London open: Early gains for Footsie

18th Nov 2009 08:48

London's top stocks have opened higher following yesterday's drop, which brought a 4-day winning streak to an end.Troubled broadcaster ITV has confirmed the appointment of former Tory party MP Archie Norman as its new non-executive Chairman. He will take up the role in January 2010, when current executive chairman Michael Grade, will stand down and John Cresswell will become interim chief executive.Miners are going well as the dollar's woes continue. Xstrata, Fresnillo and Lonmin are all higher.Wolseley, the plumbers' merchant, said underlying trading profit was down by more than a quarter in the three months to end-October from a year ago. Revenue during the period from continuing operations fell 13%, or 20% at constant exchange rates (CER), to £3,395m.All of the key numbers still pointed down in Land Securities' half-year figures, but the property giant is confident 'that from the low point in July 2009 property values will rise over the next five years'. Chief executvie Francis Selway added the ride may be bumpy with the profile of price rises characterised by ripples rather than pure straight-line growth and LandSecs will be careful in choosing its opportunities.Housebuilder Bovis said it has seen further signs of stabilisation in the housing market and expects more pricing stability and modest growth in mortgage availability in 2010. In the year to 13 November, the group has achieved 1,488 private reservations, some 83% ahead of the comparative figure for the same period in 2008. Oil and gas firm Melrose Resources has raised its estimate of average daily production for the year after a productive third quarter. Production in the third quarter was around 25% higher than in the third quarter of 2008, reflecting high output from the company's existing Egyptian fields and also contributions from new field developments.Outsourcing specialist Capita Group said trading across the group remains strong, and it is on course to deliver underlying profit growth for 2009 in line with meet market expectations.Children's retailer Mothercare reported a 7.9% hike in interim sales boosted by new overseas stores, but swung to a pre-tax loss after it was hit by charges. Group sales increased to £387.3m for the 28 weeks ended 10 October 2009 from £359.0m the same time a year before. Mothercare posted a pre-tax loss of £7.1m after a charge of £17.1m, compared to a profit of £13.2m previously.Computer services group Dimension Data reported lower full-year figures but said it is encouraged by the recent stabilisation in its end markets. Pre-tax profit fell to $183.79m in the year ended 30 September compared with $189.01m last time, while revenue was down at $4bn from £4.51bn previously.