London close: FTSE 100 rallies despite retail gloom

9th Jun 2011 16:31

Shares rallied in the afternoon after a good start on Wall Street where stocks won back some recent losses.Engineer Weir Group was the highest riser after its earnings estimates were lifted by RBC Capital Markets. There have also been reports today that two companies in China have been given fines of £1m after manufacturing illegal duplicates of Weir pumps. Automotive and aerospace engineer GKN, oilfield engineer Wood Group and industrial engineer IMI were also on the rise. Ongoing difficulties at the catalogue-based retailer Argos continue to plague its owner Home Retail Group, which has announced an 8.1% fall in sales at the chain to £817m in the 13 weeks to 28 May. The shares plunged. On a like-for-like basis, excluding the impact of new openings, sales at Argos were down by 9.6% from the same period the previous year during the period.Pressures on the UK consumer have also contributed to an acceleration in the decline in sales at Trendy sportswear retailer JD Sports Fashion, whose shares also fell. Like-for-like sales in the period between the end of January and 4 June fell by 2.8% from the same period the previous year.But car parts and bikes retailer Halfords climbed after it reported a solid set of full year results despite ongoing retail sluggishness, helped by improved gross margin and cost control. Underlying pre-tax profit rose 7.2% to £125.6m for the year to 1 April 2011, in line with forecasts, while group revenue increased 4.6% to £869.7m after the acquisition of its Autocentres business.South American copper miner Antofagasta rallied after declining on the back of its production report yesterday.Also in mining, shares in African Barrick Gold won back some losses after it repeated its assertion that the Tanzanian government has no plans to impose a "super-tax" on the country's mining industry, pointing out that no such proposals were in the Budget the finance minister presented to parliament yesterday. Spreadbetting firm IG Group expects trading revenue for the year ended 31 May to be 7% ahead of last year, as strong growth in Europe and Singapore offset a weakening performance in Japan.Bowleven, the West Africa-focused oil and gas explorer, saw its share price jump by more than a tenth after tests at its Sapele-1ST (side-track) well showed flow rates believed to be commercial. The well, located in the Douala Basin, offshore Cameroon, was drilled to a true vertical depth of 3,634m in water depths of around 24m, and the interval flowed at a stabilised rate of 2,023 barrels of oil per day. Shares of distribution group Wincanton fell as it swung into a pre-tax loss following a slowdown at its UK and French businesses. The goods transporter reported a pre-tax loss of £25.8m for the year ended 31 March 2011 compared to a pre-tax profit of £3m the year earlier. Revenue at the group was down slightly at £2.18bn from £2.182m previously.Foils group API moved into profit in the year to 31 March, but the shares fell after the company said that it took a loss of £600,000 on its disposal of a stake in a Chinese subsidiary and that customers' spending plans are being affected by the tough economic climate. API, whose foil is used to package Elizabeth Shaw mint crisp chocolates and Colgate toothpaste, posted a pre-tax profit of £2.9m for the period, against a loss of £0.3m the previous year. Sales climbed to £100m from £79.2m. Britain's only machine gun maker has announced a big increase in profits. Manroy's interim results for the 6 months to the end of March show revenues at £3 million and pre-tax profits rifling up to £1.14 million (from a loss of £33,000 for 2010).FTSE 100 - RisersWeir Group (WEIR) 2,050.00p +4.81%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 316.10p +3.98%Wolseley (WOS) 1,971.00p +3.36%Experian (EXPN) 802.50p +3.02%John Wood Group (WG.) 647.00p +2.86%GKN (GKN) 214.40p +2.58%Compass Group (CPG) 598.50p +2.48%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,256.00p +2.45%IMI (IMI) 1,029.00p +2.39%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,308.00p +2.35%FTSE 100 - FallersTUI Travel (TT.) 218.20p -2.02%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 47.81p -1.78%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,161.00p -1.36%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,110.00p -1.36%Barclays (BARC) 259.95p -1.22%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 327.60p -1.15%Schroders (SDR) 1,544.00p -0.96%Capita Group (CPI) 735.00p -0.94%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 367.80p -0.92%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 224.10p -0.88%FTSE 250 - RisersAnglo Pacific Group (APF) 316.00p +5.65%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 485.00p +3.85%Betfair Group (BET) 830.00p +3.81%Elementis (ELM) 160.00p +3.69%Fenner (FENR) 381.20p +3.64%Bodycote (BOY) 372.50p +3.33%Afren (AFR) 171.00p +3.20%Morgan Crucible Co (MGCR) 309.20p +2.96%Mondi (MNDI) 630.00p +2.94%Telecom Plus (TEP) 598.50p +2.92%FTSE 250 - FallersHome Retail Group (HOME) 174.50p -13.74%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 17.58p -8.91%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 939.00p -4.13%CSR (CSR) 315.10p -3.37%Helical Bar (HLCL) 254.50p -3.05%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 138.50p -2.67%Debenhams (DEB) 67.75p -2.31%RPC Group (RPC) 331.40p -2.24%Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 100.60p -2.04%AZ Electronic Materials SA (WI) (AZEM) 320.00p -1.93%