London close: FTSE 100 dives in late trading

19th Jan 2011 16:40

What started as a sluggish day turned into a bit of a bloodbath with the top share index plummeting ahead of the close.Stocks fell in the US after bank Goldman Sachs' net earnings slumped 38% in 2010 due to a substantial fall in profit in the final quarterHere, publishing giant Pearson was the top blue-chip performer after the FT owner said 2010 earnings will be ahead of previous guidance, as all of its major businesses sustained their strong trading momentum throughout last year. The firm expects full year operating profits to come in around 20% higher than 2009's level, at about £850m. Bookmaker William Hill was another high flyer as it confirmed full-year results would be at the top end of expectations as strength in the online business and gaming machines during the fourth quarter made up for weather-hit sports fixtures. Rival bookie Ladbrokes rises in sympathy.Pub chain JD Wetherspoon was also wanted after it grew like for like sales by more than expected during the second quarter despite the snow and predicts a "reasonable" outcome for the full year. Data search software firm Autonomy was lower despite announcing two contract wins today. Market observers fear that today's contract wins will be the last good news from the company prior to its fourth quarter results on 1 February.Property giant Land Securities it reported good lettings across its London and retail portfolios over the past three months. Voids in the like-for-like portfolio were down 5.7% in the quarter to December (5.9% in the previous three months).Defence firm Cobham has paid €78m (£65.5m) for a privately-owned German company that makes advanced bomb disposal robots and threat response vehicles.Bid speculation has lit a fire under the share price of sweeteners firm Tate & Lyle, with rumour mongers saying 750p a share will be the take-out price and US foods group Cargill, which has announced plans to sell off its stake in fertiliser firm Mosaic, the most likely predator.Oil producer Soco International is another stock getting the gossips excited, with Chinese state-owned energy group Sinochem Petroleum said to be running the rule over the firm.Comet did record business between Christmas and New Year, but that wasn't enough to offset a dismal start to December which means full-year profit at owner Kesa Electricals, one of the losers today, will be toward the lower end of expectations.There was further gloom for the retail sector from HMV. Further question marks over the viability of its business have been raised after suppliers to the CD and DVD retailer had their credit insurance, which would protect them in the event of HMV going bankrupt, withdrawn. The news sent shares in HMV sharply lower and prompted HMV to claim that it still has excellent relations with its suppliers. Banks were unsettled by comments from the head of the banking commission, Sir John Vickers. Sir John is expected to outline a range of ways in which the operations of the big "universal banks" could be overhauled and forced to ring fence their component parts, the FT reports. Barclays and RBS are lower.Rapid expansion at its international businesses helped online fashion group ASOS rack up more big sales over the Christmas period. Revenue in the three months to end December overall rose by 59% to £100m, with a 156% improvement overseas to £43.7m. London taxi maker Manganese Bronze said it expects to return to profit in 2011, helped by an extension of credit terms with Geely Automobile, China's biggest private car-maker.FTSE 100 - RisersPearson (PSON) 1,051.00p +4.47%Essar Energy (ESSR) 538.00p +0.94%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,191.00p +0.80%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,140.00p +0.49%Unilever (ULVR) 1,895.00p +0.26%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,155.00p +0.10%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,138.50p +0.05%British Land Co (BLND) 532.00p 0.00%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 746.00p 0.00%Wolseley (WOS) 2,186.00p -0.05%FTSE 100 - FallersImperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 1,829.00p -5.04%British Airways (BAY) 287.50p -4.20%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,616.00p -4.09%Aggreko (AGK) 1,483.00p -3.83%Barclays (BARC) 296.15p -3.77%SABMiller (SAB) 2,126.00p -3.76%Autonomy Corporation (AU.) 1,408.00p -3.76%GKN (GKN) 220.30p -3.72%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,476.00p -3.59%Intertek Group (ITRK) 1,785.00p -3.51%FTSE 250 - RisersWilliam Hill (WMH) 189.00p +6.96%Betfair Group (BET) 1,054.00p +5.98%JD Wetherspoon (JDW) 464.70p +5.21%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 564.50p +4.93%Avis Europe (AVE) 238.00p +4.20%BTG (BGC) 235.00p +3.62%Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 732.00p +3.10%Ladbrokes (LAD) 135.30p +2.42%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 22.31p +2.29%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 459.00p +2.25%FTSE 250 - FallersKesa Electricals (KESA) 136.00p -9.81%Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 36.35p -4.59%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 880.00p -4.30%SIG (SHI) 147.00p -4.05%Dignity (DTY) 691.00p -4.03%Sports Direct International (SPD) 166.10p -3.77%Rotork (ROR) 1,662.00p -3.76%Melrose (MRO) 316.90p -3.68%Laird (LRD) 167.10p -3.58%Centamin Egypt Ltd. (CEY) 157.50p -3.55%