Market report: Wednesday close

SHARE prices suffered a setback today, weighed down by the large number of shares going ex-dividend, which was the equivalent of an eight-point fall in the benchmark Footsie index.

They included pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline, down 24p at 1,249p, which will soon be forking out a dividend of 12p to shareholders.

Others going ex-dividend included oil giant BP, up 4p at 555p, electricity generator Scottish Power, 9½p cheaper at 437½p, luxury-cruise operator Carnival, 14p off at 3,155p, and independent caterer Compass, down 8¾p at 255¼p.

In the face of such heavyweight opposition, stock market bulls took a cautious approach and went into retreat. The FTSE 100 index fell 5.7 points lower at 5,053.2.

Sentiment was also undermined by reports of an explosion near a nuclear plant in Iran and opening falls for the Dow in New York this afternoon. Brokers in London said trading continued to be hit by the effects of school halfterm, with depleted ranks of investors and brokers reflected by low turnover levels.

Despite the falls elsewhere, mining shares continued to make headway supported by some bumper profits from BHP Billiton, which was the best performing blue-chip with a rise of 24p to 717½p. It was closely pursued by mining duo Xstrata, up 9p at 1,046p, and Rio Tinto, 25p better at 1,602p.

GUS retreated 13½p to 959½p, with US broker Smith Barney said to have raised its target for the retailer from 1,050p to 1,110p.

BG slipped 2½p to 397½p on further reflection of yesterday's third-quarter numbers. But brokers appear divided about prospects for the oil and gas explorer.

UBS has raised its 12-month target from 355p to 390p but has retained its neutral rating. Rival CSFB has cut its recommendation from buy to neutral claiming the shares have little scope for improvement when compared against its 410p target.

ICI slipped 3¼p to 279¾p despite broker Citigroup raising its rating on the chemicals supplier from sell to hold and its target from 200p to 300p. Takeover favourite MFI added a further 2½p to 139¾p, supported by upgrades from two brokers - Panmure Gordon has moved from hold to buy and raised its sights from 135p to 170p, reflecting a 'strong recovery' in the furniture retailers' British operations.

It says the group has resolved supply-chain problems and has raised its like-for-like growth assumptions for joinery business Howdens from 9% to 12%.

Smith Barney has raised its target from 113p to 135p to reflect the re-rating of MFI's peers. However, its rating remains hold.

Over on Aim, shares in Spanish restaurants chain La Tasca made an encouraging start to first-time dealings, following a placing by Altium Capital of 110p. The price opened at 125½p before touching a peak of 134p.

It was the first day of dealings for Kumho Tire, one of South Korea's two biggest tyre manufacturers, which boasts 40% of the Korean market and in the first nine months of 2004 achieved sales of $1.2bn (£632m).

American investment bank JP Morgan has arranged a dual listing for the shares in London and Seoul as part of a flotation to raise $363m and valuing Kumho at almost $1bn.

The shares started life at $7.13.