Sector movers: Randgold leads miners higher

2nd Nov 2011 15:51

The mining sector was performing well on Wednesday, with constituents making average gains of 3.79%, as it recovers after bearing the brunt of a mass sell-off yesterday. Africa-focused gold miner Randgold Resources was a notable riser, jumping over 7% on the FTSE 100 after profits for the third quarter jumped by 336% on last year to $122.9m, helped by the sale of 31,646 ounces of previously held gold on hand at Tongon.Also, with the greenback falling against the euro, the price of dollar-denominated metals rose, spurring a round of buying in the sector. By 11:45 in New York, gold was up 1.63%, silver was 4.6% higher an copper jumped 2.73%.Fresnillo, ENRC, Antofagasta, Kazakhmys, Lonmin and Xstrata were all performing well today. Fluorspar explorer Tertiary Minerals was making big gains of over 12%, two days after discovering new areas of high-grade mineralisation at its 100%-owned Storuman fluorspar project in Sweden. Shares are now 64% higher than last week. However, the software and computer services sector was the worst performer of the day, with FTSE 250 IT services firm Logica providing a drag after cutting its operating margin guidance for the full-year.The firm said, "Achieving better levels of utilisation in the Benelux before the year end will remain a challenge and progress in Sweden has been slower than expected. While we anticipate further progress in these areas through the fourth quarter, we are also seeing pockets of market softness." BCTop performing sectors so far todayPersonal Goods 21,181.03 +4.19%Forestry & Paper 5,014.07 +3.88%Mining 20,531.58 +3.79%Industrial Metals & Mining 4,376.23 +2.49%Life Insurance 3,788.55 +2.48%Bottom performing sectors so far todaySoftware & Computer Services 728.64 -1.40%Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 9,466.86 -0.96%Tobacco 32,760.65 -0.94%Health Care Equipment & Services 3,146.89 -0.61%Beverages 9,798.16 -0.44%