Sector movers: Impressive first half from Aberdeen lifts financial stocks

29th Apr 2013 15:21

Strong gains for Aberdeen boosted the financial services sector higher on Monday after the asset manager impressed with its first-half results.The group said that assets under management (AuM) increased by 13% to £212.3bn in the six months to March 31st after investors' appetite for risk assets returned.The firm reported a 37% increase in underlying profit before tax to £222.8m and a 25% jump in revenue to £516m. The company hiked its interim dividend per share by 36% to 6.0p.Canaccord Genuity kept its 'buy' rating for the stock today, saying that first-half growth justifies the valuation upgrades seen recently - the sector has moved from an average price-to-earnings ratio of 10 to 15.Meanwhile, Daniel Stewart & Company said that these were an "excellent set of interim figures" and it expects to see forecasts upgrades as a result.Exchange business London Stock Exchange was also making gains today, along with investment management firm Henderson Group and fund manager Schroders.Top performing sectors so far todayReal Estate Investment & Services 2,295.37 +1.58%Financial Services 6,784.77 +1.41%Gas, Water & Multiutilities 6,015.58 +1.12%Mining 16,747.48 +1.02%Automobiles & Parts 6,394.61 +0.96%Bottom performing sectors so far todayFixed Line Telecommunications 3,295.50 -1.43%Industrial Transportation 2,597.30 -1.01%Media 5,335.07 -0.54%Insurance (non-life) 1,746.70 -0.52%General Retailers 2,235.64 -0.45%BC