London close: Upward march recommences

29th Jul 2009 16:47

Footsie was back to winning ways Wednesday as investors digested a stream of company updates.Fund manager Schroders led the way after Morgan Stanley upgraded the firm to "overweight" from "underweight" and raised its price target to 1,045p from 710p. Rexam was the major faller after it launched its well-flagged rights issue to raise £351m at a big discount to the current share price. The interim dividend has also been scrapped. Terms of the cash call are 4 for 11 at 150p. First half losses of £30m compared to a profit of £140m last time.BG Group was lower after second quarter profits fell 32% in the three months ended 30 June to £972m. It won't hit its 2009 production target of 680,000 boed until 31 March 2010, one quarter later than originally planned. Reckitt Benckiser posted profits and dividends up by a third and raised its estimates for both sales and earnings growth for the full year. Half-year profits rose by 40% and the dividend by 34%.Fund managers enjoyed mixed fortunes in the market. Wealth management firm St. James's Place eased back even though funds under management (FUM) rose £600m (3.7%) in the first half of the year to £16.9bn, helped by a net inflow of £1bn during the period. FUM were 7.6% higher than at the end of June 2008.Funds under management grew at Rathbone Brothers in the first half of 2009, but profits fell by 41%. The share price tumbled as the company said FUM in the unit trust business fell to £836m from £1,029m at the end of 2008, reflecting the decline in the market and net redemptions of £180m.Shares in Brewin Dolphin were higher, however, after the stockbroker and fund manager said its third quarter income was barely changed from the corresponding period of last year. FUM fell 5.9% to £17.6bn, but the group pointed out that discretionary funds under management slipped just 1% versus a 16.7% tumble for the FTSE 100.BHP Billiton, the world's biggest miner, has agreed pricing terms with a number of iron ore customers for the 2009 contract year, with prices down by about a third on last year. Underlying profit before tax in the first half of 2009 at chocolate and gum maker Cadbury came in ahead of expectations, despite difficult trading in mainland Europe. Underlying profit before tax rose to £262m from £212m, up 24% in actual terms and 11% on a constant currency basis. Some brokers had been predicting a figure of around £255m.Data search technology giant Autonomy has signed up another major global bank as a customer. The unnamed bank is taking a number of Autonomy solutions. The deal is expected to have a value in excess of more than $20m over the next few years.Car dealer Inchcape saw first half profits more than halve in constant currency terms in "unprecedented market conditions". Profit before tax, excluding exceptional items, fell 57.6% on a constant currency basis, to £65.4m from £130.3m a year earlier. The shares motor forward, however, as the company said costs had been reduced by 13% and it gained market share in most of its markets.Budget airline easyJet expects to make a full-year profit of up to £50m after increasing revenue by 12% in the third quarter.A jump in cycle sales as the warm weather returned helped bike and car parts retailer Halfords lift sales over the past three months. Group sales in the quarter to end June increased by 3.1%, compared with this time last year, with like-for-like sales growth of 1.3%. Shares in wireless technology group CSR jumped after it said an end to destocking from customers should have a positive effect on third quarter revenues. The firm now expects turnover of $195m to $215m for the quarter, ahead of market expectations of around $184m. Profits plunged by 61% during the first half at engineer Morgan Crucible and industrial markets are expected to remain weak over the second half of the year. Investors drew comfort from signs that sales have been stabilising over recent weeks.Engineer Renishaw watched full-year profits plunge 89% as revenue tumbled due to a marked downturn in the second half.Funeral services provider Dignity reported a 7.6% rise in half year profits and said its expectations for the full year continue to be positive.Shares in Arc International jumped after the chip designer confirmed it is in talks with an unnamed third party regarding a potential offer for the group.The share price of Petards was hoisted after the CCTV company won a £2.5m contract with the Ministry of Defence to supply electronic countermeasures equipment for Britain's helicopter fleet.FTSE 100 - RisersSchroders NV (SDRC) 825.00p +5.23%Schroders (SDR) 951.00p +4.62%Old Mutual (OML) 97.65p +3.89%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 128.10p +3.81%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 43.49p +3.56%Aviva (AV.) 343.00p +3.31%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 83.80p +3.10%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,397.00p +2.95%London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 701.50p +2.78%SABMiller (SAB) 1,377.00p +2.68%FTSE 100 - FallersRexam (REX) 253.75p -8.14%Fresnillo (FRES) 606.00p -4.42%Intertek Group (ITRK) 1,039.00p -4.06%BG Group (BG.) 1,053.00p -2.68%Autonomy Corporation (AU.) 1,184.00p -2.55%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,501.50p -2.44%Petrofac Ltd (PFC) 760.00p -1.81%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,296.00p -1.80%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,630.00p -1.51%Randgold Resources (RRS) 3,630.00p -1.49%FTSE 250 - RisersCSR (CSR) 409.75p +17.83%Inchcape (INCH) 26.50p +17.78%ITV (ITV) 40.75p +9.40%Morgan Crucible (MGCR) 119.00p +9.17%BTG (BGC) 182.75p +8.78%Enterprise Inns (ETI) 129.25p +6.16%Informa (INF) 240.75p +5.82%Bodycote (BOY) 131.00p +5.43%PZ Cussons (PZC) 233.50p +4.36%Logica (LOG) 89.00p +3.79%FTSE 250 - FallersNorthern Foods (NFDS) 61.25p -6.84%Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 741.00p -5.61%Goldman Sachs Dynamic Opportunities EUR Shares (GSDE) € 1.03 -4.62%Renishaw (RSW) 380.00p -4.52%Dignity (DTY) 617.00p -4.34%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 243.25p -4.23%Morgan Sindall (MGNS) 610.50p -4.01%St James's Place (STJ) 180.00p -4.00%Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 407.25p -3.95%RPS Group (RPS) 203.75p -3.78%