London afternoon: Wall St. sparks London rally

20th May 2009 14:49

A buoyant opening on Wall Street has encouraged UK shares to claw back the morning's losses and the FTSE 100 is now virtually back up to its overnight level.Banks are leading the revival, with Lonmin, Rio Tinto, Vedanta, Randgold, Antofagasta and Kazakhmys all going well, while silver and gold producer Fresnillo is wanted after it said it has successfully concluded 2009 annual wage negotiations with Union at Ciénega mine in MexicoThe share price of Lloyds Banking Group has been adjusted to take into account the fact that the shares no longer carry the right to participate in the group's compensatory open offer. Even so, the shares are on the slide after the bank warned that its participation in the government's asset protection scheme may need approval from the EU authorities, which may come with strings attached. Credit checking firm Experian hailed its revenue and profit growth last year despite exceptionally difficult market conditions. Revenue rose to $3,873m in the year to 31 March 2009 from $3,789m a year earlier. Revenue from continuing activities was up 8% at constant exchange rates, while organic revenue growth was 3%, indicating a slowdown in organic growth since its last trading update in mid-April, when organic growth was 4%. London Stock Exchange slumped into losses for the year due to hefty impairment charges associated with the acquisition of Borsa Italiana.Recession has not yet dented demand for bank notes with specialist printer De La Rue upping underlying profits by over 18% last year and its dividend by 92%.Soft drinks supplier Britvic is the best performers as it shrugged off a profits collapse in Ireland to lift underlying interim profits by over 16% as sales in the UK gathered momentum. London's West End-focused Shaftesbury has joined the rush of property groups raising cash with a fully underwritten rights issue to raise £149.1m net.Ferrochrome producer International Ferro Metals (IFL) said it remains focused on preserving cash and cutting costs as it reported falling sales for the alloy used to make stainless steel. IFL, which produces ferrochrome in South Africa, sold 10,484 tonnes in the three months to March 31, compared with 21,410 over the prior quarter and 56,905 tonnes in the first quarter of 2008.Business communications firm Colt Telecom has landed a contract to provide data centre and managed services to a major global financial institution. The contract lasts for 10 years and has an annual value of several million euros.Department store Debenhams is wanted after giving investment analysts a sneak preview of its new fashion ranges. Broker Singer Capital Markets has reiterated its 'buy' recommendation.Also benefiting from broker comment is pubs group Enterprise Inns, which has been chosen as top pick in the sector by Credit Suisse. Sector peer JD Wetherspoon also gets a lift from Credit Suisse, which expects the shares to outperform and which has a price target for the stock of 448p.Yellow Pages owner Yell Group holds steady after announcing chairman Bob Scott would not be seeking re-election at the company's annual general meeting on 24 July. The company lost £1.14bn before tax in the year to 31 March 2009, compared to a pre-tax profit the year before of £206.7m, after taking a £1.27bn hit from the write-down of goodwill associated with Yell Publicidad, its Spanish subsidiary.