London close: Footsie gives back Tuesday's gains

21st Apr 2010 17:03

The blue-chip index finished close to its lowest level of the day as a mid-afternoon rally fizzled out.Sentiment was not helped by the release of a UK gross domestic product forecast by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which reiterated the body's January forecast of an insipid 1.3% growth rate for the UK economy in 2010.BHP Billiton was lower after a statement that it may have broken US anti-corruption laws in some of its exploration projects. Other big fallers in the sector included Rio Tinto, Vedanta, Xstrata and Kazakhmys, though the latter pair had the excuse of going ex-div today.Other heavyweight ex-div stocks included BAE Systems, Petrofac, Rolls-Royce, Aggreko and Smith & Nephew.ARM was the best performer after the stupendous results from Apple last night driven by sales of the iPhone, which reportedly contains one or more chips designed by ARM. Fellow chip designers Imagination Technologies and Wolfson Microelectronics also rode the iPhone wave.It's game over for Game Group chief executive Lisa Morgan after the video game retailer revealed a sharp fall in profits in the year to January 31. Morgan has quit the role and will be replaced by non-executive director Chris Bell while the company searches for a permanent successor. Game's pre-tax profits totalled £84.2m, which was below expectations and sharply down from £117.4m the previous year, on turnover that slid to £1.77bn from £1.97bn. Fellow computer gaming retailer HMV falls back in sympathy.Software giant Autonomy reported record revenues and profits in the first quarter as clients loosen their purse strings after scaling back in the downturn. The firm, which uses technology borne out of research at Cambridge University, saw revenues in the three months to March 31 climb by 50% from the same period the previous year to $194.2m. Adjusted pre-tax profits climbed by 47% to $85.3m.Aerospace and defence systems group Meggitt said trading since the start of the year has been in line with its expectations of a challenging first half followed by a return to growth in the second half of the year. The group said it remains well placed to take advantage of an upturn in the civil aerospace markets which is anticipated to start benefitting the group in the second half of the year. Distribution and outsourcing group Bunzl's trading in the period since 31 December has been in line with expectations. Underlying revenue in the first quarter was up 2% on last year led by North America which was 5% higher.Bookmaker Ladbrokes expects to receive £80m from the UK tax authorities after reaching a settlement covering substantially all the outstanding items in the tax years through to December 2007.Car and aeroplane parts supplier Senior jumped higher after saying it expects profits for 2010 to exceed expectations after trading in the three months to March 31 got a lift from favourable currency movements and cost control and efficiency improvements. Wealth manager St James's Place enjoyed record sales of single products and a strong inflow of new money in the three months to March, as ISA and unit trust sales took off. Another wealth manager doing well is Merchant Securities which said pre-tax profits for the year to March 31 will exceed expectations, helped by the benefits achieved from the integration of subsidiaries.Peru's second biggest silver miner Hochschild Mining reported a decline in first quarter production but said it is on track to meet full year targets.Hunting said trading remains in line with expectations after what the oil services specialist called a 'rapid' start to the new year. Positive test results from metallurgical test work on barite from the Derryginagh mine in Ireland sent shares in AIM-listed tiddler Sunrise Diamonds soaring.Utility services provider Spice is talking to a third party about the sale of its non-core telecoms business. This is part of Spice's strategy to reduce its borrowings. The news perked up the share price, which has been in decline for six months. FTSE 100 - RisersARM Holdings (ARM) 250.50p +3.09%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 54.05p +2.56%Hammerson (HMSO) 390.50p +2.33%Tesco (TSCO) 438.05p +1.64%Inmarsat (ISAT) 779.50p +1.23%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 298.00p +1.22%Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 91.70p +1.10%Rexam (REX) 314.30p +0.93%Land Securities Group (LAND) 671.50p +0.90%Liberty International (LII) 519.00p +0.87%FTSE 100 - FallersBAE Systems (BA.) 358.80p -4.93%Xstrata (XTA) 1,165.00p -4.27%Prudential (PRU) 564.50p -3.91%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,193.00p -3.24%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 376.10p -2.97%BHP Billiton (BLT) 2,118.00p -2.84%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,691.00p -2.83%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,253.00p -2.72%Vedanta Resources (VED) 2,674.00p -2.66%BG Group (BG.) 1,124.00p -2.56%