London close: Housebuilders batter Footsie
Leading shares trimmed losses towards the end of the day but it was still a bad day to be long in housebuilders.
Housebuilders were in full retreat after broker Dresdner Kleinwort downgraded Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey, saying both stocks should be sold. Among the second-liners Barratt Developments was also weaker after Dresdner Kelinwort reiterated its "sell" recommendation, while Bovis headed lower after Dresdner changed its stance to "sell" from "reduce".
Alliance and Leicester got the day off to bad start. The mortgage lender saw 30% wiped off annual profits as it reported a £185m write-down against the value of its debt-backed investments following the credit crunch.
It also warned that the net interest margin will be around 1% in 2008, compared to 0.93% last time due to higher funding costs. Broker Collins Stewart reiterated its "sell" recommendation and Panmure Gordon sliced its price target for A&L to 600p from 655p,
In contrast, Barclays was up on director share purchases, but Lloyds TSB and Royal bank of Scotland surrendered early gains.
Miner Anglo American rallied towards the close having announced record operating profits at the start of the day. Operating profit for the year rose 3% to $10.1bn while underlying earnings rose 5% to $5.76bn. Revenue actually fell 7.7% to $35.6bn compared with $38.6bn last time.
Copper miners Antofagasta and Kazakhmys crept higher after copper prices hit a four-month high yesterday while in the second rank Aquarius Platinum surged higher in line with higher platinum prices.
Concerns that Vodafone's US joint venture Verizon Wireless may become embroiled in a price war had the UK index heavyweight sharply lower. AT&T and Verizon Wireless have revealed flat-rate subscriptions in the US for unlimited calls.
Plumbing supplies group Wolseley retreated after Credit Suisse reduced its stance on the stock to "underperform" from "neutral". Meanwhile JP Morgan inspired a plunge by Kingfisher when it re-rated the stock to "underweight" from "neutral", with a reduced price target of 135p, down from 144p. The retailer is due to announce results tomorrow.
Rexam was the day's star performer even though full year profits felt the impact of high aluminium and other input costs. The consumer packaging company said it expects to return to profits growth in 2008. Seymour Pierce responded to the results by upgrading the stock to "buy" with a 500p price target.
Scottish & Newcastle climbed higher on rumours that SABMiller is contemplating entering the bid battle for Britain's largest brewer. According to the rumours SABMiller is planning to launch an 850p a share counter-bid to the agreed offer from the Carlsberg/Heineken consortium.
Car retailer Pendragon saw full year profits slump by more than half as it struggled to cope with the difficult market conditions in 2007.
Hotelier Millennium & Copthorne posted strong full year results thanks to demand in key cities and in particular performance in Asia.
Specialist fixed income fund manager BlueBay reported a slight increase in half year pre-tax profits. Pre-tax profit rose to £29.6m in the six month to end December from £29.2m last year, while revenue increased to £62m compared to £56.6m previously. The shares shot up after the company said it remains confident of the prospects for its business.
Alphameric was marked down as the full extent of the effect on revenues of the TurfTV dispute with its customers was revealed in its full-year results. Revenues in the year to November 30 fell by a third to £45.2m from £66m the previous year, with £18m of the decline accounted for by the Leisure division, which includes TurfTV..
Management Consulting's shares climbed after CEO Kevin Parry bowed to shareholder pressure and quit his post. The chairman has also departed and the finance director is on six months' notice.
Croda International was in the blue after yesterday's results prompted Citigroup to raise its verdict on the shares to "buy" from "hold". Morgan Sindall, however, encountered profit taking after yesterday's well received results.
UK Coal burned brighter after broker Numis initiated coverage with a "buy" recommendation and a price target of 661p.
Chocolate retailer Thorntons saw a rise in profits as product re-launches and poor summer weather helped lift sales.
Financial services and online spread betting firm London Capital saw pre-tax profit more than double in 2007 and remains confident going forward as current trading remains strong.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Rexam (REX) 442.25p +4.80%
Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,488.00p +2.76%
Barclays (BARC) 490.00p +2.73%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 2,654.00p +2.71%
Scottish & Newcastle (SCTN) 807.50p +2.47%
Capita Group (CPI) 675.00p +2.43%
BAE Systems (BA.) 472.00p +2.22%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 1,860.00p +1.92%
TUI Travel (TT.) 275.00p +1.85%
Rolls-Royce Group (RR.) 436.00p +1.75%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
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Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 166.20p -7.72%
Alliance & Leicester (AL.) 492.00p -6.82%
Persimmon (PSN) 705.50p -4.66%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 162.00p -4.65%
SABMiller (SAB) 1,082.00p -4.33%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 365.25p -4.26%
Wolseley (WOS) 653.50p -3.68%
Old Mutual (OML) 124.70p -3.63%
ICAP (IAP) 673.50p -3.51%
Kingfisher (KGF) 132.00p -3.44%
FTSE 250 - Risers
BlueBay Asset Management (BBAY) 270.75p +12.81%
UK Coal (UKC) 445.25p +6.20%
Aquarius Platinum (AQP) 838.00p +5.54%
Croda International (CRDA) 604.00p +4.95%
Randgold Resources (RRS) 2,610.00p +3.12%
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 415.25p +2.91%
Wellstream Holdings (WSM) 1,387.00p +2.59%
Galiform (GFRM) 79.50p +2.58%
SEGRO (SGRO) 507.00p +2.53%
Expro International Group (EXR) 917.00p +2.34%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 556.50p -6.23%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 3,484.00p -5.58%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 93.50p -5.56%
Morgan Sindall (MGNS) 1,099.00p -5.26%
William Hill (WMH) 403.00p -5.18%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 382.25p -5.15%
Headlam Group (HEAD) 400.75p -4.41%
International Personal Finance (IPF) 207.75p -4.37%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 393.75p -4.31%
Investec (INVP) 385.00p -4.23%
