London open: Miners and retailers in focus

1st Apr 2010 08:13

Miners are leading London's top stocks higher in early dealings, while investors also ponder a mixed bag of retail-related updates.Xstrata, Randgold Resources, Rio Tinto and Vedanta Resources are the best performers in the mining sector.The cold snap in the early part of the year and tougher comparatives contributed to a drop in fourth quarter like for like (LFL) sales at baby products retailer Mothercare. On the positive side, the international division pepped up the group's trading performance in the 11 weeks ended 27 March with a 19.3% jump in overseas retail sales. The snow failed to dent growth at cash and carry group Booker, which saw sales rise in the quarter to March 26 as its customers braved the wintery weather of much of the period to stock up on supplies. Sales rose by 3.8% from the same period the previous year or by 3.6% on a like-for-like basis (excluding the impact of new openings). Non-tobacco like-for-likes rose by 3.0%, while like-for-like tobacco sales increased by 4.6%.Britain's four mobile phone groups have been told to cut their mobile call termination charges by up to 90% over the next four years by telecoms regulator Ofcom. Vodafone, Orange, O2 and 3UK currently charge either 4.6p or 4.3p for ending a call to another network. This will fall to 0.5p by 2015 under today's proposals.Tullow Oil announced that the Likonde-1 well, onshore Tanzania, has encountered thick sands with hydrocarbon shows. The well, which is now being plugged and abandoned, is the first of a two-well programme within the prospective Ruvuma delta region. The group said the 'encouraging results' will be followed up with detailed technical work prior to selecting the next drilling location.Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) has agreed to buy the natural gas assets and infrastructure assets of Hess in three regions of the North Sea for $423m.Residential property investor Grainger has acquired PHA Limited, which owns 162 homes in Devon, for £15.3m. The properties, comprising 146 houses and 16 flats, were built in the 1950s and 1960s.Engineer Hamworthy expects to hit targets even though it has seen no improvement in the orders from the shipping business. "The group continues to trade in line with expectations, achieving a high profit-to-cash conversion and maintains a strong balance sheet. It remains confident of meeting full year expectations for the year ended 31 March 2010," the statement said.Pharmaceutical company BTG said it anticipates results for the year ended 31 March to be ahead of analyst consensus expectations. The firm sees revenues in excess of £95m and cash and cash equivalents of over £75m at 31 March.Furniture and clothing retailer Laura Ashley said customer confidence is returning but is tempered with a degree of caution as it posted a 3% rise in full year group sales. Total group sales rose to £268.4m for the 52 weeks to 30 January from £260.5m the same time a year before. Total UK retail sales were up 3.6% to £243.6m while like-for-like sales advanced 3.5%. FTSE 100 - RisersLloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 63.98p +1.93%Xstrata (XTA) 1,271.50p +1.84%Randgold Resources (RRS) 5,100.00p +1.69%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,958.50p +1.37%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,150.00p +1.23%Man Group (EMG) 244.20p +1.12%ICAP (IAP) 377.90p +1.10%WPP Group (WPP) 690.50p +1.10%Vedanta Resources (VED) 2,805.00p +1.04%Bunzl (BNZL) 728.50p +1.04%FTSE 100 - FallersInmarsat (ISAT) 751.00p -0.66%Vodafone Group (VOD) 151.15p -0.56%Sage Group (SGE) 238.10p -0.42%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,448.00p -0.41%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,005.00p -0.25%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 87.85p -0.23%SEGRO (SGRO) 319.00p -0.19%Schroders NV (SDRC) 1,145.00p -0.17%Serco Group (SRP) 600.00p -0.17%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 369.50p -0.16%