London open: Miners under pressure

26th Apr 2011 08:29

Trading has got off to a quiet start after the Easter break, though the mining sector is suffering from falling metals prices.However, it is news of a strike at its main mine that is hurting Hochschild Mining. The Argentine Mining Labour Association initiated the action at the San Jose silver and gold mine in Argentina due to a dispute over pay increases for contract workers, Hochschild said.Other precious metal producers, including Fresnillo and African Barrick, are also feeling the pressure. Mining titan Rio Tinto has come to an agreement with the government of Guinea, paving the way for work to begin on the Simandou iron ore project in the southern part of the country. Rio's subsidiary, Simfer, is to pay $700m to the Guinean Public Treasury upon promulgation of Presidential Decrees granting Simfer's mining concession and the approval of the proposed Simandou joint venture set up by state-owned Chinese almuminium company Chalco and Rio Tinto.Printing technologies firm Domino Printing Sciences has formed a joint venture with food safety specialist New Market Impressions to develop and deploy proprietary food safety and traceability technologies for the US egg industry, with plans to expand globally.Translation software firm SDL said its performance for the first quarter of 2011 was in line with management expectations for both revenue and operating profit. The group, which provides patent translation software services for Ford, Canon and Dell, said demand conditions overall remain strong.Financial Times publisher and education group Pearson has acquired Schoolnet, which provides tailored instruction for US school kids, for $230m (£140m). Pearson said it expects the acquisition to be broadly neutral to earnings per share in 2011, including integration costs, and to enhance Pearson's adjusted EPS and return on invested capital in 2012. Convenience food group Uniq benefited from Marks & Spencer's decision to reduce the number of sandwich suppliers it uses from three to two last year. Pre-tax losses in 2010 narrowed to £11.2m from £18.9m the previous year on revenues that rose to £311.9m from £287.2m. FTSE 100 - RisersAutonomy Corporation (AU.) 1,653.00p +2.04%ARM Holdings (ARM) 616.50p +1.90%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 222.60p +1.32%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,279.50p +1.13%Aggreko (AGK) 1,684.00p +1.08%Pearson (PSON) 1,143.00p +1.06%Vodafone Group (VOD) 170.70p +0.98%SABMiller (SAB) 2,236.50p +0.97%Tesco (TSCO) 398.95p +0.92%Rexam (REX) 382.60p +0.82%FTSE 100 - FallersRandgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,195.00p -2.07%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,620.00p -1.70%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,371.00p -1.44%John Wood Group (WG.) 697.00p -1.27%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 927.00p -1.12%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,501.00p -1.12%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,370.00p -1.08%Anglo American (AAL) 3,129.00p -1.04%United Utilities Group (UU.) 611.00p -0.89%Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,363.50p -0.89%FTSE 250 - RisersCPP Group (CPP) 128.60p +4.89%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 918.00p +3.09%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 251.70p +3.03%Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 298.50p +2.65%Informa (INF) 417.00p +2.46%Micro Focus International Plc (MCRO) 345.90p +2.34%Ocado Group (OCDO) 234.70p +2.04%Exillon Energy (EXI) 441.60p +1.99%Pace (PIC) 158.20p +1.93%Unite Group (UTG) 210.90p +1.88%FTSE 250 - FallersCentamin Egypt Ltd. (CEY) 134.70p -4.60%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 606.50p -3.73%Hansteen Holdings (HSTN) 82.50p -2.71%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 471.70p -1.93%Regus (RGU) 108.70p -1.63%Hunting (HTG) 783.00p -1.63%Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 418.00p -1.55%Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 113.50p -1.48%Restaurant Group (RTN) 315.80p -1.47%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 48.00p -1.46%---RG