London open: Intel results give ARM a leg-up

14th Jan 2011 08:37

Leading shares are mixed at the outset leaving the blue-chip index barely changed.Sparkling results after the bell in New York yesterday from chip-maker Intel has whetted appetite for chip designer ARM Holdings. The stock smashes its way to another 52-week high and is up 40% over the last month.Bovis Homes predicts profits for 2010 will beat consensus estimates. A "significant" improvement in profits to more than £16.3m has been driven by a 5% increase in the number of legally completed homes to 1,901 at an average sale price of £160,700, up 4% on the year before. UK defence giant BAE Systems has made an agreed offer for AIM-listed financial crime prevention specialist Norkom Group. BAE is offering €2.10 per Norkom share in a deal that values the Dublin-headquartered firm at €217m. Bid speculation is once again galvanising the share price of artificial joint maker Smith & Nephew. Newspaper reports suggest US orthopaedics giant Biomet is set to begin informal talks with the UK company in an attempt to thwart a putative bid from US healthcare products giant Johnson & Johnson.Mexico-based silver and gold miner Fresnillo produced record amounts of both metals last year with output expected to increase again over the coming twelve months. Engineering firm Morgan Crucible has paid RMB.64m (£6.15m) for Changsha Hairong New Materials, a specialist in the production of graphite materials for anodes used in lithium ion batteries for portable electronics and electric vehicles. Fund manager F&C Asset Management, under fire from activist investor Sherborne Investors, is going down the outsourcing route to save £9m a year in costs. The group has been in discussions with a number of potential outsourcing providers and has the short-list of preferred partners down to two.Fashion retailer Ted Baker lifted sales by 7.6% over the Christmas period, though this total was hit by the weather disruption. The firm does not give like-for-like comparisons, but says average retail square footage increased by 6.6% over the period to 223,623 sq.ft.Instrumentation and controls specialist Spectris had a cracking final two months of 2010, with operating profits higher than expected.Meat packer Hilton Food traded in line with expectations during the 52 weeks ended January 2, boosting turnover, especially in the Netherlands and Central Europe.December's snowstorms took their toll on Magners cider group C&C, though better off-trade sales helped offset the impact on the pubs business.Lookers will beat its own expectations for the full-year and deliver results at the top end of analysts' forecasts after the car dealer's strong run continued through the fourth quarter.FTSE 100 - RisersARM Holdings (ARM) 552.50p +9.62%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 705.00p +2.99%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,587.00p +1.86%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,586.00p +1.08%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,657.00p +1.04%British Airways (BAY) 302.30p +0.93%Reed Elsevier (REL) 548.50p +0.92%National Grid (NG.) 534.50p +0.85%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,392.00p +0.80%Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) 1,222.00p +0.74%FTSE 100 - FallersInmarsat (ISAT) 641.50p -1.91%Xstrata (XTA) 1,500.00p -0.89%Essar Energy (ESSR) 545.50p -0.82%BT Group (BT.A) 184.10p -0.75%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,095.00p -0.68%Rolls-Royce Group (RR.) 659.00p -0.68%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,529.00p -0.65%Anglo American (AAL) 3,389.00p -0.62%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,652.00p -0.60%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 708.70p -0.60%FTSE 250 - RisersSpectris (SXS) 1,362.00p +5.58%Supergroup (SGP) 1,480.00p +3.14%Micro Focus International Plc (MCRO) 408.90p +2.89%Great Portland Estates (GPOR) 369.40p +2.41%ITV (ITV) 76.05p +2.22%Cranswick (CWK) 870.00p +2.05%FTSE 250 - FallersMeggitt (MGGT) 366.80p -2.89%Ashtead Group (AHT) 161.90p -2.65%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 864.50p -2.32%BH Macro Ltd. EUR Shares (BHME) € 16.01 -1.78%Computacenter (CCC) 422.80p -1.72%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 21.00p -1.64%