London close: Footsie finishes just down

4th Aug 2009 16:33

London staged a late rally but still finished just in the red as financials weighed and the US started in tepid fashion.Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered was the biggest faller of the day after saying it is to raise £1bn through a placing. It posted solid first half figures with profits up by 10% despite a more than doubled bad debt charge. Interim profits to end June rose to $2.84bn, from $2.59bn, on operating income up 14% to $7.96bn.Insurer Legal & General was also down after slashing interim dividend by 45% as it posted a loss of £1bn on a European embedded value (EEV) basis. The half-year dividend has been cut to 1.11p a share from 2.01p a year ago. Aviva was also weak. Investors were also mulling results from Northern Rock, where a more than tripled bad debt charge pushed losses up sharply at the nationalised bank in the past six months.RBS confirmed it is to sell its banking operations in six Asian countries to Australia's ANZ Group for $418m. It will sell its retail and commercial banking operations in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia. Sharply lower metals prices resulted in a steep drop in sales and earnings at the diversified miner Xstrata in the first half. Operating profit in the six months to June 30 fell to $1.67bn from $4.50bn over the same period the previous year as revenue slid to $9.87bn from $16.09bn. Xstrata said continuing strong coal prices helped to mitigate the impact of lower metals prices. Antofagasta, Anglo American and Eurasian Natural Resources were also weak.Software company Autonomy topped the risers after positive comments from UBS, while Reed Elsevier also benefitted from a Citigroup upgrade to buy from hold.In other broker news, Nomura raised its price target on Home Retail Group to 330p from 288p after shares in the firm rallied in line with a brighter economic outlook.Tullow Oil has made its tenth discovery in the Victoria Nile Delta play after striking oil at the Ngara-1 exploration well in Uganda. It encountered over 8 metres of net oil pay in a 17 metre gross reservoir interval after drilling a total depth of 741 metres. Bookmaker William Hill slumped on a warning it has had a tough July and its core retail betting arm won't meet forecasts this year. It also confirmed it is to shift its online betting and gaming business, William Hill Online, from the UK to Gibraltar. Engineers Cookson and GKN were both up on hopes there is recovery on the way in their respective markets.Currency gains also helped engineer Rotork post record results for the half-year and Spirent to raise pre-tax profits by 1%.Interdealer broker Tullett Prebon saw revenues climb 11% in the six months to June 30 as continued market volatility stoked demand for its services.Weir Group's chairman Lord Smith of Kelvin hailed the pump and valve maker's strategy to focus on sectors that are not vulnerable to discretionary spending cuts as it posted a rise in profits and revenues and lifted its dividend.Brewer and pub group Marston's is continuing to see the improvement in trading that began in April in spite of recent unseasonal summer weather.In small cap news, cash machine operator Cashbox has signed a deal to manage the 120 ATM machines of managed pub and bar restaurant business, Tattershall Castle Group. Sportswear retailer JD Sports has acquired the European operations of Canterbury, the rugby shirt specialist, for £6.5m in cash from administration.FTSE 100 - RisersAutonomy Corporation (AU.) 1,267.00p +5.58%British Land Co (BLND) 448.80p +4.15%Reed Elsevier (REL) 449.90p +3.43%British Airways (BAY) 150.20p +3.23%Land Securities Group (LAND) 541.50p +3.04%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,021.00p +2.61%Hammerson (HMSO) 355.90p +2.51%Sage Group (SGE) 205.00p +2.24%3i Group (III) 279.40p +2.16%Barclays (BARC) 328.50p +1.84%FTSE 100 - FallersStandard Chartered (STAN) 1,328.00p -7.52%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 62.15p -4.75%Antofagasta (ANTO) 762.00p -4.39%Cobham (COB) 176.80p -2.70%Anglo American (AAL) 1,971.00p -2.57%Intertek Group (ITRK) 1,060.00p -2.30%Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 904.00p -2.27%Old Mutual (OML) 95.00p -2.26%Xstrata (XTA) 847.00p -2.14%Home Retail Group (HOME) 305.10p -2.12%FTSE 250 - RisersBSS Group (BTSM) 297.40p +9.34%Stobart Group (STOB) 110.00p +8.80%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 2,300.00p +8.54%GKN (GKN) 113.70p +8.08%Goldman Sachs Dynamic Opportunities EUR Shares (GSDE) € 1.14 +8.06%PayPoint (PAY) 513.50p +7.65%Renishaw (RSW) 442.00p +7.54%SEGRO (SGRO) 290.50p +7.51%BlueBay Asset Management (BBAY) 265.60p +7.10%Rotork (ROR) 938.00p +6.96%FTSE 250 - FallersWilliam Hill (WMH) 168.00p -9.82%SDL International (SDL) 340.00p -7.26%Ladbrokes (LAD) 167.10p -6.96%QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 135.00p -4.66%Investec (INVP) 406.20p -3.15%SSL International (SSL) 545.00p -2.77%Telecity Group (TCY) 334.00p -2.31%Galiform (GFRM) 57.90p -2.20%Yell Group (YELL) 30.00p -2.18%ITV (ITV) 41.32p -2.09%