Market report: Monday close

SHARE prices were on the slide again today amid talk of further sell-offs of its massive equity portfolio by troubled Standard Life Assurance.

Standard Life has been under the cosh this year from the Financial Services Authority, which has ordered the mutual to tighten up its accounting policies to meet new solvency level requirements.

Earlier this month, Standard Life raised £360 million by selling 55 million shares in property group Hammerson, up 1/2p at 625p, amounting to almost 20% of the company.

Brokers say Standard is heavily exposed to the equity market and will need to make further sales in order to meet those new solvency levels.

Standard continues to hold 25 million shares, or 8.4%, of another property company Liberty International, down 1/2p at 659 1/2p, worth £186 million and the Anglo-Swiss mining group Xstrata, up 9 1/2p at 690 1/2p, where it holds 25 million shares, or 4%, worth around £160 million.

Talk of its potential sell-offs dampened sentiment and left blue-chips lower, as the Dow opened mixed this afternoon. The FTSE 100 index fell 12.9 to 4447.0. City investors looked to smaller companies for the chance of making a turn.

Einstein returned from a six-month suspension, while it was in administration, rising 0.68p to 1.05p on turnover of more than 15 million shares.

Gains were also seen in CES Software, up 19 1/2p at 145 1/2p, with an 8p spread between bid and offer, Cathay International, 2 1/2p to 11 1/4p, and Minco, 4 1/4p to 21p.

Internet bank Egg retreated 7p to 183p after parent Prudential, down 12 1/4p at 486p, said it was looking to auction its 79% stake after receiving a number of approaches. American bank MBNA and Royal Bank of Scotland, up 4p at 1663p, are seen as front runners.

Independent broadcaster GWR rose 2p to 302p despite denying bid talks with Capital Radio, up 2 1/2p at 525 1/2p. Broker Panmure Gordon says the two are a perfect fit and would not rule out a get-together at some stage.

Aerospace supplier Smiths Group retreated 3p to 622p after broker UBS downgraded from buy to neutral and slashed its 12-month target from 825p to 690p. BAE Systems shaded 5p to 165p after broker Credit Suisse First Boston downgraded the aerospace sector from overweight to market weight.

United Business Media, which publishes business journals and owns a slug of Channel 5 TV, slid 5p to 538p, after last week's positive trading update which talked of a revival in advertising volumes. US investment bank JP Morgan has repeated its overweight rating and raised its target from 550p to 600p.

Biotech specialist Protherics firmed 1 1/4p to 60 1/4p on plans to launch Voraxaze, a treatment for patients at risk of kidney damage, in the US during the first half of 2005.

The market for Voraxaze is estimated to be worth $200 million a year (£109 million). Panmure Gordon has raised its target price to 80p.

Burren Energy, which floated last month at 135p, firmed 6p to 158 1/2p after assuring analysts it was on track to meet full-year profit expectations of close to £15.9 million for 2003.

Indian miner Vedanta Resources, down 11p at 333p, has been given an underweight rating and 322p target by US securities house Morgan Stanley, which says there are too many uncertainties to warrant a bullish view.