London midday: BT heads field after broker tip

14th Apr 2010 12:02

Having been largely responsible for the Footsie's fall yesterday miners are driving the blue-chip index higher today, enabling the index to move close to the 5800 level despite the presence of the usual Wednesday batch of ex-dividend stocks.Forecasting topping results from computer chip maker Intel yesterday have been interpreted as a clear sign that the recovery in the global economy is not running out of steam, and that has led to a rise in base metal prices which, in turn, has lifted the likes of Xstrata and the Kazakh pair Kazakhmys and Eurasian Natural Resources.Silver and gold producer Fresnillo said first quarter gold production exceeded its expectations. Quarterly attributable gold production increased by 31.5% over the same period last year to a record level of 85,097 ounces, as commercial production at Soledad-Dipolos kicked in during January 2010.On the ex-dividend front heavyweights Legal & General, Capita, BG Group and Tullow Oil are all trading today without the right to their recently announced dividends. Coincidentally, two of those companies featured in an announcement of a board room appointment this morning. Outsourcing giant Capita has appointed Dr. Nigel Wilson, chief financial officer of insurer Legal & General to its board as a non-executive director. Wilson will be the senior non-exec on the Capita board and will sit on the company's Nomination, Remuneration and Audit Committees.Insurer Prudential pulled a bit of a surprise when it chose Rob Devey, chief executive of Prudential UK and Europe, to handle the integration of the Asian assets of fallen US life assurance giant AIG into Prudential Corporation Asia (PCA). Many observers had expected current chief executive of PCA, Barry Stowe, to be handed the task.JD Sports Fashion beat the sky-high expectations of most City analysts when it published full-year figures. Total revenue increased by £98.9m to £769.8m in the 52 weeks ended 30 January, while like for like revenue rose by 2.5%. Profit before tax and exceptional items was up 26% to £67.4m versus expectations for pre-tax profit of £63.28m on sales of £734.6m.Engineering consultant WS Atkins said it has continued to perform strongly and expects full-year results to be slightly ahead of current market forecasts. With net funds at 31 March 2010 expected to be around £300m, the financial position of the group remains strong, it added.Emerging markets asset manager Ashmore said the third quarter saw assets under management increase 4% to $33bn. The drivers of this were net inflows of $0.8bn principally into the external debt and local currency themes, and positive performance of $0.6bn, the group said.HomeServe, the home maintenance specialist, is extending its US reach with the acquisition of National Grid Energy Services' service contract business.Housebuilding and construction group Galliford Try is hooking up again with affordable housing provider the Affinity Sutton Group to buy and develop two sites in the south east of England. The pair plan to build 206 homes on sites in Haywards Heath and Orpington.Panmure Gordon has initiated coverage of stock market darling Domino's Pizza with a 'sell' recommendation and a 300p price target, saying "the current valuation fails to adequately reflect the emerging headwinds to LFL [like for like] sales growth."In other broker action clothing brand Burberry checks in to the list of major FTSE 100 risers after being given the thumbs up Deutsche Bank, which has raised its price target to 750p from 650p, while telecoms giant BT Group heads the list of Footsie leaders after Morgan Stanley suggested the shares are substantially undervalued in comparison with US counterparts such as AT&T.Deutsche Bank has been less generous to British Sugar and Primark owner Associated British Foods which it has downgraded to 'sell' from 'hold'.Lender International Personal Finance returned to the black in the first quarter as it added more customers and saw an improvement in economic conditions. The group, which provides small short-term loans to customers in eastern Europe and Mexico, said it made a good start to 2010 and reported a pre-tax profit of £2m in the first quarter of the year compared to a loss of £8.5m the year before. Property and insurance software firm Innovation has had its software contract with one of the world's largest vehicle management groups extended by three years. The contract extension will start from January 2011 and will see Innovation continue to provide accident management services to the customer, as it has been since 2004. Marketing software firm Alterian expects full year results to be in line with expectations, which will come as a relief to shareholders worried about contract delays. "Following contract slippage in the third quarter, the business has performed in line with expectations during the fourth quarter," said Alterian's chief executive officer David Eldridge.Shares in Ukrainian grain and oilseed grower Landkom shot up after it said its crops were barely affected by the cold winter weather that ravaged fields elsewhere in the country. FTSE 100 - RisersBT Group (BT.A) 129.20p +4.45%Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 1,221.00p +2.01%Burberry Group (BRBY) 711.00p +2.01%Xstrata (XTA) 1,284.50p +1.86%Sage Group (SGE) 259.30p +1.85%FTSE 100 - FallersLegal & General Group (LGEN) 90.95p -2.73%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 265.60p -1.56%Associated British Foods (ABF) 973.00p -1.47%TUI Travel (TT.) 298.50p -1.29%Cobham (COB) 272.90p -1.09%FTSE 250 - RisersHomeserve (HSV) 1,908.00p +6.30%Logica (LOG) 144.20p +4.64%Atkins (WS) (ATK) 672.50p +3.54%FTSE 250 - FallersDomino's Pizza UK & IRL (DOM) 345.10p -3.60%Filtrona PLC (FLTR) 216.00p -3.27%United Business Media (UBM) 534.50p -3.08%