London close: Footsie at one-week high

25th Nov 2009 16:06

Welcome results from Compass and investors' insatiable appetite for mining stocks helped London's blue chip index finish the session near the top of the day's range.A small improvement to the third quarter gross domestic product figure brought some relief. The Office of National Statistics said the UK economy shrank less than previously estimated in the third quarter, contracting by 0.3% between July and September versus an earlier read of 0.4%.Investors ordered shares in contract caterer Compass Group. The firm saw little sales growth when it declared full year results this morning, but pre-tax profit still showed a healthy rise on the back of a strong improvement in margins and currency gains.Miners provided the horsepower for much of Footsie's advance. Randgold Resources benefitted from an eighth consecutive daily gain for gold as the dollar's brief rally came to an end. The yellow metal hit another record high above $1,185 an ounce.Lonmin, BHP Billiton, Antofagasta and Anglo American attracted plenty of buying interest.Weak car production and lower metals prices earlier this year took their toll on platinum refiner Johnson Matthey's first half, though it expects an improvement over the rest of the year.The London Stock Exchange's first half pre-tax profit was hit by increased competition, fewer floats and weaker equity trading. Profit before tax fell to £79.4m in the six month ended 30 September compared with £127m in the previous year.Results from water company United Utilities were every bit as staid as the market expected. The firm said profit before tax including exceptional items tumbled to £206.1m from £305.8m, while underlying profit before tax rose to £268.2m from £252.6m a year earlier.International Power is doing its best to make the utilities sector look sexy, however, with the share price heating up on speculation that French utility GDF Suez will bid £6bn, or 400p-a-share, for the electricity generator.Defence technology group QinetiQ posted a slight fall in profits in the six months ended 30 September to £45.1m from £45.9m, but its warning that some orders were being delayed in the UK and US amid uncertainty over government spending had investors heading for cover. While the market is unimpressed with Qinetiq, it warmly welcomed the update from design and engineering consultancy group WS Atkins. The company reported a 13% drop in first half profit, but said it is well placed to make good progress in the second half of the year. Pre-tax profit fell to £43.5m in the six months ended 30 September compared with £50m last time. Investors have piled in.Plant hire firm Speedy Hire swung to a half year loss and said it expects to broadly break-even at an adjusted profit before tax level for the second half. Losses before taxation, amortisation and exceptional items came to £4.8m in the six month ended 30 September compared with a profit of £23.8m last time. Revenue of £184.8m was down 27.9%.Soft drinks group Britvic said it was winning market share in all key categories as it posted a rise in revenues and profits. The firm, which sells Robinsons fruit juice and has the license for Pepsi in the UK said pre-tax profits in the year to September 27 climbed to £86.5m from £70.1m the previous year on revenues that rose to £978.8m from £926.5m. Recruiter Harvey Nash warned over results for the full year as demand for permanent staff has not picked up as hoped. In the third quarter, Nash saw a 23% decrease in revenues and a 72% decrease in adjusted profit before taxation.Infinis Energy has been obliged to increase its offer terms for Novera to 75p a share after it bought 5.6m shares in the renewable energy firm at that price. GB Group is at its lowest in over seven months after the identity management specialist warned that full year earnings were forecast to be below expectations. It's been a bad day for bread and cake maker Finsbury Food, with a large slice taken out of the share price after it said revenue for the first 17 weeks of the financial year to 30 June 2010 was down 2% on a year ago.Greece-focused mobile group Globo rallied Wednesday on news it has won €4.7m of new public and private sector contracts in recent months.Most of the deals, for the group's 'mainstream' IT and telecom products and services, should complete and the associated revenues be recognised during the course of 2009. FTSE 100 - RisersCompass Group (CPG) 426.60p +6.12%Rentokil Initial (RTO) 104.20p +3.27%Lonmin (LMI) 1,813.00p +3.19%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,056.00p +3.13%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,915.00p +3.10%Randgold Resources (RRS) 5,190.00p +2.98%Cable & Wireless (CW.) 143.70p +2.86%Whitbread (WTB) 1,340.00p +2.84%Anglo American (AAL) 2,688.00p +2.71%Antofagasta (ANTO) 936.00p +2.52%FTSE 100 - FallersMan Group (EMG) 330.50p -4.89%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,529.00p -3.90%London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 814.50p -3.84%Resolution (RSL) 86.50p -2.54%SEGRO (SGRO) 340.00p -2.41%Hammerson (HMSO) 412.40p -2.41%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,607.00p -1.83%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 35.77p -1.49%British Land Co (BLND) 467.50p -1.00%British Airways (BAY) 202.10p -0.93%FTSE 250 - RisersAtkins (WS) (ATK) 600.50p +7.52%Informa (INF) 298.00p +4.56%Sports Direct International (SPD) 101.30p +4.43%JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust (JFJ) 138.20p +3.91%Computacenter (CCC) 259.10p +3.64%Carpetright (CPR) 923.50p +3.59%Kesa Electricals (KESA) 159.70p +3.50%Fidessa (FDSA) 1,105.00p +2.89%Edinburgh Dragon Trust (EFM) 185.00p +2.78%RIT Capital Partners (RCP) 980.00p +2.78%FTSE 250 - FallersQinetiQ Group (QQ.) 163.80p -8.24%Yell Group (YELL) 38.86p -7.48%Punch Taverns (PUB) 72.25p -6.95%Ashtead Group (AHT) 66.75p -6.58%Savills (SVS) 290.40p -6.32%Redrow (RDW) 128.10p -6.29%Lamprell (LAM) 174.60p -6.18%Trinity Mirror (TNI) 148.90p -5.82%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 287.00p -4.30%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 447.00p -4.30%