London close: Shares soar as updates impress

20th Apr 2011 16:47

Optimism returned to the markets in a big way Wednesday as corporate results in the UK and overseas suggested global economic recovery is underway. The FTSE 100 stormed back above 6,000 points.Chip groups ARM Holdings and Imagination Technologies were strong performers after a bullish update from US peer Intel, while miners moved ahead as metals prices advanced. Antofagasta, Xstrata and Rio Tinto were among the big gainers. GKN motored ahead after reports that it will hike capacity in its 'Driveline' division to cope with increasing demand in China.A strong performance in emerging markets helped Reckitt Benckiser, the maker of household products such as the cleaning agent Cillit Bang, to a good start to 2011. Net revenues in the first quarter were up by 14% from the same period the previous year at £2.28bn. On a like-for-like basis, excluding the impact of the condom and footcare products maker SSL which was acquired last year, sales were up by 5%. Home products retailer Home Retail Group was wanted even after it announced the departure of Argos's managing director as it unveiled a sharp fall in profits due to lower sales at the catalogue-based chain and predicted further sales declines. The company said that Sara Weller informed the board that she is stepping down for "personal reasons." Home Retail's pre-tax profits for the year to 26 February came in at £254m, down 13% from the previous year and in line with expectations. Sales were down by 3% to £5.85bn. The full-year dividend was maintained at 14.7p.In the FTSE 250, recycled packaging group DS Smith was in demand after it said that the year ending 30 April is progressing 'in line' with good improvements in return on sales and "significant" earnings growth, as the group has been able to tackle rising input costs. "While we have seen the anticipated further input cost increases come through in the final quarter of the year, these costs are being recovered successfully," the statement said. Mining leviathan BHP Billiton enjoyed record iron ore production and sales in the first nine months of its financial year. Year to date production records were also achieved for crude oil and condensate, the North West Shelf (Australia) and manganese ore.Elsewhere in mining, the copper division of mining giant Xstrata is expanding its copper production capacity in Queensland, Australia with the purchase of assets from Exco Resources for A$175m (£113m).The UK & Ireland are letting the side down at distribution and outsourcing group Bunzl, which has otherwise seen good revenue growth this year. The group said trading so far in 2011 has been consistent with expectations outlined at the time of the group's full year results announcement in February, with underlying revenue growth of 2.5%, despite persistent difficult economic conditions in the UK & Ireland.A change to the executive team at accounting software giant Sage has been forced on the company by the decision of Paul Stobart, head of the group's Northern Europe operations, to move on. Stobart, who has been with the group since 1996, will cease to be a director of Sage on 31 May 2011.Global diamond producer Gem Diamonds increased production from its Letseng mine in Lesotho in the first quarter of 2011 and benefited from higher prices. The company said 26,541 carats were recovered at its Letseng operations, up 29% from the same period in 2010. The average value per carat from Letseng rose to $3,067 from $1,839 during the first three tenders of 2010, while its April 2011 exports achieved a value of $4,272 a carat. Shares in Bowleven dived after the AIM-listed oil explorer announced drilling results from the Sapele-1ST well offshore Cameroon. The well encountered a total of 23 metres of net hydrocarbon-bearing pay, Bowleven said.FTSE 100 - RisersARM Holdings (ARM) 608.00p +5.65%GKN (GKN) 207.00p +5.61%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,390.00p +5.54%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,846.00p +5.07%Xstrata (XTA) 1,530.00p +4.90%WPP (WPP) 757.50p +4.12%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,250.00p +4.05%Anglo American (AAL) 3,175.00p +4.00%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,302.00p +3.93%Kingfisher (KGF) 277.30p +3.82%FTSE 100 - FallersReed Elsevier (REL) 528.50p -1.67%SABMiller (SAB) 2,200.50p -0.88%Essar Energy (ESSR) 434.60p -0.82%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 115.80p -0.77%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 671.50p -0.74%BAE Systems (BA.) 325.10p -0.40%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 41.24p -0.02%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 293.00p +0.21%Inmarsat (ISAT) 601.50p +0.25%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,617.50p +0.28%FTSE 250 - RisersDS Smith (SMDS) 211.00p +6.84%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 464.00p +5.69%Home Retail Group (HOME) 220.80p +5.49%Enterprise Inns (ETI) 94.00p +5.32%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 476.40p +5.10%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 613.50p +4.96%Yule Catto & Co (YULC) 212.20p +4.95%Charter International (CHTR) 781.50p +4.83%Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 165.00p +4.43%RPS Group (RPS) 220.00p +4.17%FTSE 250 - FallersOcado Group (OCDO) 229.60p -3.12%Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 163.40p -3.03%Betfair Group (BET) 870.00p -2.63%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 895.00p -2.24%Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 48.50p -2.16%Greggs (GRG) 505.00p -1.75%Hunting (HTG) 800.00p -1.54%Domino Printing Sciences (DNO) 607.00p -1.38%PZ Cussons (PZC) 327.70p -1.35%Cranswick (CWK) 745.50p -1.26%