London close: Footsie finishes firmer

21st Oct 2009 16:57

After an up and down day, London's blue-chip index finished the day as it started it, in positive territory. Stocks needed the help of a firm start on Wall Street, however, to state a late rally. US shares opened higher after investment bank reported its first quarterly profit in a year after three consecutive quarters of losses.In the UK, many of the big gains were as a result of broker comment. Tesco was wanted after Nomura Securities suggested the retailer's international business was undervalued. The Japanese broker lifted its Tesco price target from 405p to 526p.Merrill Lynch turned more positive on property stocks Hammerson, upgraded to 'buy' from 'neutral', and Land Securities, now rated 'neutral', having previously been expected to underperform.The US broker also upgraded its rating on plumbing supplies merchant Wolseley from 'underperform' to 'buy'.Pharma giant Shire updated the market on its replagal treatment, saying it plans to file a licence application with the US Food and Drug Administration by the end of the year. The shares traded higher after Morgan Stanley edged its price target for the stock higher to 1214p from 1200p.London Stock Exchange was friendless, however, after Goldman Sachs expunged the shares from its 'conviction buy' list. On the results front, Home Retail reported a 3% rise in half year sales and said trading at both Argos and Homebase exceeded its expectations. Sales rose to £2,805m in the 26 weeks to 29 August from £2,736m, reflecting growth of 1.7% at Argos and 4.4% at Homebase. Like-for-like sales were down 2.1% at Argos and up 2.8% at Homebase.Power station operator Drax is trading in line with expectations for the current year but said conditions remain challenging. 'Since publishing our half year results on 4 August, trading conditions in the commodity markets in which we operate remain challenging,' said the group. Cadbury has thrown down the gauntlet to potential bidder Kraft by upping its guidance for 2009 revenue growth to the middle of its 4-6% goal range and stating its underlying operating margin improvement will be at least 135bps in constant currency. Miner BHP Billiton reported record iron ore production over the past three months amid signs of stabilising demand from both emerging and developed countries. 'Over the last three months there has been increasingly positive economic news across most economies. Chinese economic growth continues to be robust on the back of strong domestic focused consumption and infrastructure-based stimulus spending,' it said.Demand for property ahead of the Olympics helped East London focused housebuilder Telford Homes nearly double completions in the past six months, but a lack of mortgage finance remains a constraint.Online gaming technology developer Playtech said activity improved towards the end of the third quarter and momentum has continued into the start of the fourth quarter.Latin American oil and gas exploration and production company GeoPark gained after announcing the successful drilling and testing of a new discovery oil well - Yagan Norte 1 - in the Tobifera formation on the Fell Block in Chile.Zambian-based Kiwara said its in-fill drill programme at Kalumbila continues to report thick intersections of copper at or above base model grade.Diamond producer and exploration company Pangea DiamondFields said its chief executive officer is to quit the role at the beginning of November to return home to Australia. He will be succeeded by Boris Kamstra, currently Pangea's operations manager for its DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and South African projects. FTSE 100 - RisersAdmiral Group (ADM) 1,095.00p +3.40%Wolseley (WOS) 1,455.00p +2.90%ICAP (IAP) 466.20p +2.80%Cable & Wireless (CW.) 143.60p +2.72%FTSE 100 - FallersSmiths Group (SMIN) 932.50p -3.82%BAE Systems (BA.) 316.10p -3.30%Pearson (PSON) 835.00p -2.74%WPP Group (WPP) 572.50p -2.55%