In the US, the Dow Jones average briefly moved above 19,000 for the first time but this did not provide any impetus for the FTSE 100.
At 3.20pm, the top-share index was up 53 at 6,831, having risen above the 6,850 level at one point before getting a nose bleed.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 had a bit more vim about it, thanks in part to a positive response to a trading update from industrial valves and flow control specialist Rotork p.l.c. (LON:ROR), up 11.7%.
The underlying performance of its business in the third quarter was broadly the same as was seen in the first half, but the numbers received a boost from helpful exchange rate movements and a contribution from acquisitions.
Over the full year the company now expects currency tail-winds to boost revenues and profits by 10%.
“Taking into account this assumed currency benefit, our performance to date, and anticipated shipments in the remaining two months of 2016, the board now expects reported revenue to be towards the top end of market expectations,” Rotork said.
Among the small caps, Focusrite plc (LON:TUNE), which as the ticker symbol suggests is in the musical equipment business, rose 11.7% to 184.3p on the back of full-year results that showed profit before tax up by a tenth from the year before.
“We have continued to grow revenue and correspondingly our profits as we deliver on our strategic goals. There have been a number of drivers for this increase including an improving market share globally, a strong performance from new and existing products, and a number of new sales, marketing and distribution initiatives," said executive chairman, Phil Dudderidge.
“Focusrite has had an excellent second year of trading as a public company,” Dudderidge declare, and he ain’t foolin’, either, with the shares well above the 126p level at which they were first listed on Aim.
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Cambria Automobiles PLC (LON:CAMB) moved into reverse, shedding 6p at 62p, despite a strong performance in the year to the end of August.
"Post the period end, trading in the important plate change month of September was in line with expectations; however, October trading showed some softening in new car margins,” the car seller said.
Bgeo Group PLC (LON:BGEO) sneaked out results at 5.00pm yesterday, which is normally a sign for shareholders to expect the worst; however, shares pushed 11% higher today as the company, formerly known as the Bank of Georgia, unveiled a 75% increase in third quarter profit, helped by one-off items.
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Lavendon Group PLC (LON:LVD) was the top riser on Tuesday Morning, which is appropriate giving its line of business.
It rents out those high-rise platforms that repair-persons and window cleaners use to gain access to tower blocks and what-not.
The shares shot up 37 % to 190.5p after Belgian firm TVH, which is in the industrial equipment game, launched a bid worth 205p in cash per share.
It appears the Lavendon board was prepared to recommend acceptance of the bid if certain key investors gave it the thumbs-up; while some obviously did (as TVH claims to have acceptances from holders of 12.3% of the share capital), others did not, so TVH went hostile with its bid.
It is a bit tricky for a company to make the case for its independence when the directors have clearly been prepared to countenance the idea of a takeover, but Lavendon gave it a go.
“Lavendon is in robust health, well-positioned across diverse geographic markets, with strong revenue growth, profits, cash flow and ROCE [return on capital employed] and a clear strategic direction to deliver substantial shareholder value over the medium term,” it said.
If you thought the onset of winter in Far Eastern Russia would stop the news flow from Amur Minerals Corporation (LON:AMC), then you’d be wrong.
The company has signed an agreement with the Far East Investment and Export Agency, a body newly established by the Russian government to promote investment in the Far East of Russia, specifically from within Russia, from China, and from India.
Amur’s Kun-Manie nickel sulphide project lies in the Amur Oblast in the Russian Far East, close to the border with China.
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A profit warning from Charles Taylor PLC (LON:CTR) took the wind out of the sails of the insurance services provider this morning.
The shares shed 13% as the company said, in the sixth paragraph of a statement that was largely about a the acquisition of a closed book of life assurance business from Zurich Insurance, that earnings growth is “now anticipated to be somewhat lower than the market's previous expectations for 2017”.
The company is paying up to £4mln in cash for an insurance book with gross assets of £323mln (as at the end of June).
It is estimated that current annual revenue from the book is £3.6mln and profit should be £1.7mln.
“This looks to be an attractively priced deal at 1.2% of gross assets and an estimated PE [price/earnings ratio] of just 2.4x. Given it is a closed book we would expect it to be running off at c.5% p.a.,” said Liberum Capital Markets, which has placed its target price and recommendation under review in light of the profit warning.
Entertainment One Ltd (LON:ETO) has been living high on the hog thanks to its rights to the Peppa Pig franchise but it stumbled today as chief financial officer Giles Willits announced his intention to quit.
The shares, which admittedly have been on a decent run since the company rejected a tentative bid approach from ITV, tumbled 9.2% to 223.2p as the company reported a decline in underlying earnings (EBITDA) at the half-year stage to £38mln from £52mln the year before.
The group said this decline was driven by the timing of increased theatrical investment in the very strong first half film slate that will drive second half performance.