London close: Footsie adds to week's gains

17th Jul 2009 16:28

Footsie rounded off its best week since March with more gains.Miners were prominent among the risers. Eurasian Natural Resources, Xstrata, Vedanta Resources and Rio Tinto are doing well. British Airways climbed after saying it is raising £600m, including a £300m convertible issue and another £300m by shuffling its pension guarantees. Its quarterly loss of £100m was better than analysts feared, BA said. Telecoms group Cable & Wireless said in the first quarter of 2009/10, its two businesses continue to make progress despite the more challenging economic backdrop. EBITDA guidance for the group is unchanged from May, approximately £1,025m based on an exchange rate of US$1.50 to £1. Broker Charles Stanley is still positive. Insurer Friends Provident is interested in an all-share merger with Resolution, but only if the buy-out specialist agrees its terms. The London-listed firm made its move just days after it rejected a "wholly inadequate" takeover approach from Resolution.The bombings in Indonesia have unsettled Intercontinental Hotels and other travel groups. Engineer Invensys said based on its current views of the markets and exchange rates it continues to expect the group will achieve an improvement in performance in the current year. Order intake in the first quarter of the financial year was up 17% at actual exchange rates and was flat at constant exchange rates. International Ferro Metals (IFL) is better Friday after it said the Chinese stimulus programme boosted ferrochrome demand and spot prices over the past month. Ferrochrome group IFL restarted production during the fourth quarter, producing 18,437 tonnes versus just 1,168 tonnes in the previous three months.Carr's Milling is on course to hit reduced market forecasts this year despite a tough market for fertilisers and animal feed, which have both turned down sharply after last year's bumper earnings.Revenue from compound and blended feed has been hit by substantial reductions in demand, driven principally by lower livestock numbers and cheaper home-grown cereals being utilised as feed, following a record harvest.Lower drinks revenue has hit dance club operator Luminar so far this year, despite a modest increase in the number of people out clubbing. Trading for the period improved slightly since May, Luminar said. FTSE 100 - RisersEurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 762.00p +5.76%Xstrata (XTA) 691.90p +4.28%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,502.00p +4.23%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,154.00p +3.53%Antofagasta (ANTO) 671.00p +3.39%BT Group (BT.A) 110.20p +3.23%British Airways (BAY) 136.00p +2.95%Hammerson (HMSO) 308.75p +2.92%Tullow Oil (TLW) 952.00p +2.75%Petrofac Ltd (PFC) 750.50p +2.74%FTSE 100 - FallersLloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 67.50p -3.50%Bunzl (BNZL) 525.00p -2.51%Rolls-Royce Group (RR.) 364.75p -2.01%Intertek Group (ITRK) 1,080.00p -1.91%Vodafone Group (VOD) 113.15p -1.57%Fresnillo (FRES) 564.00p -1.57%Invensys (ISYS) 239.50p -1.34%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,072.00p -1.29%Standard Life (SL.) 189.50p -1.20%United Utilities Group (UU.) 494.75p -1.15%FTSE 250 - RisersAquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 218.50p +8.17%Helical Bar (HLCL) 330.00p +5.10%SIG (SHI) 106.00p +4.18%Cookson Group (CKSN) 288.50p +4.15%Northern Foods (NFDS) 64.00p +4.07%Dunelm (DNLM) 265.25p +4.02%Persimmon (PSN) 417.00p +3.99%Dimension Data Holdings (DDT) 59.50p +3.93%Bellway (BWY) 674.00p +3.85%JPMorgan Indian Inv Trust (JII) 321.75p +3.79%FTSE 250 - FallersInchcape (INCH) 22.00p -6.38%Punch Taverns (PUB) 85.00p -5.56%Shanks Group (SKS) 72.25p -4.62%IG Group Holdings (IGG) 262.75p -4.19%Henderson Group (HGG) 91.50p -3.68%Great Portland Estates (GPOR) 225.50p -3.32%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 2,010.00p -3.32%Premier Foods (PFD) 37.25p -3.25%Robert Wiseman (RWD) 376.00p -3.16%888 Holdings (888) 92.50p -3.14%