London midday: ARM & RBS lead the rise

4th Nov 2011 12:28

The Footsie's earlier gains were trimmed after midday after some key US jobs data came in worse-than-expected.The Bureau of Labor Statistics has revealed that 80,000 non-farm payrolls were added in October, well under expectations of a 95,000 gain. "Employment in the private sector rose, with modest job growth continuing in professional and businesses services, leisure and hospitality, health care, and mining. Government employment continued to trend down," the agency said. The jobless rate fell from 9.1% to 9%.Meanwhile, investors will be looking ahead to the crucial confidence vote in Greece which could be 'make-or-break' for prime minister George Papandreou. Many leading politicians in Greece have called on him to resign, after he decided to hold a referendum on the nation's latest bailout, which was subsequently scrapped: "I repeat I am not interested in being re-elected but just in saving the country," he said in Parliament.ARM, RBS, MINERS IN DEMANDChip designer ARM Holdings was topping the Footsie leaderboard at midday, with shares up nearly 6% at 637p, not that far away from its 52-week high of 651p. Big news today was the third quarter results from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which made a profit before tax of £2,004m in the third quarter of 2011. This compares to a £1,560m loss at the same point in 2010. Nomura said that there were "no negative surprises" and the figures came broadly in line with its forecasts. "The strengthening of the balance sheet has continued. Against the currently volatile operating environment this may prompt some positive relief," the broker said. This positive relief could be seen in the share price on Friday, which jumped early on. The miners were among the high risers of the day so far, with Anglo American among the better performers. The mining giant announced this morning that it has acquired a controlling stake in the diamond producer De Beers for $5.1bn. The mining sector is recovering after this week's poor performance. Mining peers Kazakhmys, Antofagasta, ENRC, Rio Tinto and Fresnillo were also higher. Rio Tinto and Kazhakmys could also be benefitting from positive comments out from UBS. Despite the average 1.43% gain today, stocks are still down an average 3.78% on last Friday.Xstrata however bucked the trend after announcing that it is to sell $3bn worth of bonds, which it plans to use to repay debt and for general corporate purposes. The worst performer of the day was International Airlines Group, which agreed in principle to buy the UK-based airline from Deutsche Lufthansa. The price has not been revealed. The deal, which is subject to due diligence and regulatory clearances, is expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year. Millenium & Copthorne Hotels, which owns and manages over 100 hotels globally, saw a sharp drop in its share price this morning following a warning over future revenues. BCFTSE 100 - RisersARM Holdings (ARM) 637.00p +5.81%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 23.76p +4.21%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 965.00p +3.10%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,224.00p +2.86%Anglo American (AAL) 2,418.50p +2.63%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 112.20p +2.56%ITV (ITV) 66.70p +2.46%Barclays (BARC) 188.95p +2.38%Essar Energy (ESSR) 313.00p +2.19%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 689.50p +2.00%FTSE 100 - FallersInternational Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 161.20p -4.28%Inmarsat (ISAT) 467.30p -2.54%SSE (SSE) 1,325.00p -2.36%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,099.00p -2.05%ICAP (IAP) 362.00p -1.74%Kingfisher (KGF) 265.50p -1.67%Man Group (EMG) 142.40p -1.59%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 106.70p -1.57%Meggitt (MGGT) 387.90p -1.47%BP (BP.) 450.20p -1.42%