London close: Stocks finish higher despite retreat

24th Jun 2011 16:47

Stocks gave up most of their early gains as economic worries resurfaced, but the top share index still closed in positive territory. Some observers attribute this resilience to comments from Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao that may be pointing towards a quicker end than previously expected to tightening measures in that country. European Union (EU) leaders have pledged to release funds to Greece to stave off the prospect of the nation defaulting on its loans, with the proviso that the Greek parliament passes a package of austerity measures next week. Evangelos Venizelos, Greece's new finance minister, said he had agreed changes to a five-year austerity package with EU-International Monetary Fund negotiators. The changes included a raft of new taxes designed to plug a €5.5bn (£4.87bn) gap in the internationally-imposed austerity programme.However, a report from the Bank of England's Financial Stability Report puts a dampener on things slightly, warning of continuing sovereign and banking risks. That helped send banking stocks such as Lloyds, RBS and Barclays firmly into the red.In company news, London and south-east house builder Berkeley Group surged on the FTSE 250 after reporting forecast-beating figures, on both the sales and the profit level, but investors will have to wait a little longer before they can benefit from the resumption of a dividend. Sector peers Barratt Developments, Persimmon and Bellway were also in demand.Miners, on the whole, were wanted, recovering from the broad sector sell-off experienced on Thursday. Blue chips Antofagasta, Randgold, Xstrata, Kazakhmys, Fresnillo and Rio Tinto were among the big gainers. Rolls-Royce motored ahead after saying it and Daimler have secured full control German diesel engine-maker Tognum. The two companies want to take over Tognum to create a joint venture that will be a "leading industrial engine systems and solutions provider."Distribution and outsourcing firm Bunzl opened higher after saying that it is trading in line with expectations, despite tough times in its UK and Irish markets. At constant exchange rates group revenue in the six months to the end of April is expected to have increased 6%, due to underlying growth of 3% and the positive impact from acquisitions, with a slight improvement in operating margin. Gold miner African Barrick Gold has had further success with its in-fill drilling at its Tusker resource area at the Nyanzaga project in Tanzania.Environmental engineering group Tinci fell sharply after it saw turnover decrease by 38%. The AIM listed China-based company, which to date has specialised in the manufacture and installation of flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) systems, for reducing sulphur dioxide emissions from coal-fired power stations and large industrial boilers in China, is in the process of modifying its own business model in light of what it describes as a very competitive FGD market. Oil group Dominion Petroleum, another faller today, is to raise $55m (£34.4m) in a placing and enter into a production sharing agreement with Mediterranean Oil & Gas to exploit an area of the coast of Malta. The company also said that it had received some approaches to acquire or merge the company but that they "were rejected as the Board concluded that they were opportunistic and materially undervalued the Company and its assets; no such discussions are ongoing." Among today's big gainers, the fund manager, RAB Capital, is considering plans to de-list from the AIM market following a disastrous few years as a publicly quoted company. The plan includes offering current investors the chance to sell their RAB shares for 10 pence each, or swapping their shares for holdings in "NewCo", which will be the new owner of RAB's restructured investments. FTSE 100 - RisersARM Holdings (ARM) 588.00p +3.80%Rolls-Royce Group (RR.) 609.00p +3.22%GKN (GKN) 213.40p +3.14%BHP Billiton (BLT) 2,300.50p +2.52%ITV (ITV) 67.35p +2.43%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,266.00p +2.34%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 711.50p +2.30%Carnival (CCL) 2,386.00p +2.23%Xstrata (XTA) 1,271.00p +2.21%Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,247.50p +2.19%FTSE 100 - FallersLloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 43.40p -4.14%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 35.65p -2.97%Schroders (Non-Voting) (SDRC) 1,207.00p -2.66%Inmarsat (ISAT) 552.50p -2.56%Barclays (BARC) 237.30p -2.49%Schroders (SDR) 1,438.00p -2.44%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 287.70p -2.31%Essar Energy (ESSR) 385.70p -2.11%ICAP (IAP) 428.70p -1.94%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 580.00p -1.69%FTSE 250 - RisersBerkeley Group Holdings (BKG) 1,254.00p +10.88%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 58.00p +7.91%Aegis Group (AGS) 155.00p +5.59%Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 1,592.00p +5.01%Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 52.50p +4.17%Northumbrian Water Group (NWG) 383.00p +4.10%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 363.50p +3.98%Charter International (CHTR) 575.00p +3.60%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 942.00p +3.52%Carpetright (CPR) 693.00p +3.36%FTSE 250 - FallersRPC Group (RPC) 337.60p -3.90%Provident Financial (PFG) 928.00p -2.83%International Personal Finance (IPF) 321.70p -2.72%Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) 645.50p -2.64%Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust (ASL) 660.50p -2.15%Afren (AFR) 145.30p -2.02%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 289.80p -2.00%Renishaw (RSW) 1,599.00p -1.90%Lancashire Holdings (LRE) 629.00p -1.64%St James's Place (STJ) 319.00p -1.36%