Markets: FTSE 100 uncertain on Wednesday
17:05 - The FTSE 100 (UKX) failed to live up its initial promise, giving up gains as it slipped lower at the end of the session.
London's blue-chip index closed 14.33 points down at 5875.93 with Reckitt Benckiser (RB.) shares continuing to reap benefits, up almost 3%, while Weir Group (WEIR) declined.
On AIM, the big winner was DCD Media (DCD), with shares 126% higher, while Ambrian (AMBR) was 27% under.
Lacklustre volumes and a tight trading range exemplify trader caution according to IG Index sales trader Will Hedden.
"Having watched all day for developments out of Greece, statements from ratings agency S&P seem to be the highlight of an otherwise dreary afternoon," he commented.
Looking ahead, Hedden said: "With the waiting game being played around 5900 ahead of another busy day for company reports tomorrow, overall trader sentiment is short the index and long individual names, with financials sought-after in recent weeks. The performance of the euro this week has been somewhat risk-on, but as for most other assets, direction has been lacking today."
At a glance...
Commodities
Gold: $1,730.06 
WTI crude oil: $98.49
Currencies
GBP/USD: 1.5818
GBP/EUR: 1.1940
EUR/USD: 1.3257
All changes from 09:00 GMT.
16:44 - US markets dipped into the red in midweek, as rumours that the European Central Bank was caving in and would take a Greek haircut made the rounds.
In Athens, Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos met with other political leaders after twice postponing the meeting in striving to finalise a second round of rescue funds.
The Dow Jones fell 45 points to 12833. The Nasdaq slipped eight points to 2897, while the S&P 500 saw a three-point decline to 1344.
For every three stocks rising, four fell on the New York Stock Exchange.
"US markets have joined the 'consolidatory' party as they edge back from yesterday's pre credit-crisis high, as earnings focus makes way for scrutiny of what is expected to be a positive Labour Department report following last week's fantastic jobs numbers," added Will Hedden, sales trader at IG Index.
16:31 - Shares in Supergroup (SGP) plunged almost 20% as it warned that pre-tax profits would be "towards the lower end of the range of market expectations".
Like-for-like sales in the third quarter grew 4.4%, a decline from the 5.8% increase over the nine-week Christmas trading period. While wholesale sales grew 18% in the third quarter, it was a far cry from the 67% growth rate in the second quarter, or the 98% growth rate in the first quarter.
"We remain concerned that both UK retail and wholesale overall sales growth remains below the rate of estate expansion, leading us to believe that either maturity profiles have slowed or there is downward pricing pressure/little to no pricing power across the group," noted Wayne Brown, analyst at Collins Stewart.
"Our other main concern is that the UK opening programme accounts for more than 40% of growth between 2011 and 2015, and the success of this programme is also based on transforming/widening its target audience; we remain cautious," he added.
The stock is trading on a 2012 price to earnings ratio of about 16 times, which Brown says is "unwarranted for a business that has again disappointed". He had a 'sell' recommendation on the stock.
16:18 - After an extended tender process Escher Group (ESCH), provider of point-of-sale equipment to the postal industry, has been awarded a contract to provide its Riposte suite of software to a leading postal authority.
The agreement, with a 15-year term, is expected to generate £31 million for the company. The board anticipated net earnings for the year of approximately £1.5 million.
"2012 starts with considerable momentum with a record order book, significant new contracts concluded and a continuing healthy sales pipeline within our three business lines," commented Liam Church, chief executive officer of Escher. "We expect 2012 to be a strong year... as we benefit from the investments made in 2011."
Shares rocketed over 25% in response to the news, which came alongside a positive trading update for the full year ended December 2011.
16:05 - After announcing that it has signed an agreement with Facebook to provide its payments services, Bango (BGO) rose 40%.
Shares in the mobile payments specialist rose despite the lack of details over the contract, with the terms not being disclosed and the board deciding that it was too early in the relationship to forecast the level of business it may generate.
15:52 - Sweett Group (CSG), the property and infrastructure professional service firm, jumped over 11% after it was appointed to provide contract administration and support services for the fitting out of the Shangri-La flagship hotel in London's Shard, Europe's tallest building, which is currently under construction.
