STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-UK small caps lag AIM-listed shares
Junior-listed AIM shares rise 0.5 percent, ahead of the FTSE small cap index and the mid-caps, up 0.2 percent, and the blue chips , which edge 0.1 percent lower.
Technology firm Anite (LSE: AIE.L - news) rises 4.6 percent in volume of 1.2 times its 90 day average after it said that first-half trading was ahead of expectations despite reporting a 64 percent drop in profit.
"Anite's first half 2014 results are slightly ahead of our estimates last updated post the guidance reset in mid-October. We are confident that the market opportunity for Anite is intact, but visibility remains low," Jefferies writes in a note, reiterating a "buy" rating on the stock.
"We anticipate a return to stronger levels of organic growth over the next 18 to 24 months, if not sooner."
Albemarle & Bond (LSE: ABM.L - news) rises 10 percent after it says that it has received "expressions of interest", although the pawn-broker adds that there can be no guarantee that there will be a takeover offer for the company which has struggled this year.
Reuters messaging rm://alistair.smout.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net