Market report: Thursday close

THE bears have got their claws into Cyprus-based newcomer

The shares made their debut on Aim yesterday at 175p, valuing it at £500m and making it one of the biggest companies quoted on the junior market. They touched 190p before the bears moved in to leave the price lower by the close of business.

They slumped a further 20½p to close at 153p today, reflecting the fallout from the decision to lower the pricing of rival poker website PartyGaming, the biggest float on the London market for four years.

Advisers to PartyGaming have been forced to reduce the value by about $1bn to $9bn (£4.7bn) as investors show signs of getting cold feet. PartyGaming has gone from strength to strength in the four years since it was formed, but online gambling in the US remains illegal and any clampdown by the US authorities could threaten future profitability.

Share prices in general clawed back most of yesterday's losses as over in New York the Dow Jones managed a 12.3-point gain to 10,578.7. Turnover in London was thin, with the FTSE 100 closing up 25.5 at 5045.

Shares in First Calgary Petroleum touched a low of 355p on news its proposed-joint venture with Spanish oil giant Repsol Exploration Argelia has unravelled.

The tie-up had been designed to explore and appraise First Calgary's Algerian gas assets with the aim of doubling the amount of reserves over the next 18 months.

Word is the plan had been for Repsol to take a sizeable holding in First Calgary, with the proceeds financing the Algerian project. Now First Calgary plans to go it alone, but there is talk that someone may step in and bid 600p a share. That helped the price rebound 5p to 392½p.

Aim-quoted BowLeven jumped 125p to 462½p on news of a promising high-grade find off Cameroon. Elsewhere in the sector, US broker Goldman Sachs has been looking at valuations and concludes that BP, 3½p dearer at 577½p, could struggle to justify its premium beyond the growth in returns. As a result, it has downgraded from outperform in-line.

Shell, up 9p at 506p, is seen as close to fair value but may enjoy short-term technical support. It has been upgraded from underperform to in-line.

Mining shares were again making a lot of the running, with BHP Billiton rose 29p to 716p as broker ABN Amro raised the shares from buy to add. There were also gains for Antofagasta, 43p to 1225p, and Rio Tinto, 65p to 1745p.

Hotels and restaurants group Whitbread climbed 27p to 945½p. Broker Merrill Lynch has raised its rating from neutral to buy.

Trading in Mapley began on a when-issued basis after an offering at 2300p. Capitalised at £504m, Mapley is the biggest realestate play to float since Canary Wharf. The shares touched 2592½p.

It was the first day of dealings on Aim for Property Recycling, a cash shell formed to redevelop previously developed land. The company has raised almost £7m through a placing of shares at 50p by broker Marshall Securities. They settled at 60½p.

Fibernet slumped 15½p to 73p after a profits alert. The network service provider warned that fullyear losses will be worse than expected.

Broker Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein has repeated its hold rating but slashed its 12-month target from 95p to 86p.