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London close: Miners pull index lower
Wed, 08 Feb, 2012
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London close: Miners pull index lower
Thu, 11 Mar 2010, 17:10:00
London bounced off 5,600 despite a weak start on Wall Street but still closed in the red on a poor day for miners. Falling commodity prices and China inflation concerns prompted profit taking in <b>Fresnillo, Randgold, Rio Tinto, ENRC, Kazakhmys, BHP Billiton </b> and <b>Xstrata</b>. Speculation rose that China might take further action to slow its economy after inflation picked up. CPI rose to 2.7% in February, a 16-month high and sharply higher than the rate of 1.5% seen in January. <b>Smith & Nephew</b> was also under the weather after coming out on the wrong side of a patent trial result in the US. The UK medical devices maker was found by a US jury to have infringed two patents held by wound-care specialist Kinetic Concepts. South African insurer <b>Old Mutual</b> also fell despite resuming dividend payments following a better second half. The group is exploring the sale of US Life and a partial flotation of its US asset management business. A US Asset Management deal, which the firm said would bankroll growth, is expected within three years. Supermarket group <b>Wm Morrison</b> saw a sharp jump in profits in the year to 31 January as its value offering continued to attract customers during tough times. However, investors reacted to a slowdown in like for like sales growth and ditched the shares. On the upside, B&Q-owner <b>Kingfisher</b> received a leg-up from <b>Home Retail's</b> decent numbers. The Argos and Homebase operator said benchmark profit before tax for the year will be around £290m, slightly ahead of current market expectations. <b>Thomas Cook</b> and <b>TUI Travel</b> enjoyed a spell in the sun after the former held an investor day yesterday. Thomas Cook outlined how it intends to 'move towards being a 5.5 - 6.0% earnings before interest and tax [EBIT] margin business over the next 3 - 5 years,' according to broker Panmure Gordon, which has a 'buy' recommendation and 315p price target on the stock. Oil giant <b>BP</b> has beefed up its exploration operations with the acquisition of assets in Brazil, Azerbaijan and the Gulf of Mexico for $7bn. It will pay North America-focused oil and gas group Devon Energy $7bn for 10 exploration blocks in Brazil, exploration prospects in the US Gulf of Mexico and an interest in the BP-operated Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) development in the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan. Drug giant <b>AstraZeneca</b> announced a licence and supply agreement with Indian peer <b>Torrent Pharmaceuticals</b>. Under the deal, Torrent will supply a portfolio of generic medicines for which it already has licences in a range of countries. <b>JD Wetherspoon</b> reinstated its dividend as the pub group reported half year sales and profits at record levels. Pre-tax profit in the 26 weeks ended 24 January was £36.2m, an increase of 17.5% on a pre-exceptional basis (2009: £30.8m) and a jump of 41.4% (2009: £25.6m) after exceptional items. Other pub groups jumped in sympathy led by <b>Punch Taverns</b>, the best performer today, and <b>Enterprise Inns</b> the next best. Regional newspaper publisher <b>Johnston Press</b> revealed a sharp decline in full year operating profit but said pressure on advertising revenues had started to ease in 2010. It also announced big job losses. The constant nature of <b>Dignity</b>'s business helped the funeral service provider post a rise in revenues and profits in the year to 25 December. Pre-tax profits climbed to £37.5m from £35.4m on revenues that rose to £184.7m from £175.8m. Cinema operator <b>Cineworld</b> saluted the success of 3D films such as Avatar in drawing crowds to the cinema as it posted a rise in sales and profits. In the 53 weeks to December 31, pre-tax profits rose to £30.8m from £27.6m over the previous period as revenues rose to £333m from £299m. IT infrastructure services provider<b> Computacenter</b> reported a better than expected 26% rise in full-year pre-tax profit and said it enters 2010 in good shape. Adjusted pre-tax profit increased to £54.2m in the year ended 31 December compared with £43.1m in the previous period. However, revenues decreased slightly to £2.50bn from £2.56bn. <b>Premier Oil</b> has found oil at its wildcat well 34/5-1 S on the Norwegian Blåbaer exploration, near the Snorre field in the North Sea, although another target area turned out to be dry. Shares in security camera firm <b>Indigovision</b> fell sharply after it said first half profit was unchanged from the previous year and added that the economic backdrop remains uncertain. <b>Invesco Property Income Trust</b> says that it has been approached by a potential bidder. There is no certainty that an offer will be made for the trust, which has net liabilities. More than one-third of the property portfolio is in France. <b>FTSE 100 - Risers</b> Petrofac Ltd (PFC) 1,201.00p +3.36% Kingfisher (KGF) 223.70p +3.23% Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 248.10p +3.20% Standard Life (SL.) 214.80p +3.12% <b>FTSE 100 - Fallers</b> Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,496.00p -3.17% Fresnillo (FRES) 842.00p -2.88% Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 295.70p -2.79% Smith & Nephew (SN.) 677.50p -2.59% <b>FTSE 250 - Risers</b> Enterprise Inns (ETI) 118.40p +5.34% Punch Taverns (PUB) 84.70p +5.22% Atkins (WS) (ATK) 608.50p +4.82% Pace (PIC) 186.30p +4.37% <b>FTSE 250 - Fallers</b> Computacenter (CCC) 308.00p -5.72% Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 368.40p -5.54% Shanks Group (SKS) 104.00p -4.06% Hochschild Mining (HOC) 288.50p -3.74%
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