London midday: Footsie at eight-month high after Obama re-election

7th Nov 2012 11:22

- Footsie rises to eight-month high in intraday trade- Obama re-election sparks rise in metals prices- Randgold bucks the trend after disappointing Q3Investors were in a bullish mood on Wednesday morning, celebrating the news that Barack Obama has been re-elected for another four years as President of the United States of America.Mining stocks were providing a boost on the FTSE 100 today, tracking commodities prices higher as the dollar declined after Obama's win. Obama being re-elected has sparked speculation that easy-money policy could continue under his leadership, causing the greenback to fall early on and dollar-denominated metal prices to rise as a result.The Footsie's intraday high for the morning session was 5,921, its highest level since March 19th when it reached 5,961.Andrew Edwards, the Chief Executive Officer at ETX Capital, said: "With uncertainty removed over the leadership of the US economy from financial markets following the re-election of President Barack Obama, we expect a mild-rally heading into the holiday season with investors ramping up risk appetite."The better mood is not only reflected by European and Asian markets registering modest gains Wednesday but by the drop in the VIX 'fear gauge' and a healthy pick-up in US equity futures and commodity prices, a typical relief reaction following the build up to the elections." The focus for Obama will now likely turn to the 'fiscal cliff' in January, when over $600bn in spending cuts and tax increases are scheduled to come into effect. Failure to address this is expected to see the US economic slip back into recession.While the aftermath of the elections takes centre stage today, markets will also be looking out for the outcome of the Greek parliamentary vote, which is expected to be revealed late this evening.FTSE 100: Polymetal rises as gold prices gainPolymetal topped the risers list this morning as gold prices neared a two-week high on the back of the Obama re-election. The precious metal was up at $1,729 per ounce this morning, its highest level since October 23rd.Sector peer Vedanta was also higher after all the key numbers headed in the right direction in the first half. Profit before tax in the six months to the end of September rose to $1,059.4m from $916.2m the year before, on revenue that rose 14% to $7,451.9m from $6,552.6m. However, bucking the trend was Randgold Resources after a disappointing third-quarter result. The gold miner reported the production fell back from the preceding quarter's record levels as the company suffered grid power supply problems at its Tongon mine and processed lower grades at Gounkoto. Luxury brand Burberry gained after reporting a first-half adjusted profit before tax of £173m, up 6% year-on-year and ahead of the £167m consensus estimate. Seymour Pierce said that these figures suggest that there is upside risk to full-year consensus estimates.Publishing group Pearson was higher on speculation that it exploring a sale of the Financial Times for over £1bn. International services giant Serco was up, shrugging off a downgrade by Invesec to 'sell', after buying out its 15-year joint venture partner in Australian defence and marine services business DMS Maritime Pty Ltd for £68m. Insurer Old Mutual was higher after reporting a slight rise in funds under management in the third quarter. FTSE 250: Spirax-Sarco jumps; RPS tanksEngineering group Spirax Sarco jumped after saying that organic sales increased 6% in the four months to the end of October, ahead of the rate of growth reported in the first half. Natural resources, land and property consultancy RPS dropped despite saying it was on track to hit full-year targets. The firm noted that trading conditions in its Built and Natural Environment division were mixed, causing Panmure Gordon to pare it price target for the shares this morning.Online gaming software company Playtech was in demand after delivering impressive revenue growth in the third quarter while saying that this trend has continued into the fourth quarter. Industrial conveyor belt maker Fenner was higher after reporting a stellar increase in profit and revenue for the year and lifted its dividend payment by 31%. FTSE 100 - RisersPolymetal International (POLY) 1,142.00p +2.79%Serco Group (SRP) 586.50p +2.09%Schroders (SDR) 1,615.00p +2.02%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 781.00p +1.89%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 341.80p +1.64%Melrose (MRO) 256.10p +1.63%Pearson (PSON) 1,260.00p +1.61%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 655.00p +1.55%Wolseley (WOS) 2,804.00p +1.37%Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,905.00p +1.33%FTSE 100 - FallersRandgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,105.00p -4.31%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 392.70p -1.50%Pennon Group (PNN) 703.50p -1.40%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,043.00p -0.95%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 173.40p -0.91%BG Group (BG.) 1,087.50p -0.87%Glencore International (GLEN) 344.40p -0.83%Xstrata (XTA) 987.50p -0.80%CRH (CRH) 1,195.00p -0.75%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 314.90p -0.63%FTSE 250 - RisersSpirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 2,163.00p +9.19%Fenner (FENR) 363.20p +3.77%NMC Health (NMC) 189.60p +3.27%Playtech Ltd. (PTEC) 424.40p +3.26%Soco International (SIA) 371.60p +3.14%Henderson Group (HGG) 116.00p +2.65%Ruspetro (RPO) 103.70p +2.37%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 225.70p +2.36%Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 145.30p +2.32%SIG (SHI) 110.40p +2.32%FTSE 250 - FallersKenmare Resources (KMR) 36.91p -5.41%RPS Group (RPS) 226.30p -5.00%FirstGroup (FGP) 196.00p -4.53%Ocado Group (OCDO) 60.70p -3.11%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 125.00p -2.42%IP Group (IPO) 114.40p -2.22%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 24.27p -2.14%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 363.20p -1.76%Genus (GNS) 1,451.00p -1.76%Home Retail Group (HOME) 114.20p -1.72%BC