FTSE 100 movers: Vedanta rises on appeal decision

3rd Apr 2013 14:45

Vedanta made strong gains on Wednesday, as investors welcomed the decision by India to grant the company an appeal over the closure of its copper smelter in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu. Wood Group was rising on reports it has been awarded a contract worth $1.6m from a Chinese petrochemical plant. The order is reported to be for new parts for a gas turbine in China. Asset manager Schroders was performing well after Credit Suisse said that fund flow data for the UK mutual fund market showed equity inflows accelerating in February to their highest level in almost two years. ARM Holdings, the tech firm that designs chips for gadgets, edged higher after The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple could begin producing a new iPhone this quarter.Meanwhile, Standard Life was a heavy faller after going ex-dividend, with investors now unable to get their hands on the insurer's final and special payout for 2012. Other ex-div stocks trading lower today included Hammerson, Pearson and RSA Insurance. The mining sector was also falling after being hit by comments from Credit Suisse. In a note the broker said that softer-than-expected demand for commodities has brought the attention back to supply growth, particularly for iron ore and copper, which combined will account for an estimated 60% of earnings over the sector in 2013. "Despite more restrained spending, 2013/14 will be a period of price discovery, as markets move into surplus and the sector lives through the over-spend of prior years. We see downside risk to prices in H213 and this remains a challenging investment backdrop in the short run." FTSE 100 - RisersVedanta Resources (VED) 1,028.00p +3.63%Wood Group (John) (WG.) 889.00p +2.83%Schroders (SDR) 2,184.00p +2.30%IMI (IMI) 1,308.00p +2.03%GKN (GKN) 272.00p +1.99%ARM Holdings (ARM) 930.00p +1.53%Aggreko (AGK) 1,800.00p +1.12%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 4,798.00p +1.10%WPP (WPP) 1,077.00p +1.03%Intertek Group (ITRK) 3,459.00p +1.02%FTSE 100 - FallersStandard Life (SL.) 348.50p -5.89%Evraz (EVR) 204.40p -5.59%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 111.80p -5.09%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 224.30p -4.67%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,307.00p -4.32%Pearson (PSON) 1,145.00p -3.05%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,289.00p -2.72%Glencore International (GLEN) 350.40p -2.61%Xstrata (XTA) 1,055.50p -2.54%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,450.00p -2.50%NR