London midday: Footsie sluggish despite updates

25th Nov 2010 12:05

Footsie is in sluggish mode, and may remain so given that the US is closed for Thanksgiving, but there is plenty of company news for traders to digest.Capital Shopping Centres Group, the shopping centre arm of what used to be Liberty International, has raced ahead after it put pen to paper to purchase Manchester's Trafford Centre in a deal worth £1.6bn. WS Atkins is also in demand. The engineering contractor reported a fall in revenues and profits in the half year to September 30 as it cut back on staff to cope with difficult conditions and said that the results of recent government spending revenues were broadly as expected, though some uncertainty remains. Also higher is property investment firm Helical Bar, which posted an operating profit for the half year compared to a loss the previous year, maintained its dividend and is confident investment deals now will provide future trading profits.Not all stocks have reacted well to trading updates though. Daily Mail Group is lower after reporting a rise in profits while warning that it is cautious on the outlook. After its first set of results under its new moniker, Dixons Retail is lower. The electricals retailer has posted interims largely in line with expectations though the underlying loss beat some forecasts. Profits soared at the Chile-focused copper miner Antofagasta in the nine months to September 30 as prices for the red metal recovered from the economic crisis.Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) jumped to $1.96bn (£1.24bn) on revenues that climbed to $3.17bn from $2.02bn.Food ingredients firm Tate & Lyle is to sell its molasses business to Belfast grain trader W&R Barnett for £67m in cash. Proceeds from the sale will be used to reduce net debt. Water and waste group Pennon managed a small increase in half-year profit as a big jump at recycling business Viridor offset a decline at South West Water. Profit before tax for the six months ended 30 September grew 0.7% to £96.2m, with Viridor contributing £28.6m, up 29%, and South West Water £70.2m, down 0.6%. Residential housing specialist Grainger narrowed full year losses but it remains cautious about growth over the next two years. The group reported a pre-tax loss of £20.8m for the year ended 30 September compared to a loss of £170m in the prior year. Full-year group revenues declined to £244.5m from £302.2m a year ago. Travel firm Thomas Cook is to enter the Russian market through a joint venture with a leading Russian holiday company. Thomas Cook and VAO Intourist, Russia's longest established travel business, will form a joint venture focused on expansion in Russia and the other CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries.FTSE 100 - RisersCapital Shopping Centres Group (CSCG) 371.00p +9.96%Hammerson (HMSO) 411.50p +6.22%British Land Co (BLND) 492.90p +3.07%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,570.00p +2.55%Land Securities Group (LAND) 655.00p +2.42%Whitbread (WTB) 1,736.00p +2.18%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,719.00p +2.02%Old Mutual (OML) 127.90p +1.99%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 381.90p +1.84%Cairn Energy (CNE) 387.50p +1.84%FTSE 100 - FallersCompass Group (CPG) 550.00p -2.83%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 40.08p -1.18%Amec (AMEC) 1,126.00p -1.05%Sage Group (SGE) 256.30p -1.00%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 1,918.00p -0.98%Essar Energy (ESSR) 502.00p -0.89%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,041.00p -0.86%Prudential (PRU) 584.50p -0.85%National Grid (NG.) 575.50p -0.78%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 522.00p -0.57%FTSE 250 - RisersLaird (LRD) 156.10p +5.90%SEGRO (SGRO) 291.60p +4.52%Great Portland Estates (GPOR) 341.30p +3.68%Atkins (WS) (ATK) 723.00p +3.66%Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 148.40p +3.56%Homeserve (HSV) 441.40p +3.37%Redrow (RDW) 108.90p +3.32%QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 117.10p +3.26%London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 791.50p +2.79%Bodycote (BOY) 259.90p +2.77%FTSE 250 - FallersDaily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) 542.00p -3.99%Melrose Resources (MRS) 241.20p -2.35%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 810.00p -1.82%Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 62.15p -1.74%Petropavlovsk (POG) 1,054.00p -1.68%Centamin Egypt Ltd. (CEY) 183.70p -1.61%Northumbrian Water Group (NWG) 338.00p -1.46%Inchcape (INCH) 335.00p -1.44%FirstGroup (FGP) 367.10p -1.34%BH Global Ltd. USD Shares (BHGU) 11.15 -1.33%