London close: Higher finish after late rally, RBS and Barclays lag

6th Sep 2011 16:44

London's leading share index rediscovered its earlier buoyancy to close with good gains after another choppy day. Shares had given up early gains after a weak start on Wall Street, but rallied in late trading, though banks RBS and Barclays were left behind.Company updates were the main cause for excitement. Coffee shop and hotel operator Whitbread went well after it was able to accelerate revenue growth during the first half, posting a 12.9% improvement in sales in the second quarter, up from a 9.2% increase in the first three months of the year.Plant hire group Ashtead has jumped after it raised full-year guidance following a strong first quarter performance. Underlying revenue was up 12%, or 21% on a constant exchange rates (CER) basis in the three months to the end of July from a year earlier, while pre-tax profit was up 136% on a like-for-like basis. Reinforced polymer technology Fenner jumped after it revealed that numbers for the year ended 31 August are likely to be ahead of market expectations, due to strong growth in both the Conveyor Belting and Advanced Engineering Products divisions.Brewing and pubs group Greene King opened higher as it saw like-for-like (LFL) year-on-year sales growth in its retail business in the 18 weeks to 4 September, despite going up against tough comparatives that were boosted by last year's World Cup.Recycled packaging and office products provider DS Smith rose after it said trading since 30 April 2011 has been good after a strong contribution from its French acquisition Otor, a maker of corrugated packaging.There was no FIFA World Cup this year so online betting exchange Betfair was feeling reasonably pleased with a 7% decline in core revenues in the three months to the end of July, and even more chuffed with a pick-up in revenue in August. Investors were also happy, with shares rising by over 3.4%.Budget airline easyJet opened up lower despite a 6.5% like-for-like increase in passenger numbers in August. However, the load factor fell by 0.1 percentage point to 92.2%.Irish mining firm Kenmare Resources has achieved 'Technical Completion' at the Moma Titanium Minerals Mine in Mozambique, a major milestone towards releasing its loan guarantees for the project. Shares were higher.Own label goods maker McBride was in the red after it saw profits fall by a half in the year to end of June as rising costs and a tough retail environment took their toll.Aim listed Global Brands, which owns the Domino's Pizza franchise in Switzerland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein, narrowed half year losses and said it was confident of positive sales growth for the remainder of the year. Pre-tax loss was reduced to 810,638 Swiss franc for the six months ended 30 June 2011 compared to 1.34m Swiss franc loss the previous year. Total revenue from sales, including corporate sales and the amounts paid to Global Brands by the sub-franchisees, rose 11% to 7.37m Swiss franc. SQS Software Services, a German-based provider of software testing and quality management services, fell after saying it expects second half profits to come in at the lower end of expectations due to the weak economy. Pre-tax profits for the period rose to €2m from €1.4m over the same period the previous year on revenues that climbed to €95.3m from €73.9m. But SQS, whose services are used in sectors such as retail, railways and government, said it will be scaling back hiring of consultants in the second half, which will hold back revenues and profits. Chief executive Rudolf van Megen explained to ShareCast that the company wanted to avoid making the same mistake as in 2008, when it failed to anticipate the effect the downturn would have on its trading. FTSE 100 - RisersWhitbread (WTB) 1,563.00p +7.28%Fresnillo (FRES) 2,064.00p +3.93%Tesco (TSCO) 374.75p +3.74%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,105.00p +3.19%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,940.00p +3.04%BAE Systems (BA.) 264.40p +2.64%Essar Energy (ESSR) 241.00p +2.51%BP (BP.) 371.65p +2.33%Glencore International (GLEN) 385.20p +2.32%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 291.40p +2.21%FTSE 100 - FallersRoyal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 21.17p -2.80%Barclays (BARC) 150.75p -2.21%ITV (ITV) 53.75p -1.83%GKN (GKN) 177.90p -1.82%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 155.60p -1.77%Aviva (AV.) 301.80p -1.73%IMI (IMI) 791.50p -1.68%Investec (INVP) 413.00p -1.57%Reed Elsevier (REL) 482.60p -1.33%Man Group (EMG) 209.00p -1.32%FTSE 250 - RisersAshtead Group (AHT) 133.20p +18.93%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 603.50p +5.05%Soco International (SIA) 325.30p +4.87%Betfair Group (BET) 655.00p +4.30%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 41.54p +3.72%Kofax (KFX) 284.60p +3.68%Telecity Group (TCY) 563.00p +3.40%Big Yellow Group (BYG) 273.50p +3.13%Monks Inv Trust (MNKS) 333.00p +3.00%Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 665.50p +2.78%FTSE 250 - FallersExillon Energy (EXI) 222.00p -7.96%Kesa Electricals (KESA) 95.00p -6.22%Premier Foods (PFD) 12.18p -4.99%Cookson Group (CKSN) 442.60p -4.63%Senior (SNR) 140.00p -4.57%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 123.50p -4.34%St James's Place (STJ) 327.40p -4.04%Halfords Group (HFD) 280.50p -3.97%Inchcape (INCH) 285.10p -3.88%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 10.59p -3.73%