London afternoon: Stocks still in the same range

9th Apr 2010 14:06

Footsie is performing in the same range and is unlikely to get any direction from the US, which is due to start with modest gains.Resource stocks are underpinning strength in the Footsie with silver miner Fresnillo top of the tree. Xstrata is going well following reports in the Australian press that it is contemplating a bid for MacArthur Coal, the Australian miner that is, itself, attempting to take over smaller Australian rival Gloucester Coal. Mining giant Rio Tinto is also up after it said it is in talks with several of its iron ore customers about moving to quarterly pricing of iron ore contracts. The move comes after rivals BHP Billiton and Vale switched to shorter term pricing arrangements.Elsewhere in resources, in the oil sector, Premier Oil gets a lift from RBS, which has upgraded the stock to 'buy' from 'hold'. Aviva has re-entered the Asian general insurance market, five years after the insurance firm moved out of the region, by launching services in Singapore. Singapore will be used as a starting point and the group intends to roll out the business in other "key markets" in Asia.Recruitment firm Michael Page said gross first quarter profit is up 2.9% on the same period last year and 8% higher on the last quarter of 2009. "The improvement in our performance has been driven largely by greater permanent recruitment activity, as confidence levels have increased leading to a higher rate of job churn, and a stronger than expected performance in the UK," said Michael Page chief executive Steve Ingham.D1 Oils said it continues to be 'actively engaged' in a series of discussions with third parties regarding the provision of material levels of equity finance which may include the possibility of an offer being made for the biofuels group. However, the group cautioned that there can be no certainty that an offer will be made for the company or any equity financing will result.Construction group Galliford Try has won a contract worth up to £500m with Thames Water to upgrade water and waste water treatment facilities in the London region.Intellectual property group RWS Holdings is on track to meet market expectations for the full year but said its technical translations teams, especially in Germany, have experienced severe trading conditions. US based bio-refining company GTL said trading in the second half "substantially exceeded" first half, while full year figures should be "significantly" ahead of market expectations. Recycling bin maker Straight has been chosen as a supplier of plastic wheeled bins to a consortium of local authorities in a contract that could generate revenues of more than £4m.The share price of healthcare staff supplier Healthcare Locums is in rude health after the company said it had received an approach that could lead to an offer.FTSE 100 - RisersFresnillo (FRES) 881.00p +3.16%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,061.00p +2.71%Xstrata (XTA) 1,294.00p +2.45%Aviva (AV.) 387.20p +2.08%Lonmin (LMI) 2,108.00p +2.08%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,588.00p +1.99%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 63.77p +1.93%Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) 1,112.00p +1.92%Compass Group (CPG) 534.00p +1.91%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,315.00p +1.86%FTSE 100 - FallersSchroders NV (SDRC) 1,155.00p -1.11%Investec (INVP) 543.00p -0.82%Autonomy Corporation (AU.) 1,854.00p -0.59%Rolls-Royce Group (RR.) 616.50p -0.48%Invensys (ISYS) 339.10p -0.47%Barclays (BARC) 355.65p -0.41%Wolseley (WOS) 1,565.00p -0.38%Schroders (SDR) 1,434.00p -0.35%AstraZeneca (AZN) 2,925.00p -0.31%Man Group (EMG) 262.50p -0.27%FTSE 250 - RisersAquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 450.50p +4.23%Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 61.15p +3.47%Croda International (CRDA) 972.00p +3.18%Premier Oil (PMO) 1,325.00p +3.11%EnQuest (ENQ) 103.00p +3.10%Yell Group (YELL) 45.66p +2.68%Michael Page International (MPI) 434.80p +2.67%Ladbrokes (LAD) 161.10p +2.61%William Hill (WMH) 216.30p +2.61%Mothercare (MTC) 591.00p +2.52%FTSE 250 - FallersEcofin Water & Power Opportunities (ECWO) 142.00p -3.27%Melrose Resources (MRS) 296.00p -3.01%Keller Group (KLR) 674.50p -2.60%BSS Group (BTSM) 282.00p -2.42%Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 294.10p -2.36%Trinity Mirror (TNI) 154.60p -2.28%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 268.80p -2.25%Chloride Group (CHLD) 215.10p -2.23%CSR (CSR) 453.10p -1.95%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 278.40p -1.90%FTSE TechMARK - RisersOxford Biomedica (OXB) 10.50p +8.25%Renovo Group (RNVO) 26.00p +6.12%Ark Therapeutics (AKT) 9.50p +5.56%NXT (NTX) 14.75p +5.36%Filtronic (FTC) 35.00p +4.48%Psion (PON) 85.00p +4.29%Antisoma (ASM) 7.73p +3.76%Trafficmaster (TFC) 35.00p +3.70%Triad Group (TRD) 31.00p +3.33%Dialight (DIA) 245.00p +2.94%FTSE TechMARK - FallersVectura Group (VEC) 44.00p -2.22%Axis-Shield (ASD) 402.00p -1.71%Emblaze (BLZ) 44.50p -1.66%BATM Advanced (BVC) 37.50p -1.32%GB Group (GBG) 24.75p -1.01%Alterian (ALN) 159.00p -0.93%XP Power (XPP) 483.00p -0.92%Corin Group (CRG) 65.50p 0.00%Kofax (KFX) 225.00p 0.00%Parity Group (PTY) 9.25p 0.00%