Market Report: All eyes turn to parade of new-issue debutants

IT WAS a day when new issues captured investors' attention. Two of a quartet of debutants made spectacular starts, one enjoyed a steady opening, and the fourth was rather subdued.

The flotation excitement is likely to continue today when Partco, a distributor of car parts, makes its debut. Sold by Cazenove at 200p, the offer was nine times subscribed and there is talk of a 240p opening price.

Midland Independent Newspapers and Waste Recycling were the star performers.

MIN, the Birmingham Post group which had nearly 46,000 shareholders immediately following the issue, closed at its best level of the day - 172p against a 140p placing price. Seaq put volume at 23 million shares.

The issue was priced near the time the stock market experienced a savage retreat and it is likely the sponsors opted for a cautious figure. It is even suggested that the market slump prompted thoughts, if short-lived, that the issue should be shelved.

Waste Recycling was the other star. Against a 50p placing price the shares touched 72p, closing at 71p in busy trading.

Against such debuts, the transpot group Applied Distribution's 5p advance from its 135p sale price was very much a so-so performance.

Israel Fund, priced in US dollars, managed a modest premium thanks to the free warrant attached to the shares. They closed at dollars 92.41 against the dollars 100 sale price. The fund, launched by Societe Generale Strauss Turnbull, attracted dollars 153m.

The rest of the market shrugged aside the disappointment of unchanged German interest rates, and blue chips, as measured by the FT-SE 100 index, moved ahead 12.8 points to 3,255.7.

But the supporting FT-SE 250 index fell 3.8 to 3,886.6. Government stocks tended to trade cautiously, failing to hold most of an early rally.

Company results were again an important influence with Guinness off 18p at 484p and Reed International 27p to 878p. Packaging group Arjo Wiggins Appleton rose 15p to 302p and Legal & General 8p to 510p. United Biscuits firmed 11p to 349p.

Learmonth & Burchett Management Systems plunged 44p to 96p on a profit warning; advertising group Gold Greenlees Trott, which last month ended 'closer co-operation' talks with Young & Rubicam, the world's biggest privately owned advertising agency, dropped 55p to 194p as it warned on profits and said its dividend would be cut.

Schroders, the investment group, continued its run on the back of Wednesday's outstanding figures. The ordinary shares gained 53p to 1,223p and the non- voting 58p to 1,173p. There were indications of switching out of SG Warburg, down 19p at 784p, into Schroders.

Financial group Jupiter Tyndall gained 18p to 279p following results.

Rolls-Royce continued to attract debate. The shares rose 2p to 192p following the Henderson Crosthwaite recommendation. But Nikko, the Japanese securities house, is much less enthusiastic. It believes the shares should be sold, with the analyst David Blackwood aiming below the Henderson profit estimates.

He expects pounds 95m this year and pounds 128m next. Henderson's corresponding figures are pounds 120m and pounds 180m.

Smith New Court also believes the shares are a buy. Analyst Bruce MacDonald forecasts pounds 120m and pounds 155m.

Hanson gave one of its rare City investment presentations, lifting the shares 4.5p to 284p. The sale of shares in its Beazer building off- shoot closes today. Granada, up 6p at 566p, was said to be anticipating buy circulars.

Hopes of firmer oil prices, stemming partly from the closure of the Bosphorus Strait, and US buying lifted British Petroleum 8.5p to 369p.

The US support was thought to come from Goldman Sachs, which recommended a number of leading British equities, including Glaxo Holdings, up 14p to 690p; Shell, 5p to 683p, and Hanson.

Generators were in demand, reflecting this week's NatWest Securities support. National Power brightened 11p to 476p and PowerGen 11p to 566p.

Reuters, ahead of its share split, rose 13p to 2,021p. It has agreed to continue its loss-making venture into electronic futures trading by revising its Globex operating contract with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Roxspur, the electronics group that returned from suspension this week, held at 25.5p; PDFM, the fund management group, holds an 18.5 per cent stake.

Gresham Telecomputing struggled from its 1993/94 low, at one time up 15p at 90p. The shares settled for a 7p gain at 82p, with some saying the fall from last year's 186p had been overdone.

Life Sciences was briskly traded, with Seaq putting volume at 7.4 million shares. The price rose 5p to 133p.

Developments could be afoot at Dunton, a loss-making brickmaking, engineering and property group. The shares have climbed from 4p this week, closing at 6.75p after touching 7.5p. The group is known to be negotiating a restructuring. Reporting a loss of pounds 3.79m in December it reported that it had negative net assets of pounds 4m. The shares topped 70p in 1987.

Bullers, the giftware group which achieved a remarkable 1,000-for- one share reorganisation under the direction of company doctor David Cunningham, returned to the market at 14.5p but quickly fell to 11.25p, closing at 12.25p. Seaq put turnover at 1.8 million shares. Bullers, which put though a pounds 2.6m cash raising exercise, has acquired a film and television service business.

The FT-SE 100 index rose 12.8 to 3,255.7. At one time it was up 20. The FT-SE 250 index gave ground, falling 3.8 to 3,886.6. Turnover was 659.4 million shares with 34,036 bargains. The account ends on 25 March with settlement on 5 April.