London open: Footsie posts early gains

6th Oct 2009 08:53

Footsie's bright start is fizzling out a little after disappointment over Tesco's half-year profits, despite the surge by the Dow overnight.Australia's decision to raise interest rates has also sparked some caution, It is the first G20 member to do so since the credit curnch really started to bite. But it is Tesco that is dominating the headlines. The supermarket giant made profits of £1.42bn, up 1.5%, in the six month to August, adding it is well-placed for the global recovery. Pre-tax profits were up by 1.5% in the 26 weeks ended 29 August, while sales increased by 8.3% to £30.4bn.Miners are offsetting Tesco's weakness so far with good gains for Kazakhmys, Rio Tinto and Xstrata following the Dow's 100 points plus surge overnight. GlaxoSmithKline has received another 22 orders for a further 149m doses of its H1 N1 swine flu vaccine. The latest orders bring the total number of of doses ordered for GSK's pandemic vaccines to 440m. Discussions continue with governments for further supplies, GSK added.Goodfellas pizza and Fox's biscuits group Northern Foods said group sales and operating profit remain in line with market expectations. Like for like sales on a value basis rose 2.9% year on year in the 26 weeks to 26 September, while volumes were up 2.5%. Total sales were flat, reflecting closure of the Fenland factory last year and lower volumes at the Hull plant.Kurdistan-focused oil group Gulf Keystone has discovered oil in the upper portions of the Triassic section of the Shaikan - 1 exploration well. A limited test resulted in oil rates up to 2,000 bopd and associated gas rates of up to 2 mmscf/d, yielding a gas/oil ratio of approximately 1,000 scf/bbl. The shares jumped by more than a quarter yesterday.Elsewhere among the oil explorers, Caza Oil & Gas has struck lucky with its first well in the Abo/Wolfcamp horizontal oil play in New Mexico, USA. The company made a hydrocarbon discovery at the Lucky Penny 10 State #1 horizontal well in Lea County, New Mexico. While in Russia, JKX Oil & Gas says it is encouraged by the test results from the first well drilled in its Koshekhablskoye field, located in the Republic of Adygea, Russia.Construction and engineering contractor Balfour Beatty has been named as preferred bidder for a schools project in Blackburn and Darwen. The 25-year concession entails the building or remodelling of nine schools in Blackburn and Darwen, in the north west of England, by 2015.