London midday: Mining retreat drags FTSE 100 lower

14th Jan 2011 12:11

FTSE 100 is now firmly in the red as miners retreat amid speculation that commodity hungry China may raise interest rates to cool inflation.The east Asian economic powerhouse has lifted reserve requirements on banks, underlining its determination to deal with inflation.Meanwhile, an increase in inflation here increases the likelihood that interest rates will be lifted in the near future. Producer prices rose higher than expected in December as the recent hike in commodity prices forced manufacturers to up their charges on goods. Factory gate inflation rose by 4.2% in December, its highest rate since April, the Office for National Statistics said. Forecasts had projected a rise of 3.9%.Anglo American, Xstrata and Antofagasta are among the miners in the red.Sparkling results after the bell in New York yesterday from chip-maker Intel has whetted appetite for chip designer ARM Holdings. The stock smashes its way to another 52-week high and is up 40% over the last month.Bovis Homes predicts profits for 2010 will beat consensus estimates. A "significant" improvement in profits to more than £16.3m has been driven by a 5% increase in the number of legally completed homes to 1,901 at an average sale price of £160,700, up 4% on the year before. UK defence giant BAE Systems has made an agreed offer for AIM-listed financial crime prevention specialist Norkom Group. BAE is offering €2.10 per Norkom share in a deal that values the Dublin-headquartered firm at €217m. Shares in Smith & Nephew quickly gave up earlier gains after the medical devices group denied reports that it is in any talks that could lead to a merger or takeover. A report in the Daily Telegraph said that it was set to enter talks with the private equity backed US orthopaedics group Biomet about a possible £15bn merger.Mexico-based silver and gold miner Fresnillo produced record amounts of both metals last year with output expected to increase again over the coming twelve months. Engineering firm Morgan Crucible has paid RMB.64m (£6.15m) for Changsha Hairong New Materials, a specialist in the production of graphite materials for anodes used in lithium ion batteries for portable electronics and electric vehicles. Fund manager F&C Asset Management, under fire from activist investor Sherborne Investors, is going down the outsourcing route to save £9m a year in costs. The group has been in discussions with a number of potential outsourcing providers and has the short-list of preferred partners down to two.Fashion retailer Ted Baker lifted sales by 7.6% over the Christmas period, though this total was hit by the weather disruption. The firm does not give like-for-like comparisons, but says average retail square footage increased by 6.6% over the period to 223,623 sq.ft.Instrumentation and controls specialist Spectris had a cracking final two months of 2010, with operating profits higher than expected.Meat packer Hilton Food traded in line with expectations during the 52 weeks ended January 2, boosting turnover, especially in the Netherlands and Central Europe.December's snowstorms took their toll on Magners cider group C&C, though better off-trade sales helped offset the impact on the pubs business.Lookers will beat its own expectations for the full-year and deliver results at the top end of analysts' forecasts after the car dealer's strong run continued through the fourth quarter.FTSE 100 - RisersARM Holdings (ARM) 541.00p +7.34%International Power (IPR) 418.30p +2.00%ICAP (IAP) 565.00p +1.07%Reed Elsevier (REL) 548.00p +0.83%TUI Travel (TT.) 264.60p +0.80%Man Group (EMG) 307.80p +0.75%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,388.00p +0.51%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,426.00p +0.49%Kingfisher (KGF) 262.60p +0.42%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 743.50p +0.41%FTSE 100 - FallersAnglo American (AAL) 3,295.00p -3.37%Xstrata (XTA) 1,463.00p -3.34%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,509.00p -3.15%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,504.00p -2.27%BHP Billiton (BLT) 2,467.50p -2.18%Inmarsat (ISAT) 640.00p -2.14%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 1,088.00p -1.98%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,060.00p -1.85%Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,422.50p -1.80%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,633.00p -1.74%FTSE 250 - RisersSpectris (SXS) 1,362.00p +5.58%Supergroup (SGP) 1,496.00p +4.25%Morgan Crucible Co (MGCR) 276.50p +3.33%Petropavlovsk (POG) 1,099.00p +2.42%Telecity Group (TCY) 440.10p +2.35%Drax Group (DRX) 397.90p +2.29%ITV (ITV) 76.10p +2.28%Herald Inv Trust (HRI) 525.00p +2.04%Great Portland Estates (GPOR) 367.50p +1.89%Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 433.00p +1.83%FTSE 250 - FallersKenmare Resources (KMR) 30.16p -4.28%Avis Europe (AVE) 230.00p -4.17%Elementis (ELM) 133.60p -3.88%Exillon Energy (EXI) 395.00p -3.66%John Wood Group (WG.) 537.50p -3.41%EnQuest (ENQ) 145.50p -3.39%Ashtead Group (AHT) 161.30p -3.01%Provident Financial (PFG) 969.50p -3.00%St James's Place (STJ) 271.80p -2.96%Britvic (BVIC) 449.60p -2.81%