Pharmaceutical titan AstraZeneca dropped after reporting that full-year revenue fell 15 per cent due to a loss of exclusivity on several brands. The company also said that it would not buy back any shares in 2013 "in order to maintain the flexibility to invest the business".

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell was lower after full-year profits slipped slightly as a result of oil price volatility. An analyst at Investec labelled the company's fourth quarter as a "substantial miss".

A third-quarter production report from Vedanta disappointed early on but shares climbed firmly into positive territory by the afternoon. The company said that oil and gas output rose 21% and mined metal and silver increased strongly.

Petrofac recovered one day after the stock plunged over fears that industry earnings would be lower than expected.

Consumer goods giant Diageo was higher after posting profits broadly in line with market expectations. While North American growth was weaker-than-expected and Europe saw continued weakness, this was offset by a strong performance in the Emerging Markets.

Broadcaster and broadband group BSkyB gained after beating profit forecasts in the first half, helped by a surge in customer numbers. The firm also hiked its dividend by a fifth.



FTSE 100 - Risers
Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,211.00p +4.04%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,652.00p +2.29%
Diageo (DGE) 1,890.00p +2.00%
CRH (CRH) 1,368.00p +1.63%
British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 822.50p +1.54%
ITV (ITV) 115.20p +1.32%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 51.67p +1.23%
SABMiller (SAB) 3,142.50p +1.08%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 952.50p +1.06%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,588.50p +1.03%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
AstraZeneca (AZN) 3,042.50p -3.49%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,248.00p -2.49%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,308.00p -2.29%
Sage Group (SGE) 324.20p -2.23%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,146.00p -1.97%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,068.00p -1.84%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,216.00p -1.78%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,990.00p -1.68%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,990.00p -1.56%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 341.90p -1.53%

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Related share prices
AstraZeneca (AZN) share price
British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) share price
Diageo (DGE) share price
Vedanta Resources (VED) share price
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) share price
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) share price
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) share price