London close: Footsie closes higher by a whisker

25th Sep 2009 16:32

Footsie finished slightly in the blue going into the weekend on another indecisive day for the leading share index.Oil groups went well as the steady decline in the price of crude over the past few days took a pause. It dropped below $66 per barrel last night but has recovered a tad this morning. Tullow Oil and Cairn Energy are the best performers in the sector, though the big guns BP and BG are also firmer. Tullow gets a lift from Goldman Sachs raising its target price to 1396p from 1160p.Oilfield support services group Petrofac was given the cold shoulder, however, after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to 'neutral' following the share's recent good run. Merrill Lynch has gone further still and has cut its rating for Petrofac to 'underperform'.Food and households goods giant Unilever is to pay €1.275bn for the personal care business from its US rival Sara Lee. The acquisition would bring brands such as Brylcreem and Sanex skin cream into Unilever's already extensive portfolio, which includes Lynx deodorant and Dove soap. Back in the oil sector Dana Petroleum fell after drilling of a wildcat well in Norway drew a blank. Tate & Lyle expects operating profit for the half year to be broadly in line with last year, but the sugar and sweeteners group cautioned that a number of its markets remain challenging.There's a 'significant risk' that nightclub operator Luminar will miss full year expectations after a grim few months at the end of the first half sent like for like sales down 5.9% in the 26 weeks to 27 August. They fell 4.5% when adjusted for the late August bank holiday. September has been even worse, especially weekend admissions. Avalon, a company owned by Permira Advisers, has reached an agreement to buy Just Retirement for about £229.6m. Avalon will pay 76p for each share in Just Retirement, which today posted a full-year loss of £3m.Sales remain under pressure at plumbing supplies distributor BSS with the group still predicting little pick-up before the end of the year. Total revenue for the 25-week period ended 19 September was £608.7m, 3.9% down on last year on an equivalent trading day basis, with a like-for-like decrease of 6.9%, BSS said. Plumbers merchant Wolseley falls in sympathy.Business publisher Euromoney posted good gains after it forecast pre-tax profits in the year ended 30 September would beat expectations.FTSE 100 - RisersTullow Oil (TLW) 1,175.00p +3.16%Compass Group (CPG) 359.80p +2.42%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 573.00p +2.32%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,227.50p +1.78%Pearson (PSON) 772.00p +1.71%BG Group (BG.) 1,085.00p +1.69%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,076.00p +1.61%Cairn Energy (CNE) 2,710.00p +1.54%Anglo American (AAL) 2,059.00p +1.48%Rexam (REX) 260.00p +1.48%FTSE 100 - FallersTUI Travel (TT.) 259.10p -3.75%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 103.45p -3.41%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,882.00p -3.04%Old Mutual (OML) 97.15p -3.04%Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 850.50p -3.02%Invensys (ISYS) 290.50p -3.01%Schroders NV (SDRC) 885.50p -2.96%British Airways (BAY) 213.60p -2.91%Fresnillo (FRES) 751.00p -2.47%Petrofac Ltd (PFC) 951.50p -2.41%FTSE 250 - RisersEuromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 347.80p +14.41%Rank Group (RNK) 92.00p +11.18%Trinity Mirror (TNI) 160.00p +8.40%PV Crystalox Solar (PVCS) 76.90p +4.98%Brewin Dolphin (BRW) 161.60p +4.46%Ecofin Water & Power Opportunities (ECWO) 149.90p +4.10%Domino Printing (DNO) 287.10p +3.83%Imagination Technologies (IMG) 173.10p +3.65%PayPoint (PAY) 470.00p +3.30%SSL International (SSL) 618.50p +3.08%FTSE 250 - FallersYell Group (YELL) 56.20p -6.33%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 246.20p -6.07%Melrose Resources (MRS) 352.30p -5.42%DSG International (DSGI) 26.68p -4.71%Travis Perkins (TPK) 765.00p -4.67%Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 262.60p -4.37%Cookson Group (CKSN) 403.60p -4.09%Marston's (MARS) 99.75p -3.62%ITV (ITV) 44.89p -3.46%Ladbrokes (LAD) 193.40p -3.44%