London open: Blue chips power forward

6th Oct 2010 08:52

London's leading index has hit fresh five-month highs after the surge on Wall Street overnight. Footsie is now at its highest since April.Miners are driving the gains this morning with the top five risers all mining companies. Antofagasta, Anglo American, Kazakhmys and Xstrata are the best performers, but there are healthy rises across the sector.Airlines have taken off after no-frills airline easyjet forecast profits this year will be more than £150m, better than the top of its previous forecast range, after lower volcano ash costs and better demand for European short-haul flights. British Airways is up in sympathy. Supermarket chain Sainsbury's has outdone arch rival Tesco, reporting a 2% increase in like for like sales excluding fuel for the first half, in line with market expectations. Britain's number three supermarket grew like for like sales, ignoring petrol, by 2.9% in the second quarter. It was 1.2% in the first three months. Tesco managed just 0.3% in the first half, 0.4% for the second quarter and 0.1% for the first.Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton will likely see some action. Late last night, Rio said it has not made any decision about a possible $116bn iron ore joint venture with BHP in Western Australia. There are reports Rio has killed the deal off after failing to get regulatory approval.Midlands-based pub group and brewer Marston's reports improving trends in each of its divisions compared to last year. Earnings before tax and exceptional items in the year to end September are also in line with expectations, the firm added. The brewing arm's turnover and operating profit will be slightly ahead of last year. Hungry Britons have been tucking into the bacon rolls sold by Greggs, contributing to continued sales growth for the savoury snacks seller. Total sales for the 39 weeks ended 2 October increased by 2.6%, while like-for-like (LFL) sales grew 0.5%. Sales growth slowed some in the third quarter to 0.2%. "We anticipate that like-for-like sales in the final quarter will be broadly flat and therefore marginally positive over the year as a whole," said chief executive Ken McMeikan. General Electric today confirmed it was behind a 750p a share cash bid for Wellstream, turned down by the oil services group last month. The US conglomerate was responding to press reports that it's preparing to raise its offer to 800p, said to be the level at which Wellstream chairman John Kennedy might start to talk. Unlike the England football team, online sports betting firm Sportingbet had an excellent World Cup, taking in more than £50m of wagers on the tournament. The World Cup bonanza enabled the company to finish its financial year with a flourish. The total amount wagered in the year to 31 July jumped 25% to £1.97bn from £1.58bn the year before.