Located within the 34th to 52nd floors, the 202-room 'Shangri-La At The Shard' is the first new-build five-star hotel development in central London in over a decade.
Sweett Group has previously worked on projects for Shangri-La in China.
15:39 - European Goldfields (EGU) announced that two leading corporate governance firms, Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis & Company, have recommended that shareholders vote for the merger with Eldorado Gold (EGO).
The firms made their recommendations as the transaction seems financially fair to the shareholders of both companies, the strategic rationale is reasonable, market reaction has been favourable and there have been no significant governance concerns.
Shares in European Goldfields edged lower on the news.
15:26 - Copper Development Corporation (CDC) released its Basay drilling update, with long high-grade intercepts indicating large extensions of the deposits.
Drill results to date continue to confirm the presence of long drill intervals of significant high-grade copper-gold-silver-molybdenum mineralisation and are seen to support the company's theory that the four known deposits may be the corners of a large rectangle comprising a major copper deposit.
15:13 - Dunelm (DNLM) has achieved "robust trading results in a very demanding retail environment", with like-for-like revenues and pre-tax profits increasing by 1.1% and 7.8% respectively.
The company has also appointed Matt Davies as a non-executive director with immediate effect. Davies will chair the audit committee and will become a member of the remuneration and nominations committees.
"Whilst we remain cautious about the impact of the UK consumer environment on our trading in the near term, we will continue to focus on the disciplined execution of our strategy and will maintain tight operational management," said chief executive Nick Wharton.
Jean Roche, analyst at Panmure Gordon, estimated that the shares are trading on a "deserved premium to the sector" on 14.1 times 2012 earnings. He had a 'buy' rating on the stock.
However, Freddie George, analyst at Seymour Pierce, disagreed. "The homewares market is unlikely to get a help from the economy over the next year while the success of the brand is very much on other retailers' 'radar screens' so, we believe, competition is intensifying - both Next (NXT) and Marks and Spencer (MKS) are developing their home ranges in store and on the internet," he pointed out. He recommended the stock as a 'hold'.
15:00 - The FTSE 100 (UKX) endured a sharp drop mid-afternoon despite a steady beginning on Wall Street.
London's leading index was just 1.9 points ahead after the dip, at 5892, with Reckitt Benckiser (RB.) still on top and International Power (IPR) at the bottom of the winning and losing stocks.
On AIM, shares in DCD Media (DCD) were up 133%, while Triple Plate Junction (TPJ) were 65% lower.
At a glance...
Commodities
Gold: $1,745.50
WTI crude oil: $99.86 
Currencies
GBP/USD: 1.5857
GBP/EUR: 1.1954
EUR/USD: 1.3263
All changes from 09:00 GMT.
14:45 - US markets moved slightly higher at the open on Wednesday as hopes over closure in the Greek debt talks once again moved from ebb to flow, with optimism for the success of the bail-out growing.
The Dow Jones moved slightly higher, rising 13 points to 12891, and the S&P 500 was up three points to 1350. The Nasdaq also climbed into higher territory with an eight-point movement to 2912.
Both Time Warner (TWX) and McDonald's (MCD) reported better-than-expected results. Despite further turbulence in the boardroom Yahoo! (YHOO) was up slightly as trading began - the company's chairman and three other board members are set to leave as it struggles to keep up with the likes of Google (GOOG).
14:30 - Thomas Cook Group (TCG) shares enjoyed a much-needed boost as it reported a 3% rise in first-quarter revenue and announced the sale of its Indian subsidiary.
Revenues rose to £1.86 billion in the first three months of the firm's financial year, boosted by increased activity in Northern Europe and Airlines Germany and a maiden contribution of £68 million from the Co-operative and the Russian joint ventures.
For the full story, read: Revenue rise buoys Thomas Cook.
14:15 - British Sky Broadcasting (BSY) purchased 350,564 shares at 691.7192 pence per share from News UK Nominees for cancellation.
This followed the 465,409 ordinary shares at 691.33p per share it had already purchased for cancellation.
Following the completion of the above transactions the company will have 1,734,779,559 votable shares in issue.
