London close: Miners head late charge
London recovered its poise following a post lunch dip, racing ahead through the afternoon to finish at its best levels of the day thanks mainly to big gains from heavyweight miners.
Rising metal prices led mining stocks higher, with gold and copper standing out, while silver hit three month highs. Kazakhmys, BHP Billiton, Anglo American and Rio Tinto dominated the top spots.
Broker comment also aided the advance as Numis said the mining sector is expected to achieve further gains following the sell off over the summer sell-off, citing the possibility of further M&A.
Oil prices for October delivery fell through $70 a barrel in New York Friday, sending Cairn Energy, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group into the red today.
Fund manager Schroders gained ground ahead of its expected demotion to the mid-caps later this week, while Amvescap and Man Group also rose.
HSBC upped life insurer Friends Provident to "overweight" from "neutral" citing valuation grounds as the shares have underperformed compared with the rest of the sector.
Unilever ended in the blue after UBS upgraded the Anglo-Dutch group to "buy" from "neutral" and raised its price target. PartyGaming also climbed ahead of its results on Thursday.
Dresdner Kleinwort repeated "buy" advice on fashion retailer Next, but news that it has also trimmed its price target to 1,900p from 1,940p, limited enthusiasm for the shares.
Cigarette manufacturer Gallaher, due to report half year figures later this week, was left in the doldrums after Credit Suisse downgraded the tobacco sector to "neutral" from "overweight", arguing that it looks too expensive.
DSG International, the former Dixons, has launched a new national customer support service to provide expert, fast-track support for increasingly technology-dependent UK homes.
Property group Hammerson was a little higher on news its adjusted net asset value per share increased by 12.3% to £13.89 in the first half of 2006. An increase in letting space and good demand for property generally boosted the figures.
Barclays Capital and Permira have decided not to increase their offer for McCarthy & Stone, effectively dropping their interest in the retirement homes group.
In other M&A news, casino operator Stanley Leisure rallied strongly after it confirmed speculation that it has received a "proposal concerning a possible offer which the board is currently evaluating."
Earlier, the City rumour mill had leisure giant Rank as a likely suitor.
Testing and inspections group Intertek revealed a 17% rise in half year profit and expects good progress to continue in the second half.
Market research group Taylor Nelson perked up after it said its troubled North American business is restructuring in line with plans, though it posted a decline in half year pre-tax profit.
Set-top box maker Pace Micro has reported a loss before tax of £15.6m last year, the board though "is confident that the business has started to recover and will move back into profit this financial year."
Engineering firm IMI posted a 27% rise in half year pre-tax profit and said it is positive about trading for the full year. Profit before tax and goodwill and one-off items rose to £88.1m for the six months to 30 June from £69.6m the year before.
Satellite group Inmarsat and ACeS International, the leading Asian hand-held voice satellite services operator, have joined forces to offer low-cost hand-held and fixed voice services.
Software group Formjet has warned that the cancellation of the government's Home Computing Initiative scheme means full year revenues and profits overall are now expected to fall significantly short of current expectations.
Support services firm Meriden lost more than half its value today, crashing to a new all time low, as the company warned that it may be forced into administration.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,287.00p 3.79%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,775.00p 3.35%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,403.00p 3.09%
PartyGaming (PRTY) 119.25p 3.02%
Man Group (EMG) 438.00p 2.82%
BHP Billiton plc (BLT) 1,035.00p 2.78%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,400.00p 2.64%
Scottish and Newcastle (SCTN) 566.50p 2.53%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,275.00p 2.49%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 486.25p 2.48%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
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BG Group (BG.) 684.00p -1.44%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 2,116.00p -1.35%
William Morrison (MRW) 219.75p -0.68%
Vodafone (VOD) 114.00p -0.65%
BT Group (BT.A) 247.75p -0.60%
Gallaher (GLH) 907.50p -0.44%
Royal & Sun Alliance (RSA) 140.50p -0.35%
BP (BP.) 594.50p -0.25%
DSG International (DSGI) 207.75p -0.24%
3i (III) 965.00p -0.21%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Stanley Leisure (SLY) 811.00p 19.18%
Intertek Testing Services (ITRK) 752.50p 6.29%
Gondola Holdings (GND) 346.25p 5.24%
Regus Group (RGU) 104.75p 4.49%
Benfield Group (BFD) 389.00p 4.43%
London Stock Exchange (LSE) 1,200.00p 4.08%
Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNN) 201.50p 3.73%
Countrywide (CWD) 434.50p 3.45%
RPS Group (RPS) 246.50p 3.35%
Rightmove (RMV) 320.00p 3.23%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Amlin (AML) 275.00p -3.68%
Matalan (MTN) 170.75p -3.67%
WH Smith (SMWH) 359.50p -2.18%
PZ Cussons (PZC) 1,468.00p -2.13%
Colt Telecom (COLT) 123.00p -1.99%
Greggs (GRG) 4,130.00p -1.67%
Insight Foundation Property Trust (IFD) 133.25p -1.66%
JKX Oil & Gas (JKX) 297.00p -1.66%
IMI (IMI) 497.00p -1.58%
Premier Oil (PMO) 1,042.50p -1.56%
