London midday: Stocks keep gains

7th Jul 2011 12:05

Stocks remain slightly in the blue although the calm masks some big moves in both directions after a stream of company updatesMan Group is setting the pace in the FTSE 100. Funds under management (FUM) at the hedge fund manager rose to $71bn at the end of June from $69.1bn at the end of March as the group racked up record sales in the quarter of $9.0bn, to post a net inflow of $3.7bn after redemptions of $5.3bn.Out-of-town home furnishings retailer Dunelm moved into like-for-like sales growth in the quarter year to 2 July, saying it is winning share in a struggling market. The shares have jumped.But also in retail, WH Smith is weak after it reported a fall in sales in the 18 weeks to 27 July, but the newsagent and bookshop chain said it is continuing to grow margins. Total sales were down by 1% from the same period the previous year, or by 4% on a like-for-like basis, excluding the impact of new openings.Support services group Carillion hailed a strong first half performance, with the group operating margin continuing to increase. The order book at the half year is expected to remain strong, plus the group has a record pipeline of contract opportunities.Premier Farnell, the engineering products supplier, has fallen sharply after it warned sales growth will come in below targets in what the firm describes as "difficult market conditions". The firm says "After two full months of trading in the second quarter, year-on-year sales growth for May and June combined was lower than our target range of 6-8%, at 1.4%". Total sales grew by 11% from the same period the previous year to £123.8m, or by 1.9% on a like-for-like basis, which only considers the shops that were operating during both periods. With like-for-like sales having fallen by 1.3% in the quarter to 2 April, they were up by just 0.1% in the half year to 2 July.McBride, the maker of household and personal products for supermarkets to sell under their own names, is under pressure after saying it is to stop selling products that are now unprofitable due to rising raw material costs. "Our initiatives to recover these increases are continuing, but where this is not possible in the current weak trading environment, we are exiting non-profitable business," the firm said.Turning to smaller companies, retailers are in the spotlight. Ladies outfitter Alexon plunges after saying challenging trading conditions continue to impact trading, but jeweller Theo Fennell is sparkling after its full year results.FTSE 100 - RisersGKN (GKN) 245.90p +3.58%Man Group (EMG) 254.90p +3.24%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 124.50p +2.89%Xstrata (XTA) 1,418.00p +2.05%Glencore International (GLEN) 504.10p +2.00%Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,582.50p +1.98%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,463.00p +1.81%Anglo American (AAL) 3,170.00p +1.73%3i Group (III) 292.50p +1.67%BHP Billiton (BLT) 2,510.00p +1.58%FTSE 100 - FallersHammerson (HMSO) 462.80p -4.93%Capital Shopping Centres Group (CSCG) 386.60p -2.72%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 292.80p -2.40%Land Securities Group (LAND) 865.50p -2.20%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 246.30p -1.91%British Land Co (BLND) 608.50p -1.54%WPP (WPP) 753.50p -1.12%Wolseley (WOS) 2,042.00p -1.11%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 819.00p -0.97%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,074.00p -0.65%FTSE 250 - RisersDunelm Group (DNLM) 441.10p +8.78%Yule Catto & Co (YULC) 254.00p +4.44%Elementis (ELM) 187.90p +3.93%Supergroup (SGP) 969.50p +3.41%BTG (BGC) 308.00p +3.04%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 197.60p +2.38%Petropavlovsk (POG) 743.00p +2.34%Anglo Pacific Group (APF) 329.10p +2.20%Invensys (ISYS) 335.90p +2.16%Domino's Pizza UK & IRL (DOM) 435.90p +2.01%FTSE 250 - FallersPremier Farnell (PFL) 188.50p -22.78%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 139.30p -6.26%Electrocomponents (ECM) 258.60p -5.79%WH Smith (SMWH) 497.00p -4.79%Booker Group (BOK) 74.20p -4.69%Michael Page International (MPI) 526.00p -3.57%Hays (HAS) 100.40p -2.62%Telecom Plus (TEP) 674.00p -2.11%Kofax (KFX) 484.80p -2.06%Pace (PIC) 109.30p -2.06%