Insurance giant RSA plummeted after the announcement that it has launched a review into its Irish unit, while broadcasters BSkyB and ITV were hit by the news that BT has won the exclusive rights to the UEFA tournaments for three seasons.

A lack of newsflow on the macroeconomic front is expected to keep financial markets quiet today, due to bank holidays in a number of regions.

Investors will be using today’s session to digest a “particularly chaotic” end to last week, according to market analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari UK, after a rate cut in Europe and better-than-expected economic figures in the US.

Erlam said: “Bank holidays in the US, Canada and France are expected to significantly reduce trading volumes on Monday. All markets will still be open for trading, although many traders will not be at their desks.

“These lower volumes can lead to increased volatility though, so it’s not necessarily a bad thing for those trading on Monday.”

RSA, BSkyB, ITV sinks sharply

RSA Insurance was a heavy faller this morning after launching an independent review of its financial and regulatory reporting processes and controls following the suspension of its Ireland chief executive officer (CEO) and two of his senior executives. The company said it suspended Irish CEO Philip Smith, chief financial officer Rory O’Connor and claims director Peter Burke over “issues in the Irish claims and finance functions” identified during a routine internal audit.

In a major blow to BSkyB and ITV, telecoms group BT has won the exclusive rights to broadcast live the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League for three seasons. This is the first time a single UK broadcaster has won the rights to all matches from both tournaments; Sky and ITV share the rights currently.

However, the share price of BT was also lower with some suggesting that the £299m-a-season the company is paying to secure the rights is higher than expected.

BSkyB was the worst hit this morning after Nomura downgraded its rating for the stock from ‘buy’ to ‘reduce’, saying that BT’s willingness to overpay for the UEFA deal is “worrying for Sky and a bad sign for the next Premier League auction”.

Leading the risers on the FTSE 100 was Shire after agreeing to pay $4.2bn for US biopharmaceutical firm ViroPharma, which it described as a “strategic move” to strengthen its rare disease portfolio.

Natural gas giant BG Group also gained after selling its stake in the Queensland Curtis LNG project in Australia for $1.93bn to China National Offshore Oil Corporation.

Source: ShareCast