Tesco's huge stores are a big issue for investors Tesco fell 7.3 to 315.4p, while its retail peers slipped in sympathy, with Next and Marks & Spencer shedding 39p to £27.28 and 5.8 to 349.1p respectively. While Goldman Sachs earlier this week said it was concerned by Morrisons" expansion plans, Merrill was more positive on the grocer, saying its "smaller stores and lack of non-food exposure help insulate its earnings." Morrisons edged up 0.3 to 295.3p. The retailers" retreat came on an ambivalent day for the benchmark index. With investors unconvinced by the latest Greek bail-out, the FTSE 100 eased 11.65 points to 5,916.55 but the FTSE 250 put on 69.69 points to 11,449.23. Banks, the usual barometer of sentiment towards the eurozone's debt troubles, bore the brunt of the sell-off, with Royal Bank of Scotland shedding 0.88 to 27.33p. Leading the laggards, however, was Vedanta Resources. Having shot up on Tuesday amid speculation that the miner could merge two of its separately listed subsidiaries, streamlining its complex structure, it dropped 73p to £13.80. Weighing on the miner was a downgrade from RBC Capital Markets, which cut its rating to "sector perform." Defensive stocks propped up the index, with drug maker Shire 23p healthier at £22.48. The European regulator gave Shire the green light to make its treatment for Gaucher disease at its new facility in Massachusetts. Outsourcing giant, Capita, surged ahead as it won a contract, worth at least £50m a year over the next two years, to provide training across the Civil Service. With Capita set to post its annual results on Thursday, the support services group put on 42 to 688½p. JP Morgan Cazenove analysts said they saw the contract "as another good example of how austerity is prompting outsourcing decisions and the greater use of the private sector." Capita battled with Rexam for the gold medal, with the latter soaring to its highest level in more than three years as the maker of drink cans put its personal care business up for sale. As well as producing cans for the likes of Red Bull and PepsiCo, the business also makes packaging for cosmetics, such as perfume bottles and lipsticks. But, the personal care unit has been hit by rising costs and lower volumes, and with Rexam able to generate better returns elsewhere, it believes the business is "likely to be of greater value to another owner." While Rexam did not put a price tag on the unit, analysts think it could fetch up to £350m and that the proceeds could be returned to shareholders. "We think most of the potential proceeds will go back to holders in the form of share buy-backs and dividends," Ross Gilardi, an analyst at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, said. Rexam jumped 28.6 to 413p. Mid-cap Genus rose a further 115p to £12.42 after the provider of pig and cow genetic material posted a 13pc improvement in half-year profits on Tuesday. But investors hung up on telecommunications provider Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW), as scribblers began to doubt whether its potential tie-up with Vodafone would come off. Last week it emerged that Vodafone was mulling a bid for CWW, but Espirito Santo analysts reckoned that CWW's current share price implies a "probability of less than 20pc that the deal completes." Due to the "high risks of the deal," Espirito thinks Vodafone would not be willing to pay more than around 50p-per-share and CWW slipped 0.73 to 26.29p. Vodafone fell 1.9 to 173.9p. Explorers buoyed by takeover excitement Oil explorers were looking slicker as investors counted on further M&A in the sector. As Royal Dutch Shell - 12p higher at £23.455 - made a £992.4m bid for Aim-listed Cove Energy, traders piled into the sector, hoping other companies would attract a suitor. Cove, whose focus is in Mozambique, soared 39½ to 194p and on the second tier, Afren jumped 7.8 to 140.5p, Soco International advanced 13.4 to 330p and Ophir Energy jumped 26½ to 392p. The latter's rise came as Investec named it a potential takeover target, believing a bid "would need to be pitched around 500p." There may be more bids in exploration and production-land. In terms of laterals, we expect further acquisitions and highlight Ophir and Gulf Keystone as the two most likely bid targets in our view," said analysts.