London close: Footsie finishes flat
Footsie finished flat on the day as a late afternoon rally helped by the US dissipated, leaving the mining and banking stocks to cancel each other out.
Comments by BHP Billiton's chief executive that he has not ruled out an increased bid for rival miner Rio Tinto sparked buying across the mining sector.
Speaking in an interview on the CNBC television network, BHP's chief executive Marius Kloppers said "we can't rule out anything" when asked whether the company would consider adding cash to its all-share offer for Rio Tinto. Anglo American, Vedanta Resources and Antofagasta all rose in sympathy.
Eurasian Natural Resource topped the pile though after the Kazakh-based natural resources firm said it has seen a very significant increase in first quarter revenue. HSBC started coverage with a 'neutral' stance and 1,300p price target.
Mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley confirmed it is to raise around £300m, net of expenses, in a 16 for 25 rights issue at 82p. This represents a 36% discount to the theoretical ex-rights price and a 48% discount to the closing price last night.
Banking shares were down on the news as it confirmed a trend amongst the sector, following the cash calls from RBS and HBOS. Alliance & Leicester and Barclays were also down.
Meanwhile, RBS chairman Tom McKillop told shareholders at the meeting to vote on its proposed record £12bn rights issue that it should be able to afford a dividend equal to 45% of earnings going forward.
Rail and bus outfit FirstGroup was the biggest faller after it said it will raise up to £260m with the issue of 43.7m shares, 10% of those currently in issue. The final price has yet to set. Adjusted operating profit for the year to March was up nearly 40% at £360m.
Supermarket giant J Sainsbury reported a 28% rise in full-year pre-tax profits but shares slipped after it said it expects the market to remain "intensely competitive".
Contract caterer Compass beat broker forecasts with a 29% rise in first-half profit to £289m. "Balance sheet efficiency remains a priority and looking forward, we are confident about the second half of the year and the future potential for the business," it said.
Land Securities swung to a full-year pre-tax loss after a revaluation deficit on its investment properties of £888.8m in the year ended 31 March, Basic net asset value per share fell 10.3% to 2067p. The group's investment portfolio valuation is down 8.8%.
A sharp drop in sales has slashed almost half a billion pounds off the forward order book of Barratt Developments. Its forward order book currently stands at about £1.56bn versus £2.1bn a year ago following a 7.6% slide in revenues to £825m during the 19 weeks to 11 May. It admitted that cancellation rates have increased over the last six weeks. Sector peer Persimmon fell in sympathy.
Software group LogicaCMG's first quarter revenue rose 3.6% on a pro forma basis to £856m (2007: £826m), with March impacted by the effect of an earlier Easter. For the first four months of 2008, revenue was up 6.0% on a pro forma constant currency basis.
Local newspaper publisher Johnston Press is to raise £212m through a deep discount right issue and share subscription by Malaysian group Usaha Tegas after a slump in advertising revenues in the past four months.
WPP said it is disappointed that market research group Taylor Nelson (TNS) has rejected the advertising giant's revised 164p per share offer.
Shares in sofa retailer ScS Upholstery plunged after it warned that continued difficult market conditions will result in full year earnings being below current market forecast
Absolute Capital rallied strongly Wednesday as the hedge fund manager disclosed details of the demerger of its Argo business.
Allergy Therapeutics soared after the hay fever treatment group said phase III trials revealed Pollinex Quattro has statistically significant clinical benefits over a placebo.
South African based IT services and solutions provider Dimension Data revealed a 58.6% hike in first half pre-tax profit as demand for its services booms.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 1,476.00p +7.19%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 2,118.00p +4.85%
Compass Group (CPG) 358.00p +4.60%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 1,081.00p +4.55%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 2,532.00p +4.50%
Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,809.00p +4.27%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 6,881.00p +3.55%
Sage Group (SGE) 225.00p +2.74%
ICAP (IAP) 606.50p +2.36%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 773.50p +2.11%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
FirstGroup (FGP) 561.50p -6.26%
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Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 319.25p -5.48%
Persimmon (PSN) 550.50p -5.17%
British Airways (BAY) 218.00p -4.60%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 374.50p -3.91%
Experian Group (EXPN) 403.25p -3.41%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 269.50p -3.41%
HBOS (HBOS) 470.25p -3.04%
Carnival (CCL) 1,981.00p -2.89%
Alliance & Leicester (AL.) 445.75p -2.83%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Aricom (ORE) 90.25p +7.44%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 398.00p +5.36%
PV Crystalox Solar (PVCS) 169.00p +4.97%
Charter (CHTR) 991.00p +4.32%
LogicaCMG (LOG) 130.50p +3.98%
Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) 255.50p +3.86%
Real Estate Opportunities (REO) 99.00p +3.13%
Moneysupermarket.com (MONY) 118.50p +3.04%
Dimension Data Holdings (DDT) 52.50p +2.94%
RPS Group (RPS) 338.75p +2.89%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Johnston Press (JPR) 115.25p -15.10%
Bradford & Bingley (BB.) 144.00p -9.29%
Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 425.00p -7.81%
Yell Group (YELL) 188.00p -7.16%
DSG International (DSGI) 69.25p -7.05%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 375.00p -6.25%
Hiscox (HSX) 243.25p -5.81%
Provident Financial (PFG) 825.00p -5.61%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 939.00p -5.30%
eaga (EAGA) 103.75p -5.25%
