Slow trading in London

At midday in London Monday, trading was very slow, with only 1.1 bn shares traded. The markets advanced, but only fractionally.

Media stocks were down with ITV leading the way, down 2.7 percent as rumors of a takeover evaporated. EMAP was down 1.1 percent, the Daily Mail and General Trust declined 1.7 percent, and Reuters fell 1.1 percent. Reuters’ loss had to do with disappointment with the selling price of its electronic trading platform, Instinet.

Shares in oil and gas companies were higher on rising crude oil prices. Another factor there was the news of a possible takeover bid for Edinburgh Oil Gas by Oranje-Nassau E&P and Dyas UK. As a result, shares of Edinburgh Oil Gas were 17.4 percent higher. Burren Energy was up 2.5 percent, BP was up 1.6 percent, and several companies - BG Group, Shell, Cairn Energy, Dana Petroleum, and Premier Oil - rose 1.4 percent each.

In the drinks sector, Allied Domecq rose 0.8 percent after it was reported that other companies might be ready to challenge Pernod Ricard’s takeover bid.

The FTSE 100 had risen only 9 points at midday, up to 4,858.9, while the FTSE 250 was up 5 points, to 7,017.9.

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