London open: Footsie builds on gains

14th Oct 2010 08:24

London has crept higher following yesterday's gains, with a stream of updates giving investors plenty to ponder.Starting with the bad news, African Barrick Gold has suspended 40% of the mining department at its Buzwagi mine in Tanzania following a fuel theft it suspects was an inside job. The shares are down 10%.Also in mining, Rio Tinto edges higher after reporting more of the same for the third quarter with operations running at or close to capacity. "This quarter we achieved record production in iron ore, alumina and coking coal," said chief executive Tom Albanese.Newsagent and bookshop WH Smith is in demand after it posted a strong rise in profits and upped its final dividend by a fifth after a record year from its outlets in railway stations and airports. Pre-tax profits in the year to August jumped by 9% from the previous year to £89m, even as revenues slipped to £1.31bn from £1.34bn. A final dividend of 13.3p is proposed, up 18% on the previous year.Emerging markets asset manager Ashmore, also higher today, grew assets under management (AuM) by 18% in the three months to 30 September, much more than expected.Cash and carry group Booker posted a sharp rise in interim profits and reports strong turnover so far in the second half. Pre-tax profits in the 24 weeks to September 10 climbed to £36.9m from £29.7m in the same period the previous year on sales that rose 5.5% to £1.7bn.Elsewhere in retail-related stocks, Mothercare, the baby clothes and children's toy retailer, put in a better performance during the second quarter, narrowing the decline in like for like sales compared with the first three months. UK like for like (LFL) sales dropped 3.2%, or 1.9% including VAT, in the 13 weeks ended 9 October, slightly less than the 4.1% reported in the 15 weeks to 10 July.Greeting card retailer Clinton Cards is cautious ahead of Christmas after seeing sales decline in the year to August 1 amid fragile consumer confidence. Sales fell to £337m from £340m the previous year, while adjusted pre-tax profits edged up to £13.3m from £12.9m.Internet fashion retailer ASOS continues to see sales soar as it consolidates its position in the UK and makes strong inroads abroad. Sales in the three months to September 30 rose by 47% from the same period a year ago to £69.7m. UK sales were up 21% to £43.7m while international sales rose by 128% to £26m.Pub chain JD Wetherspoon is lower today after announcing some senior departures. The chain famous for 99p pints is losing its finance director and chief operating officer "in due course" after just a couple of years on the board. Former Tesco man Keith Down, finance boss and company secretary since 2008, and Paul Harbottle, at Wetherspoon since 2003 and now chief operating officer, will leave.FTSE 100 - RisersVodafone Group (VOD) 166.90p +1.83%Xstrata (XTA) 1,321.50p +1.65%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,424.00p +1.35%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,298.00p +1.25%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 941.00p +1.18%Lonmin (LMI) 1,850.00p +1.15%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,316.00p +1.15%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 107.20p +0.94%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,892.00p +0.85%Aviva (AV.) 402.10p +0.78%FTSE 100 - FallersAfrican Barrick Gold (ABG) 572.50p -8.18%Compass Group (CPG) 523.00p -1.51%Reed Elsevier (REL) 556.00p -1.24%Hammerson (HMSO) 419.40p -1.04%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 1,930.00p -0.92%Pearson (PSON) 1,000.00p -0.89%Diageo (DGE) 1,136.00p -0.61%AstraZeneca (AZN) 3,319.50p -0.61%Intertek Group (ITRK) 1,862.00p -0.53%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 416.80p -0.50%FTSE 250 - RisersWH Smith (SMWH) 475.10p +4.42%Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 81.95p +3.67%Keller Group (KLR) 613.00p +3.03%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 500.50p +2.60%Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 278.80p +2.50%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 370.60p +2.46%BlueBay Asset Management (BBAY) 372.80p +2.31%SIG (SHI) 109.90p +2.23%Morgan Crucible Co (MGCR) 238.00p +2.19%Punch Taverns (PUB) 78.55p +2.15%FTSE 250 - FallersDunelm Group (DNLM) 445.50p -3.15%JD Wetherspoon (JDW) 444.10p -2.33%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 2,700.00p -1.78%Halma (HLMA) 337.30p -1.66%Derwent London (DLN) 1,563.00p -1.45%Supergroup (SGP) 1,113.00p -1.42%Mothercare (MTC) 510.00p -1.26%Avis Europe (AVE) 206.00p -1.20%BTG (BGC) 227.40p -1.13%Electra Private Equity (ELTA) 1,491.00p -1.01%