London close: Footsie buoyed by global rally

1st Jun 2009 16:35

London's top stocks finished with stellar gains as optimism about the global economy boosted markets worldwide. Hopes of a recovering economy pushed forward commodities. Oil is near $68 per barrel, while copper climbed to $5,000 per tonne, its highest since October. Gold rose to $985 an ounce. Copper miner Xstrata finished strongly with Antofagasta, Vedanta and platinum giant Lonmin also joining in the fun.Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey is higher on another encouraging housing market update. Hometrack, the housing market analyst, said that the average house price stayed the same from April to May at £155,600, the first time in 20 months it hasn't fallen month-on-month. Defensives were down though with Centrica the biggest faller along with Drax and BAE.A sharp rally in equities from March helped investment company Alliance Trust post a slight rise in its net asset value (NAV) during the first quarter of 2009. The shares are up slightly.Not all stocks are going well though. Daily Mail publisher Daily Mail and General Trust falls back after being downgraded to 'sell' from 'hold' by Citi, though the target price has been held at 250p. Citi has boosted its full-year earnings per share forecasts for 2009 for DMGT by a quarter, but this largely reflects the 15% tax rate the group is expected to be charged in the near term.A consortium that includes services, maintenance and building group Interserve has bagged two public/private partnership education contracts in Northern Ireland. Interserve will provide facilities management services for four newly built schools. The services are valued at a combined £34m over 25 years.Electrical components maker Chloride's order book is at record levels, despite a marked slowdown in order intake in the second half of its financial year. The company announced a 28% increase in pre-tax profits to £39.8m in the year to 31 March 2009, from £31.1m the previous year. US-focused oil group Nighthawk Energy tumbled on news it and its partner Running Foxes have agreed to sell to finance group San Severina a 20% working interest in the Jolly Ranch prospect in Colorado. Nighthawk will receive $10.9m initially and a further $29m if all of the options are exercised.Mainland Europe property investor Hansteen said it is continuing to see resilience in its main markets, with net occupancy rising between 31 December and 15 May.Cake and bread maker Finsbury Food has received an early stage bid approach, the AIM-listed firm confirmed this morning. "The preliminary approach was exploratory in nature and the directors believe that there is considerable doubt that an offer will be forthcoming from this party," the company said.Specialist printing group Printing.com reported a 15% decline in full year profit as margins came under pressure, but announced a special dividend and said it is attracting a record level of new clients. Pre-tax profit fell to £2.06m for year ended 31 March 2009 from £2.42m before. Turnover during the period was up 7.3% to £14.47m.FTSE 100 - RisersXstrata (XTA) 756.00p +10.53%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,724.00p +9.04%Liberty International (LII) 396.50p +8.19%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 65.20p +7.95%Anglo American (AAL) 1,910.00p +7.48%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 238.25p +7.44%Cairn Energy (CNE) 2,672.00p +7.31%Old Mutual (OML) 78.40p +6.96%Aviva (AV.) 357.25p +6.80%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,287.00p +6.72%FTSE 100 - FallersCentrica (CNA) 237.50p -3.46%Compass Group (CPG) 349.00p -2.24%Amlin (AML) 342.75p -2.00%BAE Systems (BA.) 335.00p -1.98%Drax Group (DRX) 480.75p -1.84%Sage Group (SGE) 187.10p -1.53%Tesco (TSCO) 359.30p -1.53%Randgold Resources (RRS) 4,346.00p -1.16%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 552.00p -0.81%Autonomy Corporation (AU.) 1,527.00p -0.72%FTSE 250 - RisersCookson Group (CKSN) 311.50p +15.37%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 377.25p +13.12%Charter International (CHTR) 596.50p +12.87%F&C Asset Management (FCAM) 88.25p +10.66%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 173.00p +9.15%John Wood Group (WG.) 307.25p +9.05%Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 226.00p +8.92%Ashtead Group (AHT) 56.25p +8.70%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 176.00p +8.64%Enterprise Inns (ETI) 160.50p +8.45%FTSE 250 - FallersMicro Focus International Plc (MCRO) 368.75p -6.70%Catlin Group (CGL) 335.00p -5.63%Novae Group (NVA) 362.00p -3.47%SDL International (SDL) 320.75p -3.10%Hiscox (HSX) 315.50p -2.92%BTG (BGC) 149.00p -2.77%Pace (PIC) 195.00p -2.50%Berkeley Group Holdings Units (BKG) 866.50p -2.26%Domino Printing (DNO) 215.00p -1.83%Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) 421.50p -1.52%