London open: Man Group leads the rise early on

1st Mar 2012 08:46

- Man Group surges after shaking up divi policy.- Chinese manufacturing continues to expand.- Tata weighing up a bid for Cable and Wireless Worldwide.London's blue chips edged higher on Thursday morning, helped by a strong rise performance by Man Group. Meanwhile, Chinese manufacturing data helped lift sentiment early on.Today will see the meeting of the European Council in Brussels in which they are to discuss the size of the Eurozone's permanent bailout fund. Officials such as the European Commission President José Manuel Barroso or the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble have already spoken loud and clear: EU leaders will work long and hard throughout the month of March to take action, strengthen the firewall and stave off the current crisis ... but absolutely nothing will be decided on Thursday about the size of the permanent bailout fund, known as the ESM (European Stability Mechanism). European leaders have for ages been discussing the possibility of allowing the temporary European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) to continue running alongside the ESM rather than simply being phased out. If the more permanent €500bn fund were to be combined with the EFSF, the total firewall to protect against the spread of the sovereign debt crisis would be raised to approximately €750bn. The one obstacle is Germany, which has openly opposed any increase in funds. In any case, what's clear is that nothing will be decided on today.The official summit will kick off at 17:00 with the traditional "exchange of views" with the European Parliament president before the "family photo" at 17:30. In other news, China's purchasing managers' index increase from 50.5 to 51 in February, the best reading since September. Markets are looking ahead to the US Institute for