14:00 - There was plenty of commodities action on AIM during Wednesday, including updates from Europa Oil and Gas (EOG), North River Resources (NRRP), Chariot Oil and Gas (CHAR) and Continental Coal (COOL).
Read: AIM commodities players update investors, for the all the news.
13:45 - The media sector saw conflicting share price reaction reactions as Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) warned of a fall in advertising revenues, while Virgin Media (VMED) appeased investors with the announcement of a share buyback amounting to 7% of its market cap.
Read: Mixed fortunes for Daily Mail and Virgin Media, for the full story.
13:24 - The Recruitment and Employment Confederation released its measure of permanent staff replacements with it heading into growth territory, rising from 48.5 to 51.2; any figure above 50 represents growth.
Recruitment consultants reported a slower increase in job vacancies during January. Data suggested that engineering and construction workers were the most sought-after in the latest survey period, in contrast to declines in demand signalled for hotel and catering staff.
"Sadly, though, the number of people hoping to fill these vacancies continues to rise and with unemployment benefit claimants up for the 10th month in succession, the competition to be the right candidate in the right place is tougher than ever," suggested Bernard Brown, partner at KPMG.
"At least there are signs within some industries that things are looking up. Amongst the engineering, construction and IT sectors demand for permanent staff has increased since the turn of the year."
13:03 - Shares in Reckitt Benckiser (RB.) moved higher as markets responded to its announcement that it had exceeded full-year targets for 2011 and posted a strategy to continue outperformance into 2012.
Total net revenue growth at the company, which owns the Dettol and Nurofen brands, rose 13%, exceeding the prior target of 12%.
For more, read: Reckitt Benckiser shares boosted by outperformance.
12:42 - Synchronica (SYNC), the developer of standards-based next-generation mobile messaging, has announced that is has signed a letter of intent with Intertainment Media, a Toronto-based rich media app developer.
The letter notes the plan to integrate their technologies into a seamless real-time translation. Shares in the company lifted as investors responded positively.
In addition a equally-owned joint venture, given licence to each company's intellectual property, will be initiated in order to share R&D efforts and develop new projects.
12:21 - Misys (MSY) shares lost significant ground as the company announced that it had in issue £100 million of 2.5% bonds convertible into ordinary shares in the company.
The news came as the board confirmed that current chief executive Mike Lawrie has received an offer of employment and will leave the company on the 31 March 2012.
Misys and Temenos are in discussions about an all share merger of the two groups, and have agreed some key terms.
The combined company is expected to benefit from economies of scale and enhanced growth prospects building on the global customer base that the companies command.
12:00 - Banks and miners continued to push the FTSE 100 (UKX) higher as a Greek debt deal remained elusive.
London's leading index climbed up 11 points to 5901.
Banks rose as Citigroup reiterated its 'overweight' stance on UK lenders, while miners rose in tandem with metal prices. Reckitt Benckiser (RB.) was the top performer, up almost 3%, as it announced pre-tax profits up 11% and highlighted a new growth strategy.
Looking ahead, there is no US economic data out today. Yusuf Heusen, sales trader at IG Index was calling the Dow to open up 19 points higher.
At a glance...
Commodities
Gold: $1,746.93
WTI crude oil: $99.47
Currencies
GBP/USD: 1.5886
GBP/EUR: 1.1962
EUR/USD: 1.3278
All changes from 09:00 GMT.
11:39 - After announcing a strong four months to the end of January 2012 Grainger (GRI), the UK's largest quoted residential property owner and manager, edged forward on Wednesday.
The group announced a strong growth in its order book with a sales pipeline of £118 million - compared to £76.2 million in January 2011 - and a 20% rise in gross rents following the purchase of the HI Tricomm portfolio.
Despite the lack of resolution in eurozone issues and the related problems in the banking system UK house prices have shown more resilience than would be expected, the company suggested in its statement.
11:14 - Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) chief executive Stephen Hester has spoken out about his "deeply depressing" moments amid the controversy over his bonus in which he considered resigning.
In an interview with the BBC, Hester described his personal and emotional reaction to the pressure but said that it would have been "indulgent" to have resigned.
Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, Hester said he faced a huge challenge when he took control of the bank three years ago: "I had to replace the whole senior management team at RBS. Not just people to run the bank well, but to defuse the biggest time bomb in history in terms of bank balance sheets."
