyds Banking Group were up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after it said yesterday that it would be closing down Bank of Scotland (Ireland) Ltd and transferring its assets to Bank of Scotland PLC on 31 December.

Shares in Mitchells & Butlers were down on the FTSE 250 in morning trading after the company announced that it would be selling 333 of its non-core pubs to Stonegate Pub Company Limited for £373 million. Stonegate itself is controlled by TDR Capital LLP.

Shares in British banks were mixed in morning trading on the FTSE 100 after sharp drops caused by uncertainty about the state of the global recovery.

Shares in Essar were up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after the company reported a drop in it's a pre-tax profit in the half year period ended 30 June, despite a significant rise in revenue in the period.

Shares in British banks were mixed in morning trading on the FTSE 100 as investors continued to act cautiously in the face of an uncertain global economic recovery.

Shares in Michael Page International were down on the FTSE 250 in morning trading after the recruitment firm reported a surge in pre-tax profit for the half year ended 30 June.

Shares in Michael Page International were down on the FTSE 250 in afternoon trading ahead of the recruitment firm's half year results, due out on Monday morning.

Shares in British banks were broadly up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading, following gains on the stock market yesterday afternoon.

Shares in Dana Petroleum were down in afternoon trading on the FTSE 250 after it said it would not be supporting a £1.7 billion takeover bid from the state owned Korea National Corp (KNOC).

Shares in British banks were broadly down in morning trading on the FTSE 100 after the Bank of England yesterday predicted a more "choppy" recovery than was previously hoped for.

The pound has lowered to a one week low versus the dollar today amidst further evidence that the Bank of England are to keep interest rates low. The signs of 'softening' confidence in the economy is leading the central bank to lower its forecasts for next year to 2.5 pct from 3.4 pct in May.

Shares in British banks were down in morning trading on the FTSE 100 as news from the U.S. Federal Reserve yesterday failed to reassure investors about the prospects of the economic recovery.

The pound was down against the dollar this afternoon ahead of a statement due today from the U.S. Federal Reserve and following weak economic data from Britain.

Shares in British banks fell in morning trading on the FTSE 100 after economic data on retail sales, and house prices suggested the recovery is progressing slower than previously hoped for.

Shares in BP were up in morning trading on the FTSE 100 as oil prices rose and the group said that it had effectively plugged the oil leak at the Macondo oil well in the Gulf of Mexico.

Shares in British banks were broadly up in morning trading on the FTSE 100 following losses incurred on Friday.

Shares in Logica were up on the FTSE 250 in morning trading after the IT firm more than tripled its pre-tax profit in the first half of the year.

Shares in British banks were broadly down on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after the last of the "big four" banks, RBS, reported its half year results and a return to profit this morning.

Shares in RBS were up in morning trading on the FTSE 100 after the group reported a return to profit in the first half of 2010.

Shares in RBS were down slightly on the FTSE 100 ahead of the part-nationalised bank's first half results, due out tomorrow.

Shares in Rio Tinto were up in afternoon trading on the FTSE 100 after the mining giant more than doubled its earnings and cut its net debt in the first half of the year.

Shares in Randgold Resources fell on the FTSE 100 in afternoon trading, despite the mining firm reporting a rise in quarterly and half year profit today.

Shares in defence company Cobham were down in morning trading on the FTSE 100 after the group reported a slight rise in pre-tax profit in the half year ended 30 June.