Sector movers: Weir and Avintrans lift engineers higher

5th Nov 2012 15:34

Industrial engineering stocks were performing well on Monday with a well-received update from sector heavyweight Weir lifting sentiment.Weir reassured that it is on set to deliver double-digit profit growth this year despite weak order inputs and a slowdown in growth in the third quarter. While the company said that both revenue and profit growth had slowed in the third quarter due to a lower opening order book and reduced activity at its upstream divisions, SPM and Mesa, this was expected. Investec raised its forecasts for Weir today, saying: "A solid update, slightly ahead of our expectations, with only modest evidence for a bear attack on Minerals growth rates which were always going to slow."The broker maintained its 'buy' rating on the stock, saying that the shares trade at 12 times earnings. Meanwhile, engineering group Avingtrans was on the rise today after announcing that it has agreed the sale of its Industrial division, Jena Tec, to Kuroda of Japan for £13.45m in cash. Shares gained as the company said it is now focused exclusively on its Aeropsace and Energy & Medial divisions, with Aerospace continuing to "thrive" with a record order book.Elsewhere in the sector, Mytrah Energy was performing well, up over 10%. A positive mention by the Financial Mail on Sunday´s Midas column may have been a factor behind this move. Biome Technologies and Judge Scientific also gained.Top performing sectors so far todayIndustrial Transportation 2,371.98 +1.90%Industrial Engineering 7,753.59 +0.90%Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 9,510.74 +0.87%Tobacco 35,768.94 +0.85%Health Care Equipment & Services 3,633.72 +0.52%Bottom performing sectors so far todayIndustrial Metals & Mining 2,628.04 -1.96%Automobiles & Parts 4,980.08 -1.71%Software & Computer Services 884.50 -1.69%Oil Equipment, Services & Distribution 24,601.42 -1.64%Banks 4,200.59 -1.28%BC