NWR unnerves investors by ditching forecasts Indeed, it was another disappointing trading session for the wider market, with the FTSE 100 recording its fifth consecutive day of falls. The main board had been on course to finish in positive territory, but early losses in the US stock market, weighed down by underwhelming corporate earnings, ensured the benchmark index ended down 0.54 at 6,243.67. Banking shares were also a drag on the blue-chip index, following Morgan Stanley's poorly-received results, with Royal Bank of Scotland off 9.3 at 273.9p, Lloyds Banking Group 1.14 lower at 47.085p and Barclays declining 6.55 to 283¾p. Booking the biggest gain on the main index Tullow Oil, helping the exploration group recoup some of the losses it experienced a day earlier when news of a dry well in French Guiana knocked the shares 9pc. Tullow suffered on Monday too, when it revealed that sample results from a well in Ethiopia would be delayed until late May. Experts at Societe Generale reckoned the 21pc drop in Tullow's share price since the start of the month - caused by both the well disappointments and the recent fall in oil prices - presented an attractive buying opportunity. "Short-term catalyst-driven investors should now have moved on from the stock, creating an opportunity for longer-term investors to take advantage of the pull-back to add to their positions," the analysts said. In our view, Tullow remains a first-rate explorer. They upgraded Tullow to "buy" from "hold" and it added 41½p to £10.24. Analysts also gave a lift to security group G4S, up 4.8 at 300.7p. The scribblers at JP Morgan argued the company was still trading at an 8pc discount to the broader blue-chip index as a result of last year's Olympics debacle. That, they said, was too large "given that we estimate that the UK public sector market accounts for 8pc of group revenues and 12pc of group earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation, so seemingly ascribing virtually no value to this business." Vodafone was on the rise and advanced 3¼ to 192½p. Traders were buoyed by comments from Verizon's finance chief that the US group was still interested in acquiring the British group's 45pc stake in their US joint venture. Taking the wooden spoon on the main board with a drop of 10.4 to 229.8p was miner Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation, no stranger to the bottom end of the FTSE 100 recently. This time it was a press report that the Serious Fraud Office may consider a criminal inquiry into the company that pushed the shares lower. Catering group Compass was another faller, declining as much as 18 during trading before closing down 4½ at 823p, with a profit warning from French peer Sodexo weighing on the shares. But Debenhams, which met market estimates with a 5.4pc drop in first-half pre-tax profits, topped the FTSE 250 and rose 3.95 to 84.45p. The company unnerved investors with a profit warning last month and shareholders were relieved there were no unwelcome surprises in its half-year numbers. Online gambling group Betfair added 16 to 804p despite news co-founder Andrew Black had cut his stake with the sale of 100,000 shares on April 16 at 774½p apiece. Buyout firm CVC confirmed a day earlier that it was considering a bid for Betfair. Mr Black said he sold the shares to raise money for a personal investment in a biotech company. Down among the small-cappers, Europa Oil & Gas leapt 1½ - 18.5pc -to 9.625p on the announcement of a farm-out agreement with US explorer Kosmos Energy. Kosmos has bought an 85pc stake in the group's two licences in the South Porcupine Basin, off the Irish coast, and has also agreed to reimburse 85pc of Europa's costs to date. Buyout firms boost private equity IPOs The number of private equity-backed companies floating on the London stock market has risen to its highest level since 2007, according to Ernst & Young, who said a revival of buyout firms deals may be "one of the most significant developments in initial public offering activity" this year. More companies, including Crest Nicholson and Esure, were floated by private equity groups in the first quarter than the combined number of buyout-backed businesses listing on the main market during the past three years, E&Y said. "The medium performance of these first listings will be vital in establishing confidence in private equity-backed IPOs, which will help to build trust between [private equity] and the institutional investor community," said David Vaughan, head of E&Y's IPO team in the UK and Ireland.