London close: Footsie lead slashed

20.08.2007

London boasted hefty gains for much of the session, but a volatile start in the US and weak real estate issues over here saw the leading index finish with a far less impressive advantage.

Wall Street rallied more than 200 points Friday after the Federal Reserve reduced its discount rate by half of a percentage point, but uncertainty about the Fed's next move unsettled stocks Monday.

Mining heavyweights dominated the blue chip leaders, with higher commodity prices helping the likes of Kazakhmys, BHP Billiton, Lonmin and Rio Tinto.

Nuclear power supplier British Energy was top blue chip thanks to a Goldman Sachs upgrade to 'buy' from 'neutral', although the price target slips to 536p from 570p.

Bid speculation helped Northern Rock continue to claw back losses posted last week, while financials Schroders and Man Group also joined the advance.

HSBC was weaker though after confirming it is in talks to buy a majority stake in Korea Exchange Bank, Korea's sixth largest bank, from private equity group Lone Star.

Defence issues were in the blue Monday as Merrill Lynch said it believes the sector was punished too harshly in the recent sell-off. BAE Systems, Rolls Royce and Meggitt were in favour.

But supermarket J Sainsbury took a tumble after JP Morgan repeated 'underweight' advice and lowered its price target to 400p from 500p on valuation grounds.

Real estate giants British Land, Land Securities and Hammerson were also nursing losses, as was housebuilder Persimmon.

Elsewhere, telecoms group BT said it has bought IT solutions provider Basilica Computing for an undisclosed sum.

Engineering specialist Keller posted a 20% increase in pre-tax profit to £40.1m and said it now expects full-year results to be ahead of last year.

Recruitment firm Michael Page said first half of the year produced record results with profits and turnover surging. For the six months to June, pre-tax profit jumped 53.1% to £69.2m from £45.2m previously on turnover that rose 26.8% to £395.8m.

Nasdaq is exploring ways of selling its 31% stake in the London Stock Exchange Group, the US stock market revealed today.

The company, which owns around 61.3m shares in the UK exchange, has asked JP Morgan and UBS to "assist in its review of sale alternatives", as it feels its current stock price does not adequately reflect the value of its stake in the LSE.

Office accommodation provider Workspace Group saw net asset value in the first quarter rose 4.1%. For the three months to June, NAV was £3.54, which was 4.1% higher in the quarter and up 38.3% on 30 June 2006.

Insurer Hiscox saw first half pre-tax profits surge 72%, driven by its global markets division in London. Pre-tax profit rose to £105.6m compared with £61.3m previously, while gross premiums written increased 17.3% to £733m.

FTSE 100 - Risers

British Energy Group (BGY) 451.25p +4.58%

BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,275.00p +4.17%

Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,170.00p +4.00%

BAE Systems (BA.) 431.00p +3.48%

Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,078.00p +3.22%

Anglo American (AAL) 2,616.00p +3.03%

Cable & Wireless (CW.) 164.90p +2.81%

Xstrata (XTA) 2,723.00p +2.52%

Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 681.00p +2.41%

Schroders (SDR) 1,218.00p +2.18%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

British Land (BLND) 1,198.00p -3.46%

Reed Elsevier (REL) 578.00p -2.61%

Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,521.00p -2.50%

Old Mutual (OML) 149.40p -2.16%

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 510.50p -1.92%

Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,728.00p -1.87%

Persimmon (PSN) 1,250.00p -1.81%

Standard Life (SL.) 300.75p -1.55%

Sage Group (SGE) 226.50p -1.52%

Hammerson (HMSO) 1,213.00p -1.46%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Southern Cross Healthcare Group (SCHE) 470.50p +6.93%

Hiscox (HSX) 280.00p +6.36%

Mondi (MNDI) 435.75p +5.00%

Tullow Oil (TLW) 450.00p +4.77%

Meggitt (MGGT) 298.75p +4.73%

Henderson Group (HGI) 131.25p +4.58%

QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 173.50p +3.74%

Tomkins (TOMK) 226.00p +3.67%

Halfords Group (HFD) 376.00p +3.51%

Balfour Beatty (BBY) 445.50p +3.18%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Assura Group (AGR) 158.25p -6.50%

Mitie Group (MTO) 229.50p -5.36%

Detica Group (DCA) 287.00p -5.28%

Axon Group (AXO) 642.50p -5.03%

Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 3,330.00p -4.86%

St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 514.00p -4.81%

Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 777.00p -4.19%

Michael Page International (MPI) 438.00p -4.11%

Renishaw (RSW) 658.00p -4.01%

Benfield Group (BFD) 311.75p -3.71%

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