ntl shares end the day flat

Today has been something of a rollercoaster ride for investors in UK cable operator ntl. The company's shares posted modest gains in New York today ahead of an expected positive announcement regarding a bond restructuring on £4.1m of outstanding debt.

This announcement failed to appear, and by 3pm investors grew anxious. A steep sell-off ahead of the closing bell brought the share price down from its intra-day high of $0.58 back down to its opening price, to stand at a worrying $0.49.

Whether or not ntl will release anything to investors before the closing of trade this week remains to be seen. Merely a few hours ago, confidence in the UK cable industry looked to be picking up; and indeed, Telewest shares in London held steadfastly onto their gains today to close at the slightly more respectable figure of 54p per share, edging ever-closer to the 75p target price set by Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, who has recently reiterated its 'buy' rating for the UK's second largest cable operator. A dark cloud does however continue to persist over ntl - consisting of around £12bn of debt. Investors can't see how the company plans to deal with it, and as today's events show, they aren't willing to take any further chances where ntl is concerned.

There is some sunlight shining through the cloud though, providing some glimmers of hope. Credit Suisse First Boston, the Telegraph reported today, plans to sell off a stake in the company in order to "stave off bankruptcy". The paper continues, without citing any sources, to say that Liberty Media Inc. (which owns 25% of Telewest Broadband) would be the most likely buyer of the stake. This does all however remain speculation; and in the absence of any clear direction from ntl, it leaves investors and analysts alike wondering quite what will happen next.

Stay with Digital Spy for all the latest news on the ntl situation as it breaks.