Footsie tries hard to pull its socks up

DOWN a worrying 102 points before elevenses, following a batch of disappointing company trading statements, the

London's recovery owed much to heavyweight mobile phone giant Vodafone which touched an all-time low before rallying to 5 1/4p better at 112 3/4p on hefty turnover of 833m.

A scathing Collins Stewart note describing the stock as 'worthless in its current form' sparked heavy selling of mobile phone group mmO2. It touched 43 1/2p before closing 2 1/2p lower at 47 1/2p. 'If mmO2 did dump the loss-making German business Viag, the shares would be worth 24p,' roared superbear analyst Mustapha Omar.

A delay to the launch of its Crestor drug wiped 187p off AstraZeneca to 3340p. Rival Glaxo SmithKline rose 21p to 1694p after broker Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein upgraded to add in the wake of the first-quarter figures. Its target price is 1875p.

Insurance giant CGNU fell 43 1/2p to 728p following a disappointing rise in underlying sales of only 10% in the first quarter. The dividend is being cut 40% to help fund its growth plans. Royal & SunAlliance dipped 13 1/2p to 308 1/4p in sympathy.

Sterling rose to $1.4550 as the dollar weakened. The euro rose to 61.8p and to 89.9 US cents.

Barclays found the pace too hot after Wednesday's gain of 144p and after rising a further 26p reacted on profit-taking to finish 4p off at 2440p. The bank reports a solid start to the year.

Still waiting for superstar Robbie Williams to sign a new contract, music giant EMI lost 6p to 322p.

After announcing a new $1.39bn multi-currency revolving credit facility, Invensys was sold down to 102p before closing 4 1/2p off at 107p.

Support services company Amey rose 9p more to 248 1/2p with software group Anite (1p off at 126p) still on its radar screen.

Reflecting recent director selling, Marlborough Stirling lost 14 1/2p further to 159 1/2p.

Bearish noises from broker Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein left engineer Cookson 5p off at 92 1/2p.

Rolls-Royce eased 3p more to 190p after Credit Suisse First Boston downgraded from buy to hold.

Aim-listed ID Data jumped 1 1/2p to 6 1/2p. It has received its first order for multi-application smart cards worth £2m. Sales for the second half are expected to be significantly ahead of the first. Durlacher has been appointed broker.

CybIT, a provider of telematics solutions and online services, gained 1/4p to 1 1/2p after winning the 300th order for its fleet management solution.

Israeli techno minnow Zen Research edged up 1/4p more to 12p. Punters hear the company has rejected a 10p-a- share offer, but another predator willing to fork out 15p is sniffing around.

Encouraging first-quarter figures lifted TeleCity 1/4p to 9 3/4p. Losses have been significantly reduced and chairman Michael Hepher said customer inquiry levels have increased sharply. TeleCity has £14m cash in the bank.

In an effort to find a true trading level, market-makers slashed mapping and global positioning systems specialist Yeoman Group down from the overnight 86 1/2p to 60 1/2p. The company said business development is in line with expectations. The stock rallied to finish 14p down at 72 1/2p.

Last December, Yeoman launched its VoxNav navigation system for UK mobile phone users. The system delivers turn-by-turn directions to drivers who dial a premium rate line. Yeoman needed about 300,000 regular users to push the service into the black. Bears roar that the take-up has been poor.

Looking likely to lose its Premiership crown to Arsenal and facing an uphill task in the second leg of the Champions League away to top German side Bayer Leverkusen next week, Manchester United dropped 5 1/2p to 122p.

Johnson Services fell 16p to 394p after saying it sees little evidence of an economic revival in the first three months of the current year.

IT'S steady as she goes at James Fisher. The leading provider of specialist marine services firmed 2 1/2p more to 137 1/2p after the wife of Ian Serjent, marine and technical services director, bought 10,000 shares at 137p. This follows other director purchases in March. Fisher has benefited from the effects of new tax breaks for UK-registered ship operators, while the disposal of its loss-making dry cargo business was applauded.