London close: Modest gains for blue chips
Footsie closed the day dead on 5,900, a slight rise, helped by good gains for companies that use oil for fuel as the crude price dipped towards $70 per barrel.
Cruise operator Carnival and British Airways were both strong on the possibility of fuel costs easing. BA though denied reports that it and other airlines, including Ryanair, are planning to sue the UK government for losses since last week's terror alert.
Online poker giant PartyGaming rallied on talk that it is looking to build a stake in Vienna-listed BWIN gathered speed. The news underpinned hopes the sector could face a round of consolidation.
Elsewhere a strong mining sector was aiding sentiment as a Morgan Stanley upgrade to 'overweight' from 'underweight' gave Anglo American a boost, while Anglo-Dutch steel group Corus jumped on talk of a bid from Russia's Evraz.
Vedanta Resources, Lonmin and BHP Billiton all enjoyed a good run on strong commodity prices and kind words from Goldman Sachs.
In other broker comment UBS downgraded pest control group Rentokil Initial to "reduce" from "neutral" cautioning that there remains downside risk to the share price.
Deutsche Bank has hiked its price target on property developer British Land to 1,570p from 1,315p following their first quarter numbers.
Oil majors were in decline though as crude prices slipped further as the situation in the Middle East improves. BP and Royal Dutch Shell are in the red, with US light crude down through $71 a barrel.
Fading terror fears had InterContinental Hotels in the blue.
Among the second liners, strong first half performances in all its divisions prompted Weir Group to raise its prospects for the year as it forecasts pre-tax profit ahead of market expectations.
GCAP Media shares topped the FTSE 250 risers on vague takeover talk and reports that radio advertising could be ticking up again. Bid talk also helped contractor AMEC higher.
Professional education group BPP reported a strong trading performance in the first half as both profit and turnover grew, giving the company confidence going forward. Pre-tax profit before exceptionals rose 10% to £10.2m.
British retail sales fell in July, the first decline in six months, as World Cup sales petered out, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
Sales volumes fell 0.3% last month compared with expectations of a 0.2% rise. The news had the likes of Laura Ashley, Halfords and JJB Sports lower.
Premier Oil has completed operations on well Dua-4X ST2 on Block 12E in Vietnam, it said today, hitting gas in the southern fault block of the Dua structure.
Austrian group Wienerberger, the world's largest brick producer, has agreed terms of a recommended pre-conditional cash offer for the UK's Baggeridge Brick worth around £89.2m, or 216p per share.
Furniture retailer MFI rallied after it issued a statement confirming it is in discussions with private equity group Merchant Equity Partners on the possible sale of its retail business.
Elsewhere, James Latham clocked up gains after the timber distribution firm said like for like sales for the first four months of the current financial year are slightly ahead of the same period last year.
Car repair manual publisher Haynes Publishing skidded lower though after it said "unhelpful" market conditions continued into the second half of the year, causing a 10% slide in full year profits.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Carnival Corporation (CCL) 2,172.00p +6.37%
PartyGaming (PRTY) 113.50p +4.37%
Old Mutual (OML) 162.75p +3.50%
Corus Group (CS.) 407.25p +3.17%
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Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,383.00p +3.13%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 2,080.00p +2.97%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
SABMiller (SAB) 1,040.00p -2.94%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 161.00p -2.57%
Drax (DRX) 930.00p -2.36%
Shire (SHP) 864.50p -1.93%
William Morrison (MRW) 220.00p -1.35%
Severn Trent (SVT) 1,290.00p -1.30%
FTSE 250 - Risers
GCAP Media (GCAP) 208.25p +8.46%
Homeserve (HSV) 1,723.00p +6.56%
Cookson Group (CKSN) 553.00p +5.89%
Invensys (ISYS) 180.75p +5.09%
Inchcape (INCH) 509.00p +4.89%
Amec (AMEC) 288.00p +4.63%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
PZ Cussons (PZC) 1,409.00p -4.41%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 366.00p -3.68%
PayPoint (PAY) 504.50p -2.89%
St Modwen Property (SMP) 463.00p -2.73%
Northgate Information Solutions (NIS) 70.00p -2.44%
Pennon (PNN) 462.25p -2.43%
