London has started quietly with blue chips taking a back seat to a string of announcements from the mid-cap sectors.

Traders expect a flat start on another busy day on the company news front.

Housebuilder Bovis has scrapped it final dividend and cut 60% of its staff after sales volumes dropped 40% last year, though it expects profit before exceptional charges and tax for the 2008 financial year to meet its expectations.

Financial software firm Misys reported a rise in earnings in the six months to November, helped by customers using its products to control costs amid difficult economic conditions.

JD Sports Fashion is set to beat full year profit expectations after boosting like for like sales over the crucial Christmas period.

Data search software giant Autonomy's clients include some of the largest financial services groups, including Deutsche Bank and Citigroup, and organisations such as Shell, GlaxoSmithKline and the BBC.

Wm Morrison and Asda emerged as the big winners for the Christmas period, according to industry data released by Nielsen, the market research group.

Two of the UK's largest mortgage providers promised to pass on today's 0.5% cut in base rates in full to their customers, though other lenders were more guarded.

JD Sports Fashion is the latest retailer due to update the market on how it fared over Christmas.

Footsie finished flat Thursday at the end of a volatile day that saw shares fall after the 0.5% cut in interest rates and a poor start on Wall Street, then stage a late recovery.

Quarry operator Water Hall Group has seen a decline of £733,000, or more than half, in an investment in Lloyds TSB shares made just four months ago.

Data search software giant Autonomy moved to the top of the FTSE 100 as it forecast full year 2008 revenue and profitability would be above the levels it forecast in October.

A round-up of the biggest director deals today so far.

HBOS pension fund trustees have dropped a plan to halt the bank's takeover by Lloyds TSB in case it interferes with the completion of capital raisings by both banks next week.

Land Securities said it has agreed to the sale of its Trillium business to Telereal, the property investment and services company, for £750m.

Prices headed south after the Bank of England announced a half point cut in interest rates, disappointing those who were expecting a full point cut. At the end of the lunch-time session prices were beginning to recover, helped by the strength of banking stocks, but the Footsie remains deep in the red.

Safety services specialist Intertek has beefed up its consumer goods division with two acquisitions.

Insurer Aviva said its Dutch-based business Delta Lloyd and ABN Amro Bank Netherlands are to continue their insurance joint venture ABN AMRO Insurance.

Persimmon has scrapped its final dividend and said it expects the short term outlook for the UK housing market to be challenging.

Shares in Signet Jewelers fell back after the Anglo-US jewellery chain reported sharply lower like-for-like sales on both sides of the Atlantic over the Christmas period.

A big oil find by Tullow Oil in Ghana keeps the oil and gas producer sector in the blue. Shell is more or less flat, though, and BP is in the red.

Wellstream gains after the oil services group said it expects 2008 results to be in line with forecasts and sees continued growth in 2009.

The upbeat trading statement from J Sainsbury has persuaded stockbroker Pali International to up its price target on the stock from 325p to 360p.

London's top stocks barely moved on the Bank of England's decision to cut UK interest rates by half a percentage point to 1.5%.

The positive share price reaction to Wednesday's trading update from Marks and Spencer represents a selling opportunity in the view of Dutch investment house ING.

Catering giant Compass has bought the North American KIMCO Corporation (KIMCO) from the Tarson family for up to $90m in cash.

Three days into the reporting season for sales over Christmas, it's already clear that the carnage some had predicted in the retail sector isn't going to materialise.

London's top stocks have drifted back into the red after briefly recovering from an early fall.

The upbeat trading statement from J Sainsbury has persuaded stockbroker Pali International to up its price target on the stock from 325p to 360p.

Data search specialist Autonomy expects to report full year 2008 revenue and profitability above the levels mentioned in its last trading update in October.

Supermarket giant J Sainsbury had a bumper Christmas, with like for like sales excluding fuel up a better than expected 4.5% during the 13 weeks to 3 January.

Strong film releases in the year, such as "The Dark Knight" and "Quantum of Solace" helped cinema chain Cineworld post a 4.4% rise in revenue for the 52 weeks to December 2008.

London's blue chips have opened lower as expected, but positive news from Tullow Oil and Sainsbury have slowed the decline.

Fashion group Ted Baker expects full year pre-tax profit to end January be at the lower end of the range of market expectations after heavily discounting stock over the Christmas period.

Engine consultant Ricardo said the year has started well and believes that full year results will show some progress compared to last year.

Tullow Oil said the Mahogany-3 well offshore Ghana has intersected significant light oil columns in both the Jubilee field appraisal objective and also a deeper exploration target.

Housing repairs group Mears said trading for the year ended 31 December 2008 across all divisions was in line with management expectations.

Last night's 245-point tumble on Wall Street is set to leave London about 50 lower in early deals, although record Christmas figures from Sainsbury's may help repair some of the damage.

Oil services group Wellstream expects 2008 results to be in line with forecasts and sees continued growth in 2009.

Fund manager Rathbone Brothers said total funds under management as at 31 December 2008 were £10.46bn, down 20.3% compared with the same period last year.

Recruitment consultancy firm Michael Page saw gross profit in the fourth quarter decrease 7.3% and cut its headcount by 509 in the period, adding that more were to follow in the first quarter of 2009.

Glasgow based engineer Weir has upped its full year pre-tax profits guidance after good trading in the final quarter.

Royal Bank of Scotland, the cash-strapped UK lender, is considering selling its £2bn stake in Bank of China amid a scramble by foreign investors in mainland banks to cash in their lucrative holdings, says the FT.

Thorntons said in a trading statement yesterday that sales for the 12 weeks to 27 December were down 2.3 per cent against the same period last year, and while some areas of the business did grow the overall performance of the company over the Christmas period is disappointing.

Sainsbury is the first of the publicly quoted supermarket to update the market on its trading in the 13 weeks to 3 January, which includes the crucial Christmas period.

London's leading share index finished heavily in the red with Marks and Spencer's well-received Christmas trading update not enough to stem a decline that was compounded by a poor start on Wall Street.

Aerospace and defence systems firm Meggitt has won a follow on contract for its fuel tank order from the US Air Force worth over $41m.

Retailers are having another good day after investors welcomed Marks and Spencer's trading update. The High Street giant announced a 7.1% drop in like-for-like sales in the period up to Christmas, store closures and job cuts.

A weak opening on Wall Street has seen the speed of decline pick up pace in London.

Though the market liked the fact that Marks and Spencer is cutting costs to cope with the consumer downturn, Wednesday's trading update could only be described as good news in the context of low expectations.