London close: FTSE ends higher after busy day for company news

10th Nov 2014 17:06

UK stocks ended the session on a high, helped by gains across the Pond and hopes of stimulus from China following the weekend's data.The FTSE 100 climbed 44.01 points to end the day at 6,611.25."In London, the equity market was drawn to the psychological 6,600 mark as trading volumes are as thin as news flows," IG market analyst David Madden."Serco shares were sent to nearly a 10-year low after the outsourcing company issued a profit warning and capital raising plan all in one go. Tesco shares are back on traders' shopping lists as bargain hunting sets in, but £2 could prove to a stumbling block. Virgin Money will be floating on the stock exchange on Friday and our grey market suggests a market capitalisation of £1.35bn."In a quiet day for macro news, traders were focused on data out from China over the weekend, which showed the country's trade surplus widened more than expected in October from $31bn to $45.41bn, albeit mainly because of slowing import growth.Meanwhile, the annual rate of Chinese consumer-price index (CPI) inflation held steady at 1.6% last month, while producer-price index (PPI) deflation worsened from -1.8% to -2.2%.However, analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari UK said the mixed data was a "win-win from the markets perspective"."With the PPI falling 2.2% on the year, again due to weaker prices in commodity imports, this is both positive for corporate profitability, while the CPI reading is well below the People's Bank of China's 3.5% target, opening the door to further targeted stimulus," he said.Charles Stanley comments lift TescoSupermarket rivals Tesco and Wm Morrison were among the best performers, but Sainsbury was in the red after Cantor Fitzgerald cut its target price from 320p to 275p ahead of the results of its strategic review due out this week."Sainsbury's is being shunned by traders as the supermarket has suggested Wednesday's update will reveal a drop in first-half profits. Traders are anticipating the dividend to be trimmed," Madden said.Meanwhile, Charles Stanley lifted Tesco after saying there is potential for the supermarket to stabilise and start to rebuild profitability over the medium to longer-term.On the second tier, under-pressure business-to-government outsourcing group Serco saw shares sink as the company delivered a profit warning to investors and said it is planning a rights issue after writing down the value of its business by £1.5bn.Meanwhile, oil explorer Cairn Energy announced a "significant" oil find off the coast of Senegal, with preliminary estimates pointing to commercial viability. The new find was the result of drilling of its new SNE-1 well located approximately 100 kilometres off-shore from the West-African country in the Sangomar block, at a depth of about 3,000 metres.Plant and marine engineering firm Aveva beat Numis Securities' forecasts with its interim results, though the broker has scaled back its forecasts for the full year. Nevertheless, Numis kept a 'buy' rating and 1,810p target price for the stock.Just Retirement investors appeared to be relieved by its first quarter results, despite a 42% year-on-year slide in total sales. The group, which has suffered since the government announced its pension reforms in the March Budget, reported quarterly individually underwritten annuity sales of £129.3m, a 59% slump compared to the comparative quarter a year earlier.The situation appeared to be similar for Lonmin, with shares higher despite it saying that its full-year performance was "dominated" by the impact of a five-month strike in South Africa, resulting in a sharp drop in profits as production slumped and costs soared. The company, which is one of the largest primary platinum producers in the world, said platinum sales totalled 441,684 ounces (oz) in the year ended 30 September, compared with the 696,000oz sold the year before. Market MoverstechMARK 2,805.04 +0.74%FTSE 100 6,611.25 +0.67%FTSE 250 15,596.23 +0.85%FTSE 100 - RisersTesco (TSCO) 192.90p +4.58%TUI Travel (TT.) 411.90p +3.05%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 413.90p +2.81%Persimmon (PSN) 1,448.00p +2.69%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 456.80p +2.38%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 477.10p +2.34%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 5,265.00p +2.13%St James's Place (STJ) 752.00p +2.10%Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,064.00p +2.01%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,453.00p +2.00%FTSE 100 - FallersSainsbury (J) (SBRY) 254.70p -2.64%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,195.00p -1.65%CRH (CRH) 1,385.00p -1.14%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,086.00p -1.11%Royal Mail (RMG) 458.50p -0.95%Dixons Carphone (DC.) 401.10p -0.57%Centrica (CNA) 300.60p -0.53%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,024.00p -0.49%SSE (SSE) 1,562.00p -0.45%Standard Chartered (STAN) 942.30p -0.40%FTSE 250 - RisersCairn Energy (CNE) 177.00p +12.10%Ocado Group (OCDO) 331.90p +8.08%AO World (AO.) 207.00p +7.53%Aveva Group (AVV) 1,500.00p +7.53%Just Retirement Group (JRG) 131.50p +4.78%Lonmin (LMI) 195.00p +4.06%Workspace Group (WKP) 660.50p +4.02%Man Group (EMG) 133.80p +3.48%Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 117.30p +3.44%Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 349.30p +3.44%FTSE 250 - FallersSerco Group (SRP) 215.00p -32.20%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 449.50p -3.12%Zoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 200.50p -3.00%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 77.90p -2.44%Fenner (FENR) 309.10p -2.43%Diploma (DPLM) 703.50p -2.29%Infinis Energy (INFI) 220.00p -2.27%Brit (BRIT) 252.70p -2.05%Rank Group (RNK) 161.00p -1.29%IP Group (IPO) 195.50p -1.06%