London close: Stocks soar past 6,000 points

10th May 2011 16:36

The top share index put its recent jittery performance behind it as hopes the Greek debt situation could move towards a solution buoyed equities.There was also a raft of company updates for traders to digest.Pace plunged after the set-top box maker lowered its full-year profits guidance. The shares are down nearly 40% after it said the board now expects operating profit to be in the range of $150m to $170m (£97m - £110m) after the group battled against a number of factors which affected profitability and margins in the first quarter.On the plus side, Intercontinental Hotels, a strong riser today, provided some cheer on the global economy. It said it is confident for the full year after strong growth in the US, where it posted the biggest increase in the amount it makes for every available room since before the financial crisis, helped boost profits. Pre-tax profits before exceptional items at the Holiday Inns owner climbed to $96m from $68m on revenues that were up to $396m from $362m. Imperial Tobacco was another FTSE 100 constituent posting good gains. The company behind cigarette brands such as Davidoff and Gauloises and Golden Virginia tobacco posted earnings growth ahead of expectations in the half year to 31 March as growth in emerging markets drove sales higher.Oil and gas group BG Group fell after it became the latest to report the impact of higher taxes on North Sea oil production, saying they have reduced its first quarter earnings by $265m (£162m) and will impact production over the full year. Revenue in the three months to 31 March was up by 7% to $4.8bn. Earnings per share fell to 24.2 cents from 32.5 cents. BG said the company's effective tax rate for 2011 increased to 45% from 42% "primarily as a result of the recently announced change in UK North Sea taxation." Engineering group Morgan Crucible motored higher after it posted a better than expected performance in the first four months of the year and is confident of being modestly ahead of expectations at the half year. The engineer said the full year outlook also remains positive as it experiences good trading momentum across its end markets and geographies.Full-year profits at internet and catalogue home shopping company N Brown, another of today's winners, came in ahead of expectations, helped by the first-time contribution from lingerie retailer Figleaves, prompting the group to hike its dividend by 15%. Pre-tax profit (before fair value adjustments to financial instruments) for the 12 months to 26 February grew 5.5% to £98.2m, from £93.1m previously. The figure came in £0.5m ahead of Peel Hunt's forecasts. UK-focused oil and gas group Enquest gushed higher after saying it is set to become the operator of both the Crawford and Porter developments located in the UK Continental Shelf, after acquiring a majority stake in UKCS Block 9/28a (Area B). The group has raised its interest in the block from 19% to 51% as part of a farm in agreement with Fairfield Acer, in return for taking on certain development costs, up to a maximum of £34.85m.No frills airline easyJet is a high flyer even after it nearly doubled first half losses as fuel prices increased and as customers remained cautious about flying in difficult economic conditions. For the six months ended 31 March 2011 loss before tax widened to £153m from a loss of £79m a year earlier. Total revenue increased to £1.3bn from £1.2bn previously.CSR, the maker of wifi, bluetooth and GPS location chips, has posted revenues of $163.9m for the first quarter of 2011, down 5% on the $173m the firm pulled in in the first three months of 2010, but in line with management guidance. Chief executive, Joep van Beurden, said he expected stronger revenues for the second half of the year relative to the first half and the shares were in demand.Also in travel, tour operator TUI Travel reduced half year losses, lifted its dividend and said it was on track to deliver full year results in line with expectations. The company, which owns First Choice and Thomsons, said pre-tax losses narrowed to £364m in the six months ended 31 march 2011 from a loss of £375m the same time a year before. Revenue for the period increased 5% to £5.2bn.TUI's peer Thomas Cook missed out on the party today after RBS has scaled back its target price for travel company Thomas Cook after an "uninspiring update" which saw first half numbers come in under expectations. The target price is lowered to 230p, from 260p, but a 'buy' is still kept.FTSE 100 - RisersSchroders (SDR) 1,750.00p +5.61%Schroders (Non-Voting) (SDRC) 1,419.00p +4.72%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,298.00p +3.92%Sage Group (SGE) 296.00p +3.57%Reed Elsevier (REL) 549.50p +3.29%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,224.00p +3.11%Autonomy Corporation (AU.) 1,726.00p +3.04%IMI (IMI) 1,112.00p +2.87%Prudential (PRU) 770.00p +2.80%BAE Systems (BA.) 332.50p +2.72%FTSE 100 - FallersBG Group (BG.) 1,412.50p -1.60%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 296.30p -0.37%Vodafone Group (VOD) 169.60p -0.29%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,302.00p -0.12%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 248.40p 0.00%Inmarsat (ISAT) 620.00p +0.16%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,899.00p +0.18%BP (BP.) 455.45p +0.21%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,879.00p +0.21%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 117.00p +0.26%FTSE 250 - RisersCSR (CSR) 391.40p +6.36%Premier Foods (PFD) 34.83p +6.35%RPS Group (RPS) 237.00p +5.33%EnQuest (ENQ) 136.80p +5.23%Grainger (GRI) 123.70p +4.92%Morgan Crucible Co (MGCR) 329.10p +4.78%Renishaw (RSW) 1,747.00p +4.67%JD Wetherspoon (JDW) 468.30p +4.62%Regus (RGU) 112.60p +4.45%Electrocomponents (ECM) 285.70p +4.38%FTSE 250 - FallersPace (PIC) 93.00p -39.18%Domino's Pizza UK & IRL (DOM) 422.00p -3.17%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 134.80p -2.46%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 162.00p -2.23%Supergroup (SGP) 1,569.00p -1.69%Carpetright (CPR) 669.50p -1.54%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 234.70p -1.30%Kesa Electricals (KESA) 137.30p -1.22%London & Stamford Property Ltd. (LSP) 128.70p -0.69%TR Property Inv Trust Sigma Shares (TRYS) 88.80p -0.62%