Business Week - Index wobbles after all-time high.
The Accountancy Age/ADVFN index crumbled slightly this week as the majority of its stocks lost ground in feeble trading.
The index fell 1.05 points over the week, reaching 103.90 points by Thursday’s close as the FTSE-100 went the opposite way, rising 3.67 points to 110.40 points by the end of the week.
The index’s biggest shaker was recruiting firm Robert Walters, which fell 4.5p or 3% after gaining 12% last week.
Logica lost 2% after a research report by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter said spending in IT services companies is ‘growing at a slower pace than the overall technology budget’.
News that Capita Group was named preferred bidder for a #100m contract from the UK department of education and employment did not cheer investors.
Although shares jumped 15p on the news, they lost 16p the following day and finished 2% lower than last week.
Sage was the index’s biggest gainer after reporting pre-tax profits of #59.16m on sales of #229.65m. The results were below analyst expectations and dropped over 5% Wednesday, but recovered ending the week up 2%. Beleaguered computer services company ITNET finally gained ground rising 2.5p or 1% after falling for seven straight weeks.
