London midday: FTSE 100 back above 6,000

11th Feb 2011 12:18

The FTSE 100 is back above 6,000 after a weaker spell earlier but remains in the red. Retailers are among the heaviest fallers after some underwhelming sales figures from the John Lewis. As the department store itself put it, the 1% rise in sales in the week to February 5 from the same period last year was "not a large one."Marks & Spencer and fellow fashion retailer Next are under pressure.Sticking with the John Lewis theme, online delivery service Ocado has tumbled after it confirmed that the department store, an 11% shareholder, has sold its stake now that the lock-up period following last July's float has ended. Shares in Ocado have risen 50% over the last month. Support services group Carillion has agreed to pay £306.5m for green support services business Eaga. In a deal recommended by Eaga bosses, shareholders will get 118.79p a share in cash and receive the 1.21p interim dividend, taking the total to 120p.Tullow Oil and Cairn Energy are going well with the oil price heading higher even though oil producers' cartel Opec says it will up production to keep prices stable. Emergency repair service provider Homeserve is still predicting a year of strong growth with profit matching City expectations. Customer and policy numbers were both 14% higher at the end of 2010 than at the same time the previous year, up to 4.8m and 10.9m respectively. Pubs group Mitchells and Butlers has named senior independent director Simon Burke as its new chairman, taking over from John Lovering who steps down today. Burke has been on the board as non-executive deputy chairman since January 2010. He's also chairman of HobbyCraft and a non-executive director of the BBC Executive Board. Shaftesbury, the property company focused on London's theatre-land district, said demand for its properties has remained healthy since the end of September. Investment activity in the area is on the up and is predicted to increase over the next 12 months. Oil group JKX Oil and Gas is to fund the drilling of up to seven more wells in Hungary. JKX will fund 66.67% of drilling and completion costs to earn 50% of future mining plots formed to develop discoveries, and will also fund 75% of pipeline connection costs. Costs for a completed well are estimated at $3m gross.A sharp rise in pre-tax profits in the half year to 30 November sent shares in Fiske higher, even as the stockbroker warned that 2011 will be "difficult."Pre-tax profits jumped to £369,000 from £286,000 over the same period the previous year on revenues that rose to £2.23m from £2.04m.FTSE 100 - RisersLegal & General Group (LGEN) 123.30p +3.79%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,430.00p +2.22%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,700.00p +1.74%Diageo (DGE) 1,214.00p +1.59%BAE Systems (BA.) 354.70p +1.31%Centrica (CNA) 337.90p +1.23%Cairn Energy (CNE) 413.00p +1.23%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 268.10p +1.02%Anglo American (AAL) 3,341.50p +1.00%Wolseley (WOS) 2,283.00p +0.97%FTSE 100 - FallersNext (NXT) 1,996.00p -3.25%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 362.80p -2.37%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 246.40p -1.83%Serco Group (SRP) 547.50p -1.71%Kingfisher (KGF) 248.70p -1.70%Barclays (BARC) 308.20p -1.61%Old Mutual (OML) 130.40p -1.44%Essar Energy (ESSR) 502.00p -1.38%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,171.00p -1.35%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,528.00p -1.29%FTSE 250 - RisersAG Barr (BAG) 1,122.00p +3.41%JPMorgan Indian Inv Trust (JII) 406.20p +3.07%SDL (SDL) 645.00p +2.22%Lamprell (LAM) 297.40p +2.20%Hansen Transmissions International NV (DI) (HSN) 52.00p +2.16%Cranswick (CWK) 840.00p +1.76%Betfair Group (BET) 927.00p +1.76%Morgan Crucible Co (MGCR) 268.60p +1.74%London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 922.50p +1.65%Shaftesbury (SHB) 455.90p +1.60%FTSE 250 - FallersOcado Group (OCDO) 240.60p -15.58%Centamin Egypt Ltd. (CEY) 133.70p -4.50%Exillon Energy (EXI) 341.60p -2.95%Rentokil Initial (RTO) 99.00p -2.85%Schroder Asia Pacific Fund (SDP) 216.50p -2.48%Laird (LRD) 168.90p -2.43%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 350.30p -2.42%F&C Asset Management (FCAM) 87.15p -2.13%PartyGaming (PRTY) 173.00p -2.04%Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) 569.00p -1.90%