London open: Footsie adds to losses

6th May 2010 08:20

London's top stocks are continuing this week's downward trend as the economic turmoil in Greece is still worrying investors.The European Central Bank is meeting this morning to discuss how to protect the Euro and calm down fears of a contagion.Wm Morrison is one of this morning's fallers after the supermarket group reported a small rise in first-quarter like for like sales but warned that it remains cautious on the economic environment and consumer spending. In the 13 weeks to 2 May, like for like sales grew by 0.8% (5.2% including fuel), with total sales excluding fuel up by 5.9% (9.5% including fuel).Medical devices firm Smith & Nephew posted a better than expected 27% jump in first quarter profit and said it is on the right track for the rest of the year. The trading profit in the quarter was $250m, up from $183m in the first quarter of 2009. Revenues rose to $995m in the period compared to $865m last time.Can and packaging maker Rexam is leading the risers after it saw increased demand for its products in the first quarter, helping the company deliver results ahead of expectations.Drinks brands giant Diageo also gained after reporting a 12% rise in organic sales in the third quarter and maintained its full year guidance.Indian mining giant Vedanta posted a sharp rise in earnings for the year to March 31 after ramping up metals production and benefiting from the rebound in commodity prices. The company posted earnings before depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $2.3bn, a rise of 42% from the previous year, on revenues that climbed by 21% to $7.9m.RSA Insurance Group said it has made a good start to the year with strong performances in the UK, Canada and Latin America. Net written premiums in the first quarter of 2010 were 5% higher than in the corresponding period of 2009 at £1.9bn, or 3% higher at constant exchange rates (CER).Housebuilder Bovis Homes said sale prices have been modestly ahead of expectations so far in 2010. Weekly reservation sales have been in line with management expectations and have been consistent since the bad weather in the first two weeks of the year melted away.Gold miner Randgold Resources said the first three months had been a tough operational quarter but it had made solid progress on all of its strategic objectives.Fund manager Schroders said the momentum built up in 2009 has continued into 2010 with high levels of new business. Total funds under management (FUM) climbed to £167.9bn at the end of March from £148.4bn at the end of 2009.Testing and inspections firm Intertek has bought Norca Ingenieria de Calidad, a Spanish company specialising in infrastructure risk assessment for the energy industry.Business publisher and events organiser United Business Media (UBM) is back on the acquisition trail, buying selected assets of CenTradeX, a provider of market intelligence tools.FTSE 100 - RisersRexam (REX) 318.00p +1.69%Diageo (DGE) 1,095.00p +1.30%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,075.00p +0.37%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 118.00p -0.08%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,087.00p -0.09%British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,052.00p -0.12%Cairn Energy (CNE) 383.70p -0.13%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 651.50p -0.17%Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) 1,077.00p -0.19%BG Group (BG.) 1,067.50p -0.19%FTSE 100 - FallersSEGRO (SGRO) 286.00p -3.18%Man Group (EMG) 221.30p -2.51%Randgold Resources (RRS) 5,310.00p -2.48%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 272.00p -2.44%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 49.20p -2.38%Barclays (BARC) 315.70p -2.18%Hammerson (HMSO) 356.50p -2.01%ICAP (IAP) 352.60p -1.97%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,215.00p -1.94%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 232.70p -1.81%