London close: Highest finish for FTSE 100 since 2008

14th Dec 2010 16:38

London's leading share index finished at its highest closing level in more than two years as buoyancy in the US helped shake Footsie out of its early sluggishness.Better than expected retail sales in the world's biggest economy in November heartened traders. Here, it was company updates that sent shares moving - in both directions.Whitbread, the company behind Costa Coffee and the Premier Inn hotel chain, posted another strong set of numbers though there were a few signs of weakness and the shares fell. Another booming quarter for Costa helped lift sales by 13.6% over the past three months, with like-for-like revenue up 6.8%. Occupancy at hotels grew to 80% but is expected to fall to 77% over the full year. The restaurants division saw slowing growth over the third quarter.Bunzl was among the top risers in the leading share index after reporting a slight improvement in its second half growth rate compared to the first half of 2010.The distributor of a whole range of disposables expects group revenue growth for the year to be between 3% and 4% driven by underlying revenue growth and the positive impact from acquisitions and exchange.BP was also wanted, having announced that it is to sell nearly all of its exploration and production assets in Pakistan for $775m (£490m) as it continues its programme to divest up to $30bn of assets by the end of 2011.Chipmaker Imagination Technologies, today's top riser in the FTSE 250, is to buy 3D graphic firm Caustic Graphics for $27m to bring 3D graphics to mobile phones. Imagination, whose graphics chip designs are used in Apple's iPad, was widely expected to announce another acquisition alongside its half year results today. The group, who also created the Pure radio brand, recently bought US voice over internet protocol (VOIP) operator HelloSoft for up to $47m. Carpet retailer Carpetright was floored after it rolled out a 28% drop in first half profit as sales continued to be dogged by poor consumer demand and the sluggish housing market. Underlying pre-tax profit fell to £10m for the 26 weeks ended 30 October 2010 from £13.9m the year before. Revenue fell to £248m from £258m. Like-for-like sales fell 6.1% during the six month period.Chemicals group Yule Catto and John Wood Group basked in the afterglow of yesterday's acquisitions.Go-Ahead, the company that operates the snow-affected Southeastern rail franchise, thinks it will make more money than expected in the first half, thanks mainly to its trains business. The Newcastle based firm, which also operates the Southern and London Midland rail franchises through its majority owned subsidiary Govia, said overall trading has been "good".Underwriter Beazley has dropped its bid for rival Hardy after failing to agree on a price. Beazley says it submitted a final proposal to the board of Hardy on Monday outlining a possible offer of up to 350p per share with some conditions. Coal-fired power station Drax expects to beat market forecasts this year after a good performance during the recent cold spell. Travis Perkins, the builders' merchant buying plumbing supplies firm BSS for £½bn, grew turnover by 6.5% in the 11 months to 30 November, though snow has affected business this month. The owner of the Wickes DIY chain said it continues to gain like-for-like market share in both its merchanting and retail divisions.JKX Oil & Gas has completed and tested horizontal well R-103 in the Rudenkovskoye gas field in Poltava, Ukraine, and initial flow rates have exceeded expectations.Shares in Betfair have slumped on the back of maiden interims as concerns are raised about whether the online betting exchange operator can meet full year targets. FTSE 100 - RisersBP (BP.) 473.10p +3.22%Serco Group (SRP) 577.50p +2.12%BAE Systems (BA.) 337.50p +2.12%AstraZeneca (AZN) 3,107.00p +1.82%3i Group (III) 321.20p +1.74%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,081.50p +1.39%Wolseley (WOS) 1,905.00p +1.33%British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,407.00p +1.26%Unilever (ULVR) 1,943.00p +1.25%Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) 1,150.00p +1.23%FTSE 100 - FallersWhitbread (WTB) 1,740.00p -2.79%Pearson (PSON) 998.00p -1.77%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,535.00p -1.35%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 41.34p -1.15%Lonmin (LMI) 1,864.00p -1.11%WPP (WPP) 766.50p -1.10%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,477.00p -1.07%BT Group (BT.A) 181.70p -1.03%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 376.20p -0.95%Xstrata (XTA) 1,448.50p -0.89%FTSE 250 - RisersImagination Technologies Group (IMG) 380.00p +5.70%Persimmon (PSN) 427.20p +4.99%Redrow (RDW) 133.20p +3.98%Greggs (GRG) 459.00p +3.82%Rank Group (RNK) 138.00p +3.76%QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 132.60p +3.51%Yule Catto & Co (YULC) 300.10p +3.48%John Wood Group (WG.) 537.50p +3.17%Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 304.00p +3.05%COLT Group SA (COLT) 130.40p +3.00%FTSE 250 - FallersRestaurant Group (RTN) 277.70p -3.21%PartyGaming (PRTY) 229.10p -2.72%Gartmore Group Ltd. (GRT) 102.20p -2.48%CSR (CSR) 321.80p -2.48%ITV (ITV) 72.60p -2.16%Devro (DVO) 252.50p -2.13%BH Global Ltd. GBP Shares (BHGG) 1,086.00p -2.07%Dunelm Group (DNLM) 539.00p -1.82%Carpetright (CPR) 782.00p -1.76%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 27.00p -1.71%