London open: Footsie slips into red in early trading

1st Jun 2011 08:29

The Footsie has opened up in the red, with ex-div stocks National Grid, Marks and Spencer and Vodafone providing an early drag.Plumber's merchant Wolseley has taken a hit after it saw like for like (LFL) revenue growth of 6% in its third quarter. This represents a slow-down from the LFL growth rate of 7% in the first quarter.Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton has scored a $580m victory against the tax man in the Australian High Court. The dispute concerned the claw-back of capital allowance deductions claimed by BHP Billiton for the ill-starred Port Hedland plant, Drugs company AstraZeneca is edging higher after Health Canada approved Brilinta, its ticagrelor tablet product, for the secondary prevention of atherothrombotic events in patients with acute coronary syndromes.Cruise operator Carnival has placed an order for a massive 141,000-ton, 3,611-passenger cruise ship, set to be the largest in its P&O Cruises fleet. Insulation specialist SIG is to sell its safety and work wear business to outsourcing firm Bunzl for an undisclosed sum.An initial assessment of the recently-purchased Booysendal South property has led Aquarius Platinum raise its production expectations at its Everest mine in South Africa.Property company St. Modwen said interim results should be at the top end of its expectations, "both in terms of profit and net asset value growth", boosting shares higher.Finance specialist Intermediate Capital said annual pre-tax profit rose 76% after a marked improvement in the performance of its investments. Nevertheless, shares are off the mark.---BCFTSE 100 - RisersHammerson (HMSO) 486.60p +1.48%Aggreko (AGK) 1,894.00p +1.45%Schroders (Non-Voting) (SDRC) 1,380.00p +0.88%G4S (GFS) 287.80p +0.66%Unilever (ULVR) 1,984.00p +0.66%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 237.90p +0.59%Investec (INVP) 508.00p +0.59%Centrica (CNA) 319.80p +0.53%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,326.00p +0.53%SABMiller (SAB) 2,261.00p +0.51%FTSE 100 - FallersNational Grid (NG.) 602.00p -3.83%Vodafone Group (VOD) 163.25p -3.37%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 387.60p -2.83%Capital Shopping Centres Group (CSCG) 398.90p -2.37%Wolseley (WOS) 2,019.00p -1.90%WPP (WPP) 746.00p -1.45%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,176.00p -0.73%Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,031.00p -0.73%Whitbread (WTB) 1,620.00p -0.67%Glencore International (GLEN) 527.90p -0.60%