Outsourcing group Capita continued to be a high riser having said that it has acquired debt recovery specialists iQor Holdings UK and subsidiaries (iQor UK) for an enterprise value of 42m pounds.

Insurance group Old Mutual was in demand after posting an 18% increase in annual profits in 2012, driven by a strong performance in Africa.

Property developer Hammerson gained after hailing 2012 as a ‘transformational year’ that saw 2.1% growth in like-for-like net rental income.

UK banking group Lloyds sank after reporting that while underlying profits soared in 2012, it was forced to take further provisions for Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) redress in the fourth quarter.

Mining stocks were providing a drag on the Footsie today in the wake of the disappointing economic figures from China. Kazakhmys, EVRAZ, Xstrata, Glencore, ENRC and Polymetal were registering steep losses.

Kazkahmys, which yesterday announced that it would be slashing its dividend to reflect falling profits in 2012, was a heavy faller after Bank of America, JPMorgan and Exane BNP Paribas all cut their target prices for the stock.

Meanwhile, Glencore and Xstrata were also hit after saying that they would likely push back their merger deadline as they continue to await regulatory approval in China.

FTSE 100 – Risers
Capita (CPI) 859.00p +4.31%
Experian (EXPN) 1,131.00p +3.38%
Old Mutual (OML) 208.30p +2.86%
Hammerson (HMSO) 505.00p +2.14%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,404.00p +2.03%
Compass Group (CPG) 815.00p +1.81%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,092.00p +1.77%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,494.00p +1.73%
Standard Life (SL.) 358.60p +1.73%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,946.00p +1.67%

FTSE 100 – Fallers
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 51.47p -5.51%
Kazakhmys (KAZ) 587.50p -5.09%
Xstrata (XTA) 1,115.00p -4.09%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 310.70p -4.08%
Evraz (EVR) 262.60p -3.77%
Glencore International (GLEN) 373.55p -3.60%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,437.50p -2.92%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,510.00p -2.77%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 753.00p -1.95%
Barclays (BARC) 301.30p -1.86%

NR