London open: Modest gains for FTSE 100

3rd Jun 2011 08:33

Stocks have moved tentatively higher following some hefty losses lately, though there could be some excitement later in the day when US jobs figures are released. Oil firm Cairn Energy has got cracking on its West Greenland offshore drilling campaign, with drilling commenced on two wells.With summer approaching, advertising giant WPP, the top riser in the FTSE 100 today, has decided the time is right to go for a Brazilian, and has acquired a 70% stake in Grïngo Publicidade, a leading digital agency in Brazil.Toy train maker Hornby steams ahead. It saw sales fall in the year to 31 March, but blamed this on supply issues rather than the tough economic outlook and said it the business is in "great shape." Sales slipped to £63.4m from £63.9m the previous year, while pre-tax profits fell to £4.1m from £5.7m.Turning to the real thing, there are some interesting movements in the rail and bus sector this morning. Go-Ahead and Stagecoach, which have been initiated with an "overweight" rating by JP Morgan, are posting gains, but National Express, slapped with an "underweight" tag by the broker, is firmly in the red. Fashion and homewares retailer Laura Ashley said UK sales fell 4.5% in the 17 weeks to 28 May 2011 as it closed more unprofitable stores and expects to post full year results in line with expectations. The retailer, known for its floral style, said like-for-like sales fell 1.3% while total UK sales for the first 17 weeks of the current financial year fell by 4.5%. Platinum miners Aquarius and Sylvania are joining forces to test the feasibility of extracting and processing ore from an area in South Africa. The two companies are establishing a feasibility committee to examine and update an existing study on the potential for processing platinum group metals at Sylvania's Everest North processing area in the eastern limb of South Africa's Bushvelt complex, the source of most of the world's platinum. Tantalum miner Noventa, whose shares dived yesterday when it reported that problems with funding and other issues mean it will not meet its production targets, says it will need to raise £15.3m to bring its Marropino mine in Mozambique into full production. The shares are lower again.Shares of video equipment firm Scotty tanked 14% after it posted a pre-tax loss for the 17 months to 31 December 2011. The group reported a pre-tax loss of £2.4m after an exceptional impairment charge compared to a profit of £0.5m. Operating profit fell to £166,000 from £490,000 in 2009. Revenue slumped to £4.9m from £7.1m previously.FTSE 100 - RisersWPP (WPP) 742.50p +1.43%Vodafone Group (VOD) 162.95p +1.31%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 302.50p +1.14%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 48.95p +0.93%Old Mutual (OML) 129.60p +0.93%Lonmin (LMI) 1,590.00p +0.89%Man Group (EMG) 252.60p +0.80%Autonomy Corporation (AU.) 1,769.00p +0.80%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,028.00p +0.75%Reed Elsevier (REL) 552.00p +0.64%FTSE 100 - FallersARM Holdings (ARM) 564.50p -1.14%Glencore International (GLEN) 505.20p -1.12%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,415.00p -0.91%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,947.00p -0.61%Serco Group (SRP) 594.50p -0.50%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 378.80p -0.47%Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,123.50p -0.46%Schroders (Non-Voting) (SDRC) 1,322.00p -0.45%Amec (AMEC) 1,118.00p -0.45%Rexam (REX) 389.70p -0.43%FTSE 250 - RisersStagecoach Group (SGC) 249.00p +3.71%Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 1,513.00p +3.56%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 190.10p +2.76%Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 52.35p +1.55%BBA Aviation (BBA) 219.70p +1.48%RIT Capital Partners (RCP) 1,304.00p +1.32%Kier Group (KIE) 1,315.00p +1.31%TR Property Inv Trust (TRY) 198.50p +1.28%Premier Foods (PFD) 32.21p +1.07%Cranswick (CWK) 773.50p +1.05%FTSE 250 - FallersIntermediate Capital Group (ICP) 337.70p -2.12%National Express Group (NEX) 250.70p -1.92%Sports Direct International (SPD) 229.70p -1.88%Spirent Communications (SPT) 149.80p -1.51%Soco International (SIA) 378.60p -1.43%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 976.00p -1.31%F&C Asset Management (FCAM) 78.25p -0.95%Greggs (GRG) 525.00p -0.94%JPMorgan Indian Inv Trust (JII) 412.10p -0.94%Law Debenture Corp. (LWDB) 367.40p -0.81%