London open: FTSE 100 moves higher, C&W Worldwide and Carpetright slump

28th Jun 2011 08:29

The FTSE 100 has climbed as investors await progress in troubled Eurozone member Greece, but gloomy updates C&W and Carpetright are reminding investors of the fragile state of our own economy.Cable & Wireless Worldwide's chief executive Jim Marsh is to step down after the telecommunications group concluded profits are likely to fall short of previous expectations due to slower than expected sales so far this year. While the financial performance in the first 10 weeks of the financial year is in line with expectations, sales orders, which contribute to margin growth later in the year, did not meet expectations.Carpetright axed its dividend after a sharp fall in sales and profits in the year to 30 April and says it sees "no respite" from the tough trading conditions that are hurting the carpet and flooring retailer.Also in retail, Chocolatier Thorntons is to close up to 180 of its own shops over the next three years, replacing many of them with franchises. It said it will close at least 120 shops and "explore opportunities" to close another 60. Outsourcing giant Serco will tell investment analysts on Tuesday to stick with their full-year estimates, as nothing much has changed since its last trading update on 9 May. "For 2011, we expect good organic revenue growth and progress towards our 2012 margin guidance," the company said in its pre-close statement.Emerging markets banking leviathan Standard Chartered said that it has continued to build on the strong start it made to the year, with income and profit both showing double-digit percentage growth year-on-year at the end of May. Capita, the FTSE-100 outsourcing giant, has been given 'preferred bidder' status on a contract to provide call centre and council tax collection services for Lambeth council in South London. Capita originally won the contract in 1997 but it had come up for renewal this year. Hiscox, the specialist insurer, has estimated the cost of the April and May tornadoes in the US at around $35m. This comes on top of estimates for the Japan earthquake of between $60 and $150m. FTSE 100 - RisersCairn Energy (CNE) 392.70p +2.37%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,448.00p +2.33%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,943.00p +1.99%ARM Holdings (ARM) 593.00p +1.98%Prudential (PRU) 700.00p +1.82%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,563.00p +1.49%Inmarsat (ISAT) 550.50p +1.47%GKN (GKN) 218.80p +1.39%Weir Group (WEIR) 2,079.00p +1.37%United Utilities Group (UU.) 595.50p +1.36%FTSE 100 - FallersResolution Ltd. (RSL) 283.10p -1.70%Diageo (DGE) 1,252.00p -1.42%BT Group (BT.A) 196.60p -0.66%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 290.60p -0.45%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,036.00p -0.44%Standard Life (SL.) 200.80p -0.35%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 326.10p -0.31%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 628.50p -0.24%Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,265.00p -0.07%Unilever (ULVR) 1,987.00p +0.05%FTSE 250 - RisersNorthgate (NTG) 305.00p +2.62%Redrow (RDW) 123.00p +2.33%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 15.83p +2.06%Cranswick (CWK) 768.00p +1.99%Victrex (VCT) 1,468.00p +1.94%Kofax (KFX) 459.80p +1.93%Afren (AFR) 149.30p +1.91%Marston's (MARS) 102.00p +1.80%Charter International (CHTR) 607.00p +1.76%St James's Place (STJ) 324.70p +1.75%FTSE 250 - FallersCable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 45.27p -13.36%Carpetright (CPR) 661.00p -4.20%Devro (DVO) 273.20p -1.73%Exillon Energy (EXI) 388.20p -1.50%Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 39.00p -1.32%Anglo Pacific Group (APF) 298.40p -0.86%Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,068.00p -0.84%RPS Group (RPS) 240.60p -0.78%Berendsen (BRSN) 492.40p -0.75%Berkeley Group Holdings (BKG) 1,290.00p -0.69%