London close: Footsie ends week on a high

7th Aug 2009 16:16

Some better-than-expected jobs data hauled Footsie into the blue Friday afternoon, ensuring the leading share index continued its rally.The Labor Department said 247,000 jobs disappeared in July, far less than the 320,000 predicted by analysts and almost half the 467,000 reported in June.RBS remained firmly in the red though. The bank made a £15m profit, but bad debts rocketed to £7.5bn and it warned results may not "substantially" improve until 2011. Losses attributable to shareholders jumped to £1.04bn from £827m in 2008. Boss Stephen Hester said the results were "poor" and RBS shares have fallen sharply, but they have soared 50% since the start of July. Lloyds also fell, largely due to profit taking ahead of the weekend. Both have been very strong performers in recent weeks. IT contracting company Logica saw profits surge 85% in the first half and said its cost saving programme will ensure it maintains margin for the year. Lower exceptional items and finance costs helped pre-tax profit for the six months to rise to £24m against £13m before. Group revenue was in line with guidance at £1,876m, up 6% on a reported basis, but down 2% proforma. Sports Direct's acquisition of 31 stores from rival JJB is to be investigated by the Competition Commission after the sportswear group failed to sell five stores identified by the Office of Fair Trading as a competition concern. Catlin , the specialty property/casualty insurer and reinsurer, said it produced record profits and net income for the half-year, prompting a 9% increase in dividends. In the six months, profit before tax rose 60% to $240m. Gross premiums written rose 7% to $2,211m.AIM-listed care provider Claimar Care has received a cash offer from Housing 21 worth 39p per share, more than three times the value of the shares at yesterday's close. Housing 21 owns and manages over 16,000 sheltered and extra care retirement properties throughout England. Miner African Eagle is "delighted" with the response to its £2.14m open offer which was oversubscribed by eager shareholders. The company, which had already raised £1.2m from institutional investors, has issued 53.4m shares at 4p each as part of the offer. It will use the money to help kick off a feasibility study at its Dutwa nickel project in Tanzania. Stamp collector Stanley Gibbons is bullish on full year prospects after lifting profits by 13% in the first six months and making a strong start to the second half. Profit before tax for the six months ended 30 June jumped to £1.43m from £1.26m in 2008 on sales up 18% to £9.6m. Non-executive chairman Martin Bralsford called the half-year performance "remarkable".FTSE 100 - RisersSerco Group (SRP) 412.00p +3.75%Barclays (BARC) 365.00p +3.11%Vodafone Group (VOD) 127.95p +2.81%Experian Group (EXPN) 512.50p +2.60%AstraZeneca (AZN) 2,792.50p +2.57%Standard Life (SL.) 192.80p +2.55%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,546.00p +2.45%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,166.50p +2.37%Shire Plc (SHP) 982.50p +2.29%BP (BP.) 509.75p +2.13%FTSE 100 - FallersRoyal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 46.99p -12.09%ICAP (IAP) 447.30p -3.74%Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 848.50p -3.52%British Land Co (BLND) 480.60p -3.47%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,421.50p -2.95%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 102.00p -2.58%Land Securities Group (LAND) 595.50p -2.46%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,825.00p -1.88%Man Group (EMG) 269.00p -1.86%Fresnillo (FRES) 634.00p -1.86%FTSE 250 - RisersSVG Capital (SVI) 130.00p +7.62%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 2,469.00p +5.83%Greggs (GRG) 402.00p +5.54%UK Commercial Property Trust (UKCM) 73.25p +5.09%Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 337.50p +4.78%Galiform (GFRM) 59.00p +4.70%Edinburgh UK Tracker Trust (EUK) 217.60p +4.11%Moneysupermarket.com (MONY) 74.00p +3.93%Derwent London (DLN) 1,065.00p +3.80%Domino Printing (DNO) 267.30p +3.73%FTSE 250 - FallersAquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 270.00p -5.26%Big Yellow Group (BYG) 370.50p -4.98%Victrex (VCT) 655.00p -4.59%PZ Cussons (PZC) 220.90p -3.75%Bodycote (BOY) 158.40p -3.36%Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 235.00p -3.33%Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 38.00p -3.18%Weir Group (WEIR) 619.50p -2.98%Soco International (SIA) 1,331.00p -2.85%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 244.10p -2.75%