London close: Rally on resource plays, results
London had threatened to set a new six-year high today, but the blue chip index had run out of steam by late morning, spending the rest of the day consolidating gains.
Rising metal prices lifted Kazakhmys, Vedanta Resources, Antofagasta and Anglo American, while oil above $61 a barrel helped BP and Royal Dutch Shell improve.
But cruises giant Carnival and airline British Airways beat a steady path lower as dealers worry about higher fuel costs.
Associated British Foods finished top of the pile after it said profits this year will be more weighted towards the second half, with overall trading in line with expectations.
Sugar profits are strongly ahead of last year, while like-for-like sales at its Primark stores rose by 4%.
Old Mutual rallied Monday after the Anglo-South African insurer reported slightly better than expected final numbers following last year's acquisition of Sweden's Skandia.
Adjusted operating profit on a European Embedded Value (EEV) basis for the year ended 31 December 2006 was up 22% to £1.69bn, but adjusted earnings per share fell 14% to 17.8p.
Housebuilder Persimmon lifted underlying full year profits by 17.5% to £582m, slightly ahead of the average of market forecasts.
The group, which said it has not experienced any loss of buyer confidence after the recent interest rate hike, raised the full year divided by 50% for the second year running. Wimpey and Taylor Woodrow are up in sympathy.
Property firm Hammerson posted a 13.4% rise in annual pre-tax profit following growth in retail income, and said it remains confident going forward.
The firm, which converted to REIT status at the start of January, said net rental income for the year to 31 December rose 12.9% to £237.4m. It made a £101m tax provision to make the change to REIT.
FT owner Pearson was easier though, despite reporting its best-ever operating profits, up 15% to £592m reflecting sustained growth and market share gains.
BSkyB warned the failure to sign a new deal for Virgin Media to carry its programmes on its network would cost it between £15m-£20m. Later in the session it emerged that the government has asked Ofcom to examine the group's purchase of a 17.9% stake in ITV last November.
Private equity group 3i slipped back as UBS chopped the shares to 'reduce' on valuation grounds following a 20% rally over the past three months.
William Ransom has warned profit growth for the full year to March 31 would come in below its own previous expectations due to a slower than expected recovery in a key export market.
Alfred McAlpine crashed as it warned it had discovered signs of a systematic fraud at its Slate subsidiary.
Meanwhile aerospace contractor Ultra Electronics reported a 16% rise in headline pre-tax profit following buoyant demand from the US.
Packaging group Bunzl posted a 7% rise in annual profit, helped by a series of acquisitions.
Central London residential property developer Northacre rocketed higher today after confirming it has received a preliminary approach regarding a possible offer for the company.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Associated British Foods (ABF) 845.00p +4.64%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,473.00p +3.44%
Old Mutual (OML) 187.50p +3.31%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,252.00p +2.20%
Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) 1,518.00p +2.02%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 1,630.00p +1.88%
Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,195.00p +1.88%
BP (BP.) 545.00p +1.87%
BG Group (BG.) 730.00p +1.67%
Kingfisher (KGF) 263.50p +1.54%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Drax (DRX) 722.50p -2.30%
(Article continues below)Advertisement
Resolution (RSL) 648.50p -1.74%
Pearson (PSON) 820.00p -1.50%
British Land (BLND) 1,594.00p -1.30%
Carnival Corporation (CCL) 2,510.00p -1.18%
Land Securities (LAND) 2,173.00p -1.14%
British Airways (BAY) 558.00p -1.06%
WPP (WPP) 772.50p -0.90%
Slough Estates (SLOU) 784.00p -0.88%
Whitbread (WTB) 1,693.00p -0.88%
FTSE 250 - Risers
UK Coal (UKC) 517.00p +5.83%
Michael Page (MPI) 526.25p +3.19%
Bunzl (BNZL) 684.00p +3.17%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,120.00p +2.56%
Redrow (RDW) 649.00p +2.37%
Morgan Sindall (MGNS) 1,279.00p +2.32%
SThree (STHR) 444.00p +2.30%
Spectris (SXS) 880.50p +2.03%
EMI (EMI) 246.75p +1.96%
HMV Media (HMV) 143.75p +1.95%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Alfred McAlpine (MCA) 476.50p -22.33%
CSR (CSR) 772.00p -3.62%
Bodycote (BOY) 263.25p -3.39%
Minerva (MNR) 401.00p -3.20%
Collins Stewart (CLST) 238.75p -2.55%
PZ Cussons (PZC) 169.25p -2.17%
PayPoint (PAY) 610.00p -2.01%
N Brown (BWNG) 328.00p -1.94%
Shanks (SKS) 255.50p -1.83%
Avis Europe (AVE) 85.50p -1.72%
