Accountancy index hits new low
Accountancy-related stocks have taken another turn for the worse as a depressed market rocked by the Enron scandal ignores positive news.
The Accountancy Age/ADVFN share index fell 2.57 points to end the week at 77.42, its lowest point since October, with the benchmark FTSE-100 also fell ending the week at 95.60 points. The index’s biggest loser was Logica, which fell 8%.
Misys, was down 6% on renewed investor fears about its drop in profits despite news that its subsidiary Misys International Banking Systems had opened a Beijing office. Deutsche Bank gave Capita a last-minute lifeline, as bullish comments from analysts cushioned the business services company from a sharp fall. Shares closed at 425p Thursday.
Like other recruitment firms Hays lost ground on Wednesday but bounced back the following day, gaining almost 10p with news that the UK postal market would open up to competition.
Today both Logica and Misys continued to trade down and were last quoted at 497p (down 2.45%) and 275p (down 7%) respectively. Capita bucked the trend to climb to 426 while Hays was virtually unchanged at 190.5p.