London close: Bright gains as Smiths flies
London continued its steady performance through to the close having quickly established a tight trading range earlier on, with Smiths Group the standout performer on disposal news.
Smiths rocketed after agreeing the sale of its aerospace business to General Electric for $4.8bn in cash. Following the disposal, it proposes to return £2.1bn to shareholders. The pair have also agreed to set up a detection and security business joint venture.
Other aerospace stocks rose in sympathy, with BAE, Rolls-Royce and Cobham enjoying gains.
Meanwhile, investors moved back into oil majors as crude prices clawed back some of their recent losses. BP, Cairn Energy and Royal Dutch Shell all ended in the blue.
Indian miner Vedanta Resources also did well as third-quarter underlying profit rose 174% to $724m versus forecasts of about $700m, as production of aluminium, zinc and copper rose sharply. Other miners fell though, with Xstrata, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton the worst of the bunch.
British Airways was also off course as 96% of its cabin crew voted in favour of strike action over changes to pay and working conditions.
United Utilities has sold Vertex, its administration outsourcing operation, to a consortium of US-based private equity firms led by Oak Hill Capital for around £218m.
Wall Street is closed today for Martin Luther King Junior Day.
Away from the main board, contractor Carillion says trading conditions in the second half of 2006 remained positive, cash generation continued to be strong and further good progress has been made with the integration of the Mowlem businesses. As a result, it expects earnings to be ahead of the current consensus forecast.
Tullow Oil received another encouraging drilling report on its acreage in Uganda from partner Heritage Oil, sending it higher.
Jeweller Theo Fennell is confident of beating market expectations for the year to end March 2007 after record trading over Christmas. Sales for the first nine months of the current year are up by 37% driven by the success of its latest collections.
Arla Foods is in advanced talks that could lead to its main shareholder, Arla Amba, offering 71p a share for the 49% of the company it does not own.
An EGM to vote on 3i's bid for Countrywide, due this morning, has been adjourned after the private equity group asked for more time to talk with the estate agent's key shareholders.
Gearbox designer Antonov motored higher on news it has signed a production licence agreement with the transmission manufacturing subsidiary of China's Geely Automotive.
Digital video surveillance group March Networks plunged though after it said lower than expected orders from its largest customer would hit full year profit and revenue.
Census and ballot counting firm DRS Data fell to its worst in four months after warning of second half losses due to unbudgeted costs pursuing new business and weak sales at DRS Data Services.
Granby Oil slumped Monday as the group said North Sea exploration well 42/28c-9 on the Watling prospect has been completed without finding commercially producible hydrocarbons.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,094.50p +11.12%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,488.00p +2.62%
Royal & Sun Alliance (RSA) 161.75p +2.54%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 1,702.00p +2.35%
Rolls-Royce (RR.) 486.25p +2.15%
International Power (IPR) 367.50p +2.08%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,132.00p +1.98%
BAE Systems (BA.) 425.50p +1.98%
Sainsbury (SBRY) 421.25p +1.94%
Shire (SHP) 1,089.00p +1.59%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Reed Elsevier (REL) 593.50p -1.66%
British Airways (BAY) 542.50p -1.54%
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Xstrata (XTA) 2,328.00p -1.44%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,597.00p -1.29%
BHP Billiton plc (BLT) 913.00p -1.08%
William Morrison (MRW) 280.75p -0.80%
Cable and Wireless (CW.) 159.00p -0.78%
Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,042.00p -0.76%
Drax (DRX) 730.00p -0.75%
Corus Group (CS.) 536.50p -0.65%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Tullow Oil (TLW) 403.00p +7.18%
Meggitt (MGGT) 339.75p +4.94%
Aquarius Platinum (AQP) 1,171.00p +4.83%
Premier Oil (PMO) 1,145.00p +4.47%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 209.50p +4.36%
DS Smith (SMDS) 217.50p +4.32%
Halfords Group (HFD) 366.75p +4.12%
Carillion (CLLN) 402.00p +4.01%
Helphire Group (HHR) 411.00p +3.79%
Randgold Resources (RRS) 1,143.00p +3.72%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Aga Foodservice (AGA) 393.00p -6.43%
Debenhams (DEB) 183.75p -2.91%
Carphone Warehouse (CPW) 316.25p -2.54%
Cattles Holdings (CTT) 439.75p -2.28%
Woolworths Group (WLW) 33.25p -2.21%
Paragon Group (PAG) 631.00p -2.17%
Derwent Valley (DWV) 1,930.00p -1.88%
Ladbrokes (LAD) 441.00p -1.84%
Signet Group (SIG) 119.00p -1.65%
JJB Sports (JJB) 252.00p -1.56%
