Taking Stock

r Eurotherm, the electronic equipment group, edged ahead 9p to 480p as talk drifted around a takeover bid was being lined up. Engineer Siebe was the name in the frame.

Since its boardroom shenanigans last summer Eurotherm shares have performed poorly, largely on worries the strong pound is hitting profits. Siebe, off 7.5p to 986.5p, had to contend with a rating downgrading to sell from NatWest Securities. Analyst John Pearson said that the group was likely to struggle to meet management targets.

r World Fluids, soon to be called Peterhead, had a difficult session, off 7p to 62.5p. The shares, suspended while the group took over crane and fork lift truck interests, returned to market on Thursday at the equivalent of 70p.