The FTSE Small Cap index <.FTSC> were steady after the half-day trading session on Christmas Eve, underperforming the 0.2 percent gain on the blue chip index <.FTSE>, while the midcaps <.FTMC> fell 0.7 percent.

JJB Sports jumps 27.7 percent higher after the struggling sportswear says it is planning a 31.1 million pounds ($47.9 million) fundraising, after having warned it was likely to breach the terms of a key banking agreement, raising cash from its top shareholders Harris Associates and Crystal Amber, as well as the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation.

Chaucer loses 1.9 percent as the insurance underwriter increases its forecast for net losses from the New Zealand earthquake earlier this year to $20 million, up from an initial estimate of $12.5 million.

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