London afternoon: BoNY-M stalking Man

7th Oct 2010 14:37

Better than expected US jobless figures have given the UK market a lift, with the Footsie now knocking on the door of 5700.Mining stocks are, by and large, still refusing the join the party. Copper miners Kazakhmys and Antofagasta lead the sector lower. Indian miner Vedanta is holding up though after saying it produced record amounts of zinc, lead and aluminium during the second quarter. In the three months to 30 September it grew refined zinc output by 25% to 176,000 tonnes to make it 341,000 tonnes for the half-year, an increase of almost 22%.Like for like sales growth at high street bellwether Marks & Spencer's UK stores were well ahead of market expectations in the third quarter. UK like for like (LFL) sales had been expected to be up year on year by anywhere between 1.3% and 4.6%; M&S delivered a 5.3% increase in the 13 weeks to 2 October.Hedge fund manager Man Group is wanted as rumours swirl that US firm Bank of New York Mellon has the company in its sights. Bid speculation had also been focused on SABMiller but French drinks outfit Groupe Castel has refuted newspaper reports that it is in talks to buy the brewer's African interests for around £6bn.Down among the FTSE 250 stocks, Rank is higher after strong trading across its divisions helped the casino and bingo hall operator to a 7% rise in like-for-like sales in the third quarter, leaving it confident for the full year despite challenging economic conditions.Car parts and bikes seller Halfords is lower after an update showed it is finding it an uphill struggle at the moment and slightly harder than analysts had imagined following recent warehouse disruption. Like for like sales fell 5.8% during the second quarter following a 4.5% drop at the retail business and 1.5% decline at Autocentres. Analysts were looking for 4-5%. Shares in Victrex have melted away despite the fast growing plastics group's trading update saying it expects group profits for 2010 to be in line with market expectations. Full year sales volume in the year to end-September stacked up to about 2,535 tonnes, slightly below the 2,550 tonnes broker KBC Peel Hunt had forecast. Latin America-focused precious metal miner Hochschild is shining after saying it has made a number of high-grade finds at its San Jose operation in southern Argentina which should "materially increase mine life".Recruitment firm Michael Page raised profit by 37% during the third quarter and had its best month of 2010 in September as the temp business began to grow again, but the shares are lower.So are the shares of peer Hays. The UK and Ireland are letting the side down at international recruitment firm, which otherwise saw strong growth in fees across all its geographic regions in the third quarter.Construction and engineering group Carillion says it has its strongest ever pipeline of contract opportunities as Britain's public sector looks to cut back on costs by outsourcing work.In its latest trading update, luxury handbag maker Mulberry said it has exceeded its expectations with improved margins from sales. The shares storm higher after the group said profits for the year to 31 March 2011 should be significantly above market expectations. Shares in Clarkson Hill have risen by 50% after it revealed it has received a bid approach. "There can be no certainty that an acceptable offer will ultimately be made", warns the AIM-quoted IFA network.First half profits surged at trendy fashion retailer Ted Baker as both UK and international sales roared ahead. Sales in the half year to June rose by 15% to £88.1m with profit before tax up 25% to £7.5m.Shares in Matra Petroleum tumbled after Australian banking group Macquarie reduced its holding in the company below 3%.