London close: Miners drag down Footsie

29th Sep 2011 17:07

London was out of step with global stock markets, as it ended the day in the red, despite a bill to expand the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF) sailing through the Bundestag with ease today. There were just 85 votes against the idea of expanding the Eurozone's bailout fund, while 523 members of Germany's parliament voted in favour. In economic news, the rate of growth in money supply slowed down in the month of August, increasing by £0.5bn, compared to an average monthly increase of £1.2bn in the previous six months, according to the latest data out from the Bank of England.Total lending to individuals in Great Britain increased by £1.0bn in August (0.1% on month, 0.9% on year), below the 6 month average of £1.2bn, according to the latest data from the Bank of England.Miners, which have a large impact on the way the Footsie moves, were out of sorts, as metal prices continue to slide, on concerns over the effect of the Eurozone crisis on global growth. Ferrexpo was a notable faller after Credit Suisse initiated coverage on the iron ore producer with an "underperform" rating, saying it sees strong growth from the sector but pointing to the strong performance of Ferrexpo's share price lately. It has a 380p target price on the stock.ENRC was little changed, however, as analysts Liberum Capital talked up the idea that major shareholder Glencore could launch a bid for the Kazakh mining giant when it is legally allowed to do so in mid-December.City rules prevent commodities trader Glencore from making an offer for ENRC, unless somebody else does, after Glencore said in mid-June that it was not actively considering a bid for the miner. In other broker-inspired activity, British Airways and Iberia owner IAG took to the skies after JP Morgan Cazenove initiated coverage with an "overweight" rating and a 230p target price.Turning to company updates, sweeteners group Tate & Lyle is in demand after saying it expects to perform in line with expectations over the full year after a strong performance in the six months to 30 September. In the speciality food ingredients division, corn-based speciality sweetener and starch volumes grew in line with the market, the firm said.The decision by struggling package tour firm Thomas Cook to dump its divi in order to avoid a cash crunch met with general approval. Inter-dealer broker ICAP said revenue in the first half of its financial year was marginally ahead of the corresponding period of last year, giving it no cause to amend full-year expectations outlined at the time of his Annual General Meeting in July. Market traders might as well buckle up and prepare for a bumpy ride for the rest of the year if Michael Spencer, ICAP's group chief executive, is correct, as he predicts the recent high levels of volatility in financial markets will continue for the rest of the year. Educational software supplier RM has warned that full year results will fall short of expectations after the usually strong seasonal uplift in the second half failed to materialise. RM said that in previous years, about 60% of revenues were generated in the second half of the year. Shares in Airsprung jumped after the bed and sofa maker announced that Portnard, the holding company of investor Andrew Perloff, had bought nearly 30% of Airsprung's shares, taking its stake to 42.3% and triggering a mandatory offer. The shares were bought at 27p a time, which is the price of the mandatory offer.FTSE 100 - RisersWolseley (WOS) 1,601.00p +6.59%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 159.70p +3.84%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,006.00p +3.76%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 630.50p +2.94%Aviva (AV.) 312.50p +2.93%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,358.00p +2.72%GKN (GKN) 178.60p +2.00%Cairn Energy (CNE) 281.60p +1.84%National Grid (NG.) 640.00p +1.75%Capital Shopping Centres Group (CSCG) 332.50p +1.71%FTSE 100 - FallersBurberry Group (BRBY) 1,201.00p -8.25%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,514.00p -4.48%Xstrata (XTA) 845.10p -3.86%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,108.00p -3.74%Aggreko (AGK) 1,682.00p -3.61%Glencore International (GLEN) 409.25p -3.25%ARM Holdings (ARM) 573.00p -3.21%Antofagasta (ANTO) 958.50p -3.18%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,966.50p -2.96%Lonmin (LMI) 1,068.00p -2.73%FTSE 250 - RisersThomas Cook Group (TCG) 39.00p +5.66%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 190.00p +5.44%Yule Catto & Co (YULC) 163.00p +4.29%SThree (STHR) 233.70p +3.59%FTSE 250 - FallersKenmare Resources (KMR) 35.20p -7.37%Domino's Pizza UK & IRL (DOM) 427.40p -6.70%Misys (MSY) 221.30p -6.27%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 274.70p -5.28%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 429.10p -4.86%FTSE TechMARK - RisersAsterand (ATD) 3.88p +34.78%Filtronic (FTC) 25.00p +5.26%FTSE TechMARK - FallersRM (RM.) 80.00p -20.60%Vectura Group (VEC) 85.00p -3.95%--jh