London midday: Water companies float higher

1st Feb 2010 11:57

The FTSE 100 ended a quiet morning session marginally in positive territory, helped by some speculative attention focused on utility companies.Northumbrian Water has spurted higher on reports a Canadian pension fund is poised to bid. Sector peers United Utilities, Pennon Water and Severn Trent rise in sympathy.A ramp up in production during the last three months of 2009 helped miner Xstrata achieve record annual production of thermal coal, mined nickel, zinc in concentrate and lead metal.Fund manager Schroders is out of favour after Credit Suisse downgraded the stock to 'neutral' from 'outperform'. JP Morgan, which was named two weeks ago as the exclusive bidder for Royal Bank of Scotland's 51% stake in RBS Sempra, has ruled out the purchase of the North American assets in the wake of Mr Obama's ruling, the Times reports. The news has not stopped the stock from heading north, however. Petrofac, the oil & gas facilities service provider, refused to deny that it plans to spin off its North Sea assets, saying it keeps its options under regular review.Irish no-frills airline Ryanair's third quarter loss came in lower than expected and it upped its profit estimate for the full year as new routes meant yields fall by less than expected. British Airways and Easyjet are higher in sympathy.The chairman of Premier Foods will quit after six years at the helm of the Hovis to Branston Pickle maker. Kappler, the former HMV chairman, plans to step down later in the year, once his successor has been identified. Premier Foods said it has commenced a succession process. The news has not stopped the stock being one of the best performers in the FTSE 250 today.Investment management firm Evolution Group said it more than doubled full year revenue after a strong performance across all of its divisions in the second half.Increased activity in the second half of the year and it growing business pipeline makes the group confident full year earnings will be in line with market expectations.Consulting and business services group Mouchel has entered into an arrangement with its banks to ease the fixed charge cover covenant on its banking facilities. The group said it has taken the step as a 'precautionary measure.'Sausages, bacon and pork specialist Cranswick piled on the sales in the run-up to Christmas with total turnover up by 31% to £200m. Organic growth from the underlying business in the three months to December was 17%, with 14% growth from CCF Norfolk, acquired in June 2009. Dawson expects full year sales and profits to come in ahead of market forecasts after a strong final quarter at its UK and US Knitwear businesses more than offset continued weakness in its Home Furnishings unit. FTSE 100 - RisersSevern Trent (SVT) 1,168.00p +3.82%British Airways (BAY) 212.80p +3.20%United Utilities Group (UU.) 551.00p +2.70%Rolls-Royce Group (RR.) 490.80p +2.29%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 33.00p +2.17%Centrica (CNA) 275.10p +1.93%FTSE 100 - FallersSchroders (SDR) 1,225.00p -1.69%Anglo American (AAL) 2,291.00p -1.34%Amec (AMEC) 748.50p -1.25%BG Group (BG.) 1,146.00p -1.16%Randgold Resources (RRS) 4,348.00p -1.02%Schroders NV (SDRC) 987.00p -1.00%