London afternoon: Retailers provide some cheer

15th Sep 2010 14:29

Resource stocks remain a weight around Footsie's neck and have been joined over the lunch time session by banks, which are lower as the market ponders the implications of the Basel III banking guidelines. BP is lower in line with weaker oil prices, with the oil giant suffering more than its peers on news that its safety record in the North Sea is to come under scrutiny after publication of a letter from the Health and Safety Executive that criticised four of the firm's installations for oil spill procedures in 2009.The spat between First Quantum and ENRC over Kolwezi tailings project is heading for the courts with writs issued against three ENRC subsidiaries. ENRC is not the worst performer among miners, however; that unwanted accolade belongs to gold miner African Barrick Gold as profit takers move in following yesterday's surge, which was sparked by the price of gold hitting new highs.Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland are the laggards in the banking sector. In company updates, Next did pretty much as expected in the six months to July given that the clothes retailer's last update was only a month ago, but the high street remains a "testing" place and higher cotton prices could crimp demand. Profit before tax increased 15% to £213.3m from £185.5m a year ago on revenue up 5% to £1.59bn. Like for like sales fell 1.5%, as previously flagged.Full-year profit forecasts remain unchanged, but shoppers may find their fashion costs more in the spring. Cotton prices are up 45% on last year and VAT goes up soon, which Next reckons will force stores to raise prices by 5-8%. It thinks the cotton price rises are likely to moderate demand "to some extent", but believes the effect is "unlikely to be dramatic". Next rose sharply on the figures, taking fellow clothing retailer Marks & Spencer with it. Meanwhile, ahead of results tomorrow DIY retailer Kingfisher is in fine fettle. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the review timelines for AstraZeneca's new drug application for blood thinner ticagrelor, which the Anglo-Swedish drugs giant intends to market under the name Brilinta. The Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) date has been revised from 16 September 2010 to 16 December 2010. Elsewhere in the pharmaceutical sector GlaxoSmithKline has been downgraded to "hold" from "buy" by Jefferies. Other stocks getting the downgrade treatment include inter-dealer broker ICAP, which has been cut to "neutral" by UBS; supermarket chain Sainsbury, cut to "hold" from "buy" by RBS; pubs group JD Wetherspoon, downgraded by JP Morgan while UBS has cut its target price for the stock, and power station operator Drax, downgraded by both JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs.There has been a fire at one of Chemring's specialist assembly facilities in Tennessee, USA. The defence company, which specialises in energetic materials, such as pyrotechnic, pyrophoric, propellant and explosive materials, said the facility affected is one that is used to perform the final assembly of the MJU-7 flare.Gem Diamonds has negotiated a 25% price rise for rare yellow diamonds produced at its Ellendale mine in Australia with Laurelton Diamonds, the diamond sourcing and polishing subsidiary of jeweller, Tiffany & Co. The price increase will come into effect on 1 October 2010. Kimberley Diamond is the Gem subsidiary that runs Ellendale.Carr's Milling's full year results will be ahead of market expectations as booming sales of fertiliser outweighed problems caused by the soaring price of wheat. "The final quarter of the financial year saw a strong trading performance by the group which expects results for the full year to be ahead of market expectations," Carr's said.TV shopping channel Ideal Shopping posted a first half pre-tax profit compared to a loss the year before with trading in the second half in line with management expectations. For the 26 weeks ended 4 July pre-tax profit was £2.89m compared to a loss of £1.2m a year earlier. Revenue for the period increased to £56.6m from £47.4m the year before. STM, the cross-border financial services firm, hopes today's surge in half-year profits following a reorganisation and programme of cost-cuts has brought its terrible run of form to an end.Shares in Minera are shining following the miner's announcement of a gold and silver discovery at its Escondido project in Patagonia, Argentina.Building services business Northern Bear fell after it announced that it has sold its heating plumbing and mechanical services business DJ McGough to its founders after a review of the business which found that it has been trading at a loss with no certainty of an improvement in trading.