Sector movers: Miners in demand
Consolidation is the buzzword in the mining sector, as commodity prices continue to rocket skywards. The big heavyweight potential merger in the sector is BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto but Xstrata has been getting into the act, making a pitch for Australian coal miner Resource Pacific.
Xstrata has a fight on its hands, however, after its board advised shareholders to reject Xstrata's A$960m bid, saying the offer is "neither fair nor reasonable.".
Retailers are still reeling from yesterday's glum trading updates from DSG and Next.
One retailer that did have a successful Christmas is the John Lewis Partnership. Unhappily for investors John Lewis is, as the name implies, a partnership and not a quoted public limited company.
The group shrugged off the recent gloom in the retail sector and unveiled an 8% rise in department store sales over the Christmas week.
"If anyone doubted that 'Christmas comes later every year', our last two weeks' trade will certainly make them think again," the group said on its website.
Sales in John Lewis's 26 UK department stores rose to £70.2m in the week to 29 December, with sales at the group's upmarket supermarket chain Waitrose rising by 28.5% to £79.2m.
Scottish department stores did particularly well with sales in Aberdeen up 24.8% and a 22.1% rise in Glasgow.
Electricals and home technology showed the most consistent growth, John Lewis said, with MP3 players, cameras and photo frames all in demand.
Top performing sectors so far today
Mining 24,487.50 +2.10%
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Mobile Telecommunications 4,303.80 +1.94%
Oil Equipment Services & Distribution 15,860.60 +1.03%
Oil & Gas Producers 8,924.50 +0.86%
Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 8,005.00 +0.79%
Bottom performing sectors so far today
General Retailers 1,789.20 -1.69%
General Financial 8,027.30 -1.20%
Industrial Transportation 3,282.90 -1.16%
Real Estate 3,490.10 -0.92%
Insurance (non-life) 1,276.40 -0.90%
