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London Market Report London Market Report
(about 5 hours later)
(Noon): Worries over the increasing level of violence in Iraq continued to weigh on markets, sending share prices lower across Europe. (Close): A moderate fall for shares in London, with some analysts blaming worries over the situation in Iraq.
The benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 38.29 points, or 0.56%, at 6,748.78. The benchmark FTSE 100 index closed 0.8% lower at 6,733.
Similar falls were seen across Europe, with Germany's Dax index down 0.35% and France's Cac 40 index 0.6% lower. "Fresh geopolitical concerns in Iraq may have given investors the perfect excuse to take profits off the table," said Desmond Chua at CMC Markets.
In London, aerospace engineering group Meggitt fell 3% after JP Morgan cut its rating on the engineering group to underweight from neutral. Meggitt, which makes parts for the aerospace industry, was the biggest loser on the index, falling 3.2% after JP Morgan downgraded the shares.
Drugs firm Shire - currently a bid target for US firm AbbVie - rose 0.75% to £44.37 after it announced that a US court had backed its patents on hyperactivity drug Vyvanse. JP Morgan said that Meggitt had shown little signs of recovery since warning about its performance at the end of last year.
Drugs firm Shire was the biggest winner, closing 2.6% higher after a US court backed its patents on hyperactivity drug Vyvanse.
The decision prevents generic drug manufacturers from making low-price copies of the top-selling drug before 2023.The decision prevents generic drug manufacturers from making low-price copies of the top-selling drug before 2023.
Transport group Stagecoach was unchanged at 377.5p after it reported a 2% rise in full-year pre-tax profits to £180.7m. Some gloomy economic news from the US also weighed on the markets today.
Revenues at the bus and train operator climbed 4.5% to £2.9bn. The US economy suffered its worst performance for five years in the first quarter of 2014.
On the currency markets, the pound fell 0.07% against the dollar to $1.6974 and dropped 0.04% against the euro to 1.2479 euros. The economy shrank at an annualised rate of 2.9% in the first three months of the year, the third estimate from the US Commerce Department showed.
On the currency markets, the pound fell was flat against the dollar at $1.6981 and dropped two fifths of a euro cent against the euro to 1.2490 euros.