Shares close higher boosted by gold hike
END-OF-DAY REPORT: Shares closed comfortably higher, although off best levels, on a busy day for corporate earnings, with new highs for gold pushing miners ahead and fund manager Schroders the best of the day.
At the close of business, the FTSE100 was up 25.23 points at 5,875.19 with the FTSE250 ahead 59.24 points at 11,106.88 and the FTSE Smallcaps 1.35 points better at 3,095.31.
NEW YORK
US stocks traded mixed late morning with investors cautious and looking to pocket gains from last week’s rally.
Approaching the close in London, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 10 points at 11,397, the Nasdaq Composite rose 1 point at 2,581 and the S&P500 was flat at 1,223.
LONDON MARKETS
A flurry of blue chip earnings news kept investors in London busy today, while gold was again in focus after setting new highs overnight and settling at $1,418 this afternoon.
Selected retailers were hit by news from the British Retail Consortium that UK retail sales values were up a mere 0.8% on a like-for-like basis from October 2009, when sales had risen 3.8%.
A new high for gold overnight provided momentum for miners of the precious metal, with Mexico’s Fresnillo gaining 38p at 1,448p and Randgold Resources 275p better at 6,265p, assisted by news that Q3 profit more than doubled to $28.2m.
The rest of the mining fraternity was in good shape too, with Xstrata jumping 42.5p at 1,407.5p, Rio Tinto ahead 123p at 4,454p and Kazahkmys 46p stronger at 1,553p.
Most oil producers made strides forward as crude continued over $87 a barrel, with BP climbing 10.45p at 454.45p and BG Group 3.5p higher at 1,282p, although Shell eased 3.5p at 2,022.5p on news it has completed its Woodside 10% stake sale.
Fund manager Schroders put in a stellar performance, storming to the top of the leaderboard, up 87p at 1,667p, after reporting net inflows up 147% at £21.5bn in first nine months, with profit before tax at £282.7m, up from £79.9m in the prior year period and ahead of expectations.
Banks were generally positive, with Barclays the pick of the crop, up 11.35p at 297p, after reporting a rise in group pretax profits for the year to date as impairments were slashed. However, Barclays Corporate recorded a £414m loss, compared to a £300m profit last year, hit by charges in Spain.
Elsewhere in the sector, HSBC added 5.3p at 694.4p, and Royal Bank of Scotland edged ahead 0.11p at 43.75p, but Lloyds eased 0.15p at 68.48p.
Primark owner Associated British Foods reversed early losses to close 34p higher at 1,107p, after saying said full-year revenue grew across the group by 10% to over £10bn for the first time with strong underlying trading in all segments. Fashion house Next ticked up 6p at 2,140p on the read across.
On the downside with blue chips, Holiday Inn operator InterContinental Hotel Group slumped to the bottom on the FTSE league table after revealing that adjusted EPS was down 17% in the third quarter. IHG shares slumped 58.4p at 1,140p in response.
Many retailers were under pressure as Marks & Spencer failed to inspire with news it lifted like-for-like sales over 5% in the first half-year. M&S shares fell 7.2p at 406p.
Supermarket groups suffered in sympathy, with Tesco easing 3.1p at 413.3p and Morrisons off 2.6p at 272.5p, while Sainsbury moved 4p lower at 377.2p ahead of its interim results tomorrow.
Mobile phone giant Vodafone gave up early gains to end down 1p at 174p, the group raising its full-year guidance for adjusted operating profit from £11.8bn to £12.2bn after enjoying a strong first-half.
Insurer Legal & General failed to capitalise on news of strong nine-month figures and saying is on track to exceed full year targets. L&G shares eased 0.7p at 102.5p.
Other notable casualties included engineer Smiths Group, down 21p at 1,202p, temporary power supplier Aggreko, off 13p at 1,596p, and oil services specialist AMEC, 20p lower at 1,114p.
