UK stocks opened on a weak note on Wednesday led by domestically-focused stocks on worries that the Conservative lead in the polls had reduced, opening up the prospect of a hung parliament. The FTSE 100 index was trading down 10 points or 0.14% at 7,203, while the mid cap index was off 0.45% at 20,667 points.
Leading the FTSE 100 fallers was sports fashion company JD Sports Fashion (JD.) after a 24m share placing by top shareholder Pentland at 738p, at an 8% discount, which pushed the shares down 9% to 732.9p.
At the other end of the leader board was car recovery specialist the AA (AA.) whose shares were speeding almost 10% higher at 47.9p as the firm confirmed that the 'positive momentum' seen in the first half of the year had continued into the second half, keeping the company on track to meet its full-year expectations.
In light of its continued positive performance, the company announced that it will use some of the cash generated to buyback and/or tender for outstanding bonds in the market.
Train and bus transport company Stagecoach (SGC) swung to a first-half profit after it sold its struggling US coach business, though its sales fell and it kept its dividend flat.
The company also announced that chairman Brian Souter would stand down at the end of the year and be replaced by current director Ray O'Toole. The shares traded up 6% to 132.9p.
Radiation detection company Kromek (KMK:AIM) reported that interim pre-tax losses had widened to £2.7m from £2.1m , while revenue jumped 43% to £5.3m, pushing the shares up 6.5% to 18.4p.
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