London open: Footsie helped higher by miners

10th Jan 2012 08:28

The FTSE 100 had a strong start on Tuesday morning with just two stocks in the red early on.In economic news, UK retail sales values were 2.2% higher on a like-for-like basis in December, helped by an easy comparison when last year was affected by the snow. Total sales rose 4.1%. "On both measures and excluding Easter distortions, sales performance was the best since January," according to the British Retail Consortium.MINERS PROVIDE A LIFT, CAIRN PLEASES SHAREHOLDERSWith Chinese foreign trade data beating expectations, the miners were on the rise in the opening minutes. Kazakhmys, Vedanta Resources and Rio Tinto were providing a lift, while Burberry - the luxury firm sensitive to developments in the Chinese economy - was also in demand. China's trade balance widened from $145.3bn to $165.2bn in December.Oil and gas firm Cairn Energy was a high riser after giving details of the long-awaited $3.5bn it intends to return to its lucky shareholders following the $5.5bn sale of a large stake in its Indian business to Vedanta. The return of cash will take place as a 'B' sharescheme which will give UK tax-payers the chance to receive cash in the form of income or capital, or a blend of both.High street giant Marks & Spencer rose after seeing sales (excluding VAT) rise 2.4% in the final 13 weeks of 2011. As for the all-important like-for-like sales comparisons, overall, the UK stores were up 0.5%, with General Merchandise down 1.8% but Food up 3.0%.Royal Bank of Scotland, the 83% state-owned lender, may be on the verge of shedding between 3,000 and 4,000 jobs, reports Reuters. Shares nudged higher in early trading.Drinks giant Diageo was firmer after stepping up its expansion in a high growth market with the $225m acquisition of African brewery Meta Abo Brewery.DEBENHAMS DECEMBER DELIGHTOn the FTSE 250, Debenhams was the best performer, jumping over 8%, after the department store chain reported a 6.5% improvement in like-for-like (LFL) sales including VAT in December.Gold miner Centamin was shining after producing 10% more gold in the fourth quarter from its flagship Sukari project in Egypt.Recruitment firm Hays fell despite saying that total like-for-like net fees for the quarter ended 31 December 2011 rose 8%. While the group saw strong growth elsewhere, UK net fees fell 7%.BCFTSE 100 - RisersKazakhmys (KAZ) 1,004.00p +2.55%Cairn Energy (CNE) 268.40p +2.52%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,001.00p +2.35%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 315.70p +2.33%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 26.77p +2.20%BAE Systems (BA.) 295.50p +2.18%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,374.00p +2.03%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,372.00p +1.84%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,300.00p +1.72%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,666.00p +1.71%FTSE 100 - FallersAggreko (AGK) 2,122.00p -0.42%Smiths Group (SMIN) 938.50p -0.16%FTSE 250 - RisersDebenhams (DEB) 61.50p +8.08%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 84.05p +3.96%Rank Group (RNK) 134.90p +3.77%Henderson Group (HGG) 100.70p +2.97%BH Global Ltd. USD Shares (BHGU) 11.99 +2.83%Victrex (VCT) 1,150.00p +2.68%National Express Group (NEX) 226.40p +2.44%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 270.00p +2.31%TUI Travel (TT.) 161.40p +2.28%Soco International (SIA) 300.00p +2.01%FTSE 250 - FallersRathbone Brothers (RAT) 992.00p -4.43%JD Wetherspoon (JDW) 405.00p -3.89%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 130.80p -3.82%Cape (CIU) 324.10p -3.43%Berendsen (BRSN) 429.10p -2.83%Hays (HAS) 63.55p -2.75%Fenner (FENR) 401.80p -2.48%Paragon Group Of Companies (PAG) 174.70p -1.91%SVG Capital (SVI) 210.40p -1.36%Ocado Group (OCDO) 55.25p -1.34%