London midday: Banks and miners buoy Footsie

21st Dec 2010 12:08

The FTSE 100 remains well above the 5,900 mark, with miners and banks moving higher in tandem once again.With copper prices at a record in London on hopes that strength in the US will help sustain global economic growth, miners such as India's Vedanta and Mexican silver specialist Fresnillo are going well.Banks are also strong, with good gains for Barclays, RBS and Lloyds. Reports, since played down, that Business secretary Vince Cable could walk away from the coalition may have spurred some interest as the bonus season approaches.Womenswear clothing retailer Alexon has issued a weather-related profit warning. The snow has hurt sales during the crucial run-up to Christmas. It estimates the weather could knock £1.5m off profits for the year ending 29 January 2011. Other potential weather casualties are also under pressure. Retailer Dunelm is worst performer on the FTSE 350, but bingo club operator Rank, Dixons and Supergroup are all lower.In other company news, AstraZeneca is to stop all development work on its fledgling respiratory drug motavizumab, resulting in a $445m impairment charge this quarter. Astra had already flagged up this possibility and has been considering the future of motavizumab since August.BG Group's chief financial officer Ashley Almanza is leaving the oil company at the end of March next year, and will be replaced by ex-Vale finance boss Fabio de Oliveira Barbosa.Credit card and ID theft specialist CPP is on track this year as growth elsewhere continues to offset a difficult market in southern Europe. Zotefoams is lower even though it remains on course for a 20% lift in sales this year after fourth quarter revenues rose 7% driven by a surge at the high peformance end of its business. Profit before tax and exceptional items for 2010 will be in line with market expectations, the foam maker added.Lamprell, a provider of engineering services to oil & gas companies, is looking for a new finance chief after Scott Doak decided to call it a day. The 48-year-old, who's been with the group since March 2007, will leave by the end of 2011 "to pursue other interests".FTSE 100 - RisersRoyal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 39.65p +3.09%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 1,028.00p +2.85%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,591.00p +2.84%Xstrata (XTA) 1,494.00p +2.68%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,619.00p +2.60%Vedanta Resources (VED) 2,455.00p +2.51%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,585.00p +2.46%Anglo American (AAL) 3,216.50p +2.39%Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,527.00p +2.37%Standard Life (SL.) 214.60p +2.04%FTSE 100 - FallersAggreko (AGK) 1,532.00p -2.42%BG Group (BG.) 1,309.50p -1.65%BT Group (BT.A) 184.90p -1.18%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,249.00p -1.11%Cairn Energy (CNE) 416.40p -0.93%British Land Co (BLND) 521.00p -0.76%Capital Shopping Centres Group (CSCG) 416.80p -0.74%Intertek Group (ITRK) 1,866.00p -0.69%Next (NXT) 1,955.00p -0.66%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,552.00p -0.58%FTSE 250 - RisersMondi (MNDI) 502.50p +3.59%Punch Taverns (PUB) 76.40p +3.17%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 408.00p +2.85%Centamin Egypt Ltd. (CEY) 170.90p +2.77%Chemring Group (CHG) 2,931.00p +2.52%John Wood Group (WG.) 552.00p +2.51%Drax Group (DRX) 379.70p +2.51%Afren (AFR) 143.50p +2.50%Ashtead Group (AHT) 168.50p +2.49%Impax Environmental Markets (IEM) 126.00p +2.44%FTSE 250 - FallersSupergroup (SGP) 1,276.00p -4.35%Rank Group (RNK) 134.10p -3.18%CPP Group (CPP) 296.10p -2.92%Bodycote (BOY) 277.20p -2.74%Victrex (VCT) 1,480.00p -2.12%Marston's (MARS) 109.50p -1.88%BH Global Ltd. USD Shares (BHGU) 10.75 -1.74%Redrow (RDW) 130.20p -1.66%Renishaw (RSW) 1,285.00p -1.61%Kier Group (KIE) 1,355.00p -1.53%