10:49 - BHP Billiton (BLT) posted a drop in its attributable profits for the first time in two years, which it said reflected "continued difficulties in Europe and slowing levels of activity in the high-growth economies of China and India".
However, the company highlighted two "bright spots" - the United States, which saw stronger growth on the back of robust performance in the manufacturing sector, and Japan, which saw a rebound in activity following the impact of the March 2011 tsunami.
For the full story, read: BHP Billiton leagues ahead despite profit dip.
10:22 - Polymetal (POLY) announced it has completed the £12.5 million purchase of AngloGold Ashanti's (AGD) 50% interest in companies previously held jointly by the AngloGold Ashanti/Polymetal strategic alliance.
One of the companies is Amikan Holding, which owns the Veduga gold deposit in Russia. Polymetal shares responded with an uptick in prices on Wednesday.
09:58 - Homeserve (HSV) reassured investors that pre-tax profits for the year ending 31 March would be in line with market expectations, but warned that progress in reinvigorating the customer focus and restarting marketing activity was taking "longer than originally anticipated".
The company now expects total customers to fall by 8%, a 3% increase on the previous guidance. Additionally, renewal revenues in 2013 have been lowered by up to £10 million, which will be partly offset by lower operating costs.
"Management have been working hard to rebuild confidence but uncertainty still exists," confirmed Andy Brown, analyst at Panmure Gordon. "Ongoing dialogue with the Financial Services Authority leaves the door open for a full investigation, and therefore, potential fine, while the impact of its international growth aspirations is unknown," he added, reiterating his 'sell' recommendation.
Caroline de La Soujeole, analyst at Seymour Pierce, agreed. "Today's statement vindicates our view that Homeserve's management were too optimistic about the impact of the UK issues. We remain negative on the stock," she stated.
Shares in the company are trading at a 2012 price to earnings ratio of 11 times, with a divided yield of 4%.
09:34 - Shares in Rio Tinto (RIO) were up as the company announced it was to invest a further £2.1 billion in Western Australia to expand its iron ore operations.
The money will be split between extending the life of the Nammuldi iron ore mine and completing an expansion in port and rail infrastructure capacity.
"Today we are announcing another significant milestone in our drive towards a more than 50% increase in the size of iron ore operations in Western Australia," commented Australia chief executive Sam Walsh.
"The programme remains on track and we are bringing new iron ore production on stream at a time when demand from Asian markets is forecast to grow strongly."
09:13 - International Power (IPR) edged lower in the market after it released its preliminary results for 2011.
Figures were buoyed by the group's exposure to outperforming emerging markets. Revenue was up 3% to £13.7 million.
The positive news came after the combination with GDF SUEZ Energy International which has progressed better than initial expectations.
09:00 - The FTSE 100 (UKX) got off to a strong start on Wednesday, fuelled by hopes for a resolution in Greece and echoing a glowing finish for the Dow Jones and gains in Asia overnight.
London's leading index added 15 points to 5906 with Reckitt Benckiser (RB.) riding high after exceeding full-year targets for 2011 while International Power (IPR) disappointed.
On AIM, software minnow Bango (BGO) was 44% higher on the back of its deal with Facebook. Meanwhile, Ambrian Capital (AMBR) moved 30% lower.
Interactive Investor users were buying up Bango shares and renewing interest in Rockhopper Exploration (RKH), while Supergroup (SGP) was out of favour.
US markets
Wall Street clocked up gains on Tuesday as stocks rose on hopes for a resolution in Greece.
The Dow Jones hit its highest close since May 2008, adding 33 points to reach 12878. The S&P 500 was also ahead, up two points at 1347, while the Nasdaq ended the session two points higher at 2904.
At a glance...
Asian markets
Nikkei 225: 9015 ( 98)
Hang Seng: 21018 ( 319)
Shanghai Composite: 2347 ( 55)
Commodities
Gold: $1,748.14
WTI crude oil: $99.20
Currencies
GBP/USD: 1.5921
GBP/EUR: 1.1992
EUR/USD: 1.3282
08:00 - The FTSE 100 (UKX) opens at 5890.26.
