London close: Retail rise fails to boost Footsie

14th Apr 2011 16:40

There were big movements in both directions on Thursday, but stocks finished lower in spite of a strong showing from the retail sector.Shares in Reckitt Benckiser took a sharp dive after the FTSE 100-listed maker of household products announced the retirement of its chief executive Bart Becht. The Dutchman, who has been at the helm of the firm since it was formed from the merger of UK company Reckitt & Colman and Dutch firm Benckiser , will hand over the reins to Rakesh Kapoor, currently in charge of the company's 'Powerbrands' strategy, on 1 September. Becht will act as a 'part-time adviser' to Kapoor until September next year. Sticking with household products suppliers, more evidence of the threadbare state of the UK consumer's wallet came from consumer goods outfit PZ Cussons, which said trading conditions in the UK remain challenging. The shares also slumped.On a busy day for retailers out-of-town home furnishings specialist Dunelm posted a fall in like-for-like sales in the quarter to 2 April and said conditions are likely to remain tough. However, it added that it is continuing to win market share and that price increases were helping it to lift margins. The shares moved higher.Electrical specialist Dixons Retail's decision to withdraw from Spain due to the weak consumer environment in the Mediterranean country was applauded. It will close its 34 PC City stores in Spain having suffered continuing losses, it said.Department store Debenhams posted a rise in profits for the half year to 26 February and said that a focus on value - possibly assisted by a fall in cotton prices - should help it to cope with tough economic conditions. Pre-tax profits of £129.2m before exceptional items were up 4.5% from the same period the previous year and in line with market expectations, the company said. Interim results from newsagent WH Smith, a strong riser today, were in line with expectations, with like for like sales down 6% on the high street and 3% lower in the group's travel outlets. Profit before tax edged up to £64m from £62m the year before, despite the fall in group revenue to £686m from £716m. Residential housing specialist Grainger said it expects completed sales from its UK portfolio in the six months to 31 March 2011 to be £89m from £88m the year before as tough economic conditions continue. The group, which is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne and manages properties in the UK and Germany, said profit before tax for the six month period will be materially enhanced by two items, firstly the partial reversal of mark to market movements on its long term financial derivatives and secondly by the gain on acquisition arising from the purchase of HI Tricomm. FTSE 100 - RisersResolution Ltd. (RSL) 308.00p +1.52%Rolls-Royce Group (RR.) 633.50p +1.52%G4S (GFS) 272.40p +1.41%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,031.00p +1.18%Capita Group (CPI) 714.50p +0.99%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 370.80p +0.98%3i Group (III) 264.10p +0.92%Pearson (PSON) 1,106.00p +0.82%Unilever (ULVR) 1,942.00p +0.73%Whitbread (WTB) 1,685.00p +0.72%FTSE 100 - FallersReckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,115.00p -7.46%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,355.00p -3.63%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,368.00p -2.91%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 909.00p -2.31%Barclays (BARC) 301.80p -2.28%Cairn Energy (CNE) 438.50p -2.03%GKN (GKN) 199.60p -1.92%Lonmin (LMI) 1,622.00p -1.64%Aviva (AV.) 436.20p -1.62%Essar Energy (ESSR) 457.80p -1.55%FTSE 250 - RisersDixons Retail (DXNS) 13.18p +8.39%Rightmove (RMV) 1,005.00p +6.91%WH Smith (SMWH) 475.10p +5.41%Stagecoach Group (SGC) 228.80p +5.10%Filtrona PLC (FLTR) 322.00p +4.82%Kesa Electricals (KESA) 117.00p +3.45%Halfords Group (HFD) 370.10p +3.44%RPC Group (RPC) 323.40p +3.36%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 49.75p +3.32%SDL (SDL) 655.00p +3.15%FTSE 250 - FallersHenderson Group (HGG) 160.70p -4.69%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 127.50p -4.64%AZ Electronic Materials SA (WI) (AZEM) 252.00p -4.29%PZ Cussons (PZC) 328.00p -3.90%Exillon Energy (EXI) 435.00p -3.33%Cobham (COB) 229.10p -2.68%SIG (SHI) 136.80p -2.63%Elementis (ELM) 158.30p -2.58%Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 50.60p -2.50%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 335.50p -2.50%