Little movement on London market

A major deal by software group LogicaCMG sent its shares into reverse today during a lacklustre session for the wider London market.

The absence of major corporate news meant investors struggled for reasons to enter the market, with the FTSE 100 Index close to its opening mark at 5914.7, a gain of 11.3 points by mid-morning.

The FTSE 250 Index was 32 points lower after a drop of more than 6% for LogicaCMG – one of the second-tier’s biggest stocks.

Investors in the stock were unnerved by the £882 million price tag for WM-data, an IT services specialist with sizeable operations in the Nordic region.

While LogicaCMG said it would gain the scale to win big global contracts, shares were down 11p at 161.5p.

Some of the excitement regarding a potential sale of MFI’s retail arm cooled today as shares dipped 3p to 86p in the wake of a broker downgrade.

Back in the top flight, Party Poker owner PartyGaming rallied 3% – 3.75p to 114.75p – amid reports the firm could make a move for sports betting firm Victor Chandler.

It was closely by a number of mining stocks following a report in the Observer newspaper that Anglo American may be about to receive a takeover approach.

Anglo rose 51p to 2420p while BHP Billiton climbed 14p to 1046p amid reports it could be about to return a sizeable sum to shareholders. Rio Tinto cheered 23p to 2745p.

Meanwhile, ground engineering group Keller jumped 5% following a positive set of half-year results as it reported encouraging trading at its North American arms.

The company, which has carried out flood defence work in New Orleans, saw pre-tax profits rise 114%. Investors welcomed the news as shares climbed 32p to 648p.

And shares in Newcastle United rose 8% – 5p to 66p – after Jersey-based Belgravia confirmed it was mulling a takeover approach.