Beyond the Footsie: Thursday close
SMALL caps closed in positive territory, buoyed by the broader market trend and drilling news from
At the close the Small Cap index was 8.0 points higher at 2,568.3, while the blue chip FTSE 100 was up 16.5 points at 4,503.2.
Global Energy climbed over 60% higher to the top of the risers board. The shares gained 62p to 164 1/2p after the group announced plans to drill up to four new wells plus two recompletions in the Palo Blanco field in Colombia over the next 12 months.
Management Consulting Group held onto gains, the shares closing up 8 1/2p at 45 3/4p.
The group announced that its interim profits would exceed £60m, soundly beating last year's £46.3m and the market's expectations.
Elsewhere, Celltalk closed up 2p at 13p on news that its main trading subsidiary has exited a two-year voluntary rescue plan, which restricted investment and demanded 50% of profits went to repay creditors.
Additionally, the mobile phone retailer posted a full year loss of £40,000 compared to a profit of the same amount last year.
Meanwhile, collaboration news boosted Vernalis shares by 7 1/2p to 55 1/2p. The group announced a deal with Biogen Idec for its experimental compound, VR2006, to be used in development of treatments for Parkinson's disease. The deal will provide $16m up front, and could be worth more than £100m over the longer term.
Contract news also gave ML Laboratories a lift, closing up 2 1/4p to 19 1/2p after its respiratory division inked a marketing and distribution deal with an unnamed 'major pharmaceutical group'.
Quiktrak Networks closed 1/4p higher at 2 1/2p on rumours that the group has raised £750,000 to fund development. The vehicle tracking system designer's directors are said to have fronted a quarter of the cash.
Mulberry Group firmed 5p to end the session at 49 1/2p after the luxury leather goods brand posted its first profit in several years - pre-tax £41,000 compared to a loss of £2.1m last year.
And earnings pushed Computerland up 16 1/2p to 195. The IT services provider recorded a 27% jump in full year pre-tax profits to £1.92m.
On the downside, construction company Mowlem saw shares drop 37 1/4p to 173 3/4p, after it warned that cost overruns at its Australian unit would lead to it incurring a 12 mln stg exceptional charge in its first half results.
Scipher closed down 1/4p to 2.12p, on talk the intellectual property group was touring the City to try and generate interest in a possible £3m discounted share issue.
And Screen fell 1/2p to 5 1/2p, after it warned that the first half results will continue to suffer from its past legacy, with remedial costs leading to an overall deterioration.
