London open: ABF and Fresnillo buck the downward trend

14th Jul 2011 08:29

Stocks have taken a dive following a swoon on Wall Street last night, with worries over the Eurozone crisis continuing to cast a shadow.In the latest twist in that saga, ratings agency Fitch lowered its rating on Greece's long-term debt to CCC.Turning to stocks, Associated British Foods is bucking the downward trend. It said its outlook for the full year is in line with expectations as its food arm and budget clothing retail chain Primark continue to perform well. Silver producer Fresnillo is sparkling following strong quarterly production figures, but other miners such as the copper producers Antofagasta and Kazakhmys are suffering.Sports shop chain Sports Direct International is lower even after it posted a sharp rise in revenues in the year to 24 April, despite the tough economic climate. Total sales climbed to £1.6bn from £1.45bn the previous year. Underlying pre-tax profits, which do not include foreign exchange gains and losses, exceptional costs and profits or losses on sales of investments, rose to £135.5m from £102.1m, but reported pre-tax profits, which do include these, fell to £118.8m from £119.5m. The company, which operates nearly 400 stores including 79 in Europe, is not paying a dividend. Also on the high street, baby clothing and toy retailer Mothercare is under pressure after reporting continuing falls in like-for-like sales.House builder Barratt Developments confirmed its return to profitability, saying it expects to deliver a full-year profit before tax and exceptional items of around £40m, compared to a loss the year before of £33.0m. Daily Mail publisher DMGT is under pressure after saying it is putting the price of its main newspaper up by 5p to 55p as it seeks to cope with rising newsprint prices and declines in the advertising market and circulations. The revolving door on the board room at Mitchells & Butlers is spinning again, with Simon Burke calling time on his stint as chairman of the pubs group after less than six months in the hot seat. Bob Ivell has been appointed as interim non-executive Chairman - the sixth chairman the company has had in the last three years.FTSE 100 - RisersAssociated British Foods (ABF) 1,122.00p +6.15%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,553.00p +2.17%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 45.30p +2.04%Kingfisher (KGF) 256.90p +1.10%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 710.00p +0.64%Rolls-Royce Group (RR.) 654.50p +0.54%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 35.66p +0.39%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 671.00p +0.30%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,450.00p +0.18%IMI (IMI) 1,098.00p +0.18%FTSE 100 - FallersPetrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,468.00p -2.26%ARM Holdings (ARM) 578.50p -2.20%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,258.00p -1.87%Man Group (EMG) 241.40p -1.79%Autonomy Corporation (AU.) 1,727.00p -1.71%ITV (ITV) 67.95p -1.52%Amec (AMEC) 1,080.00p -1.37%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,420.00p -1.32%John Wood Group (WG.) 679.00p -1.31%Carnival (CCL) 2,264.00p -1.22%FTSE 250 - RisersITE Group (ITE) 226.50p +4.91%Unite Group (UTG) 218.30p +3.07%Premier Foods (PFD) 18.58p +2.65%Rank Group (RNK) 151.00p +2.17%Telecom Plus (TEP) 695.00p +1.98%Berkeley Group Holdings (BKG) 1,280.00p +1.75%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 186.80p +1.52%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 1,015.00p +1.50%RPS Group (RPS) 241.10p +1.39%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 398.90p +1.32%FTSE 250 - FallersMothercare (MTC) 395.50p -3.68%Supergroup (SGP) 1,027.00p -3.30%Sports Direct International (SPD) 250.10p -3.06%Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) 427.10p -2.80%Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 299.00p -2.16%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 310.40p -2.02%Dignity (DTY) 780.00p -2.01%Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 99.05p -1.93%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 82.90p -1.84%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 393.20p -1.65%