London midday: ICAP leads the slide

14th Jul 2010 12:04

London looks like it is pausing for breath after the recent good run that has seen the FTSE 100 index advance by 8% over the last week. As has been the case every day this week, BP is in focus but the slant on the news today is downwards. The company has delayed a pressure test on the newly installed well cap in the Gulf of Mexico while reports today said US politicians now want to look into the company's activities in Libya. Derivatives giant ICAP is the worst performer, however. The inter-dealer broker increased revenues by 8% in its latest quarter and profits by 5% as its trading matched the volatility of the markets. Business, though, dropped off sharply in June after a bumper April and May when the sovereign debt crisis in Europe sparked huge demand for currency and credit default derivatives. Chip designer ARM has been lifted by Intel's record results announced last night, while elsewhere in the tech sector enterprise software giant Autonomy is holding up well ahead of results expected soon.This year continues to "shape up well" for Rio Tinto, though the mining heavyweight today warned investors to expect further volatility in commodity prices on fears of a double-dip recession and concerns about Chinese demand. In a second quarter update, chief executive Tom Albanese said operations are close to capacity and markets for most products are strong and the overall long term demand outlook is positive.Silver miner Fresnillo made new production records in the second quarter and first half of 2010 following a "modest" increase in output during the period.Budget pub group JD Wetherspoon reported a 1% rise in like-for-like sales in the 11 weeks to July 11 and said it was confident of a resilient future performance despite economic worries. Wetherspoon, which has recently been moving away from its traditional role as a pub to compete with the likes of Starbucks by selling takeaway teas and coffees, saw overall sales climb by 5.8%. It has opened 41 pubs so far this year and disposed of two.London Stock Exchange's decision to cut its dealing tariffs helped it increase market share in the core cash equities business, but meant a mixed performance overall in the last three months. "Trading across the group's platforms in early July shows similarly varied trading levels," the LSE said.Emerging markets asset manager Ashmore Group grew assets under management by $2.3bn, or 7%, to $35.3bn in the fourth quarter from the previous three months.Barratt Developments' underlying profits this year will beat expectations after the housebuilder pushed though price rises of 18% and kept costs under control. Operating profit will now be at least £85m for the full year to June as margins for the year rose to 4% and hit 5.5% in the second half. Topps Tiles, Britain's biggest tile and wood flooring specialist, breathed a sigh of relief as it reported an improving trend following difficult trading at the start of the third quarter. In the 13 weeks to July 3, sales were down by 2.5% compared with the same period the previous year, and by 1.2% on a like-for-like basis, Topps said in a brief update.Online fashion store ASOS revealed a 54% surge in retail sales during the first quarter and remains confident of further progress this year. Software company Corero slumped today on news it is raising £6.5m from a placing and subscription at 25p a share and selling its profit-making Financial Markets division.FTSE 100 - RisersARM Holdings (ARM) 319.70p +3.50%Sage Group (SGE) 243.50p +1.04%Autonomy Corporation (AU.) 1,934.00p +0.99%Whitbread (WTB) 1,465.00p +0.96%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 701.50p +0.94%Home Retail Group (HOME) 235.20p +0.86%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 614.00p +0.74%Compass Group (CPG) 556.50p +0.72%British Airways (BAY) 208.40p +0.68%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,472.00p +0.62%FTSE 100 - FallersICAP (IAP) 413.80p -5.14%BAE Systems (BA.) 318.70p -2.98%Burberry Group (BRBY) 796.00p -2.75%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,440.00p -2.51%Cairn Energy (CNE) 459.30p -2.34%Aggreko (AGK) 1,600.00p -2.26%Antofagasta (ANTO) 913.00p -2.09%Vedanta Resources (VED) 2,269.00p -2.07%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 45.48p -1.98%Wolseley (WOS) 1,424.00p -1.93%