London open: Some bright spots among the gloom

10th Nov 2011 09:04

It has not been the blood-bath that some might have been expecting, as investors get increasingly nervous about the situation in Italy, but the vast majority of stocks in London are still in negative territory in early trading.Amid the gloom, Anglo American, Experian and Morrisons provide some cheer, the first mentioned after raising a pile of money through a share stake sale and the other two after upbeat trading statements.A TALE OF TWO MINERSMining colossus Anglo-American has sold off a 24.5% stake in its Chilean copper mining and smelting business, Anglo American Sur, for a reported $5.39bn to Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corporation. The market gave a thumbs-up to the news, which is more than can be said for the reception given to the trading update from Vedanta, which leads the mining sector down.Looking at the figures, the top line was fine, with revenue up 43% on a like-for-like basis from $4.58bn at the interim stage last year to $6.55bn this time round, while operating profit grew 19% to $1.17m from $0.958m.However, attributable profit, which is the bottom line figure from which the company can distribute dividends without dipping into reserves, slumped to $28m, from $337m at the half-way stage last year. The group said the decline was primarily on account of losses at Vedanta Aluminium Limited (VAL), losses at Sterlite Energy Limited (SEL), as well as special items and other gains and losses, such as mark-to market losses on the foreign currency borrowings at its Indian entities.Given the weakness of the mining sector, the performance of Kazakhstan-focused miner Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) in the early going counts as a moral victory, with the shares down just a smidgen.ENRC said revenue in the first nine months of the year had increased significantly driven by higher prices for its main commodities and increased sales volumes. However, it spooked investors by saying its financial performance had been hit by higher prices for raw materials, pushing shares down 2% in early trading, though the shares later rallied.PROFIT ON THE EDGE OF TOWNSupermarket chain Morrisons said record numbers of customers had visited its stores in the third quarter, with sales growing ahead of the market. Total sales excluding fuel were up by 4.6% (7.6% including fuel) and like-for-like sales (which strips out new stores openings) were up 2.4% (5.8% including fuel).Property giant Land Securities saw profits rise in the first half, driven mainly by increased rental income. Underlying pre-tax profit rose to £159.3m, a 17% rise on the first six months of 2010.Experian, the credit reference and anti-fraud company, has hiked its interim dividend by 14% after a strong financial performance in the first half of its financial year. Revenues of $2.3bn were up 15% on 2010's figure of $2.0bn. Headline pre-tax profits rose 20% in the six months to the end of September to $539m from $450m the year before, comfortably ahead of market expectations. FTSE 100 - RisersAnglo American (AAL) 2,402.00p +2.08%Experian (EXPN) 792.00p +1.02%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 256.20p +0.83%ARM Holdings (ARM) 619.50p +0.57%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,999.00p +0.40%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 307.30p +0.26%Kingfisher (KGF) 254.40p +0.20%Old Mutual (OML) 106.10p +0.09%FTSE 100 - FallersVedanta Resources (VED) 1,175.00p -6.00%Schroders (Non-Voting) (SDRC) 1,095.00p -3.86%Schroders (SDR) 1,276.00p -3.26%Meggitt (MGGT) 375.30p -2.87%IMI (IMI) 772.50p -2.77%Xstrata (XTA) 993.00p -2.69%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,784.00p -2.62%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,365.00p -2.51%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 493.75p -2.48%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,399.50p -2.44%FTSE 250 - RisersHomeserve (HSV) 249.30p +14.10%Halfords Group (HFD) 345.70p +3.19%Cape (CIU) 335.00p +2.13%FTSE 250 - FallersCookson Group (CKSN) 436.80p -5.23%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 448.60p -4.86%Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 109.00p -4.72%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 206.00p -4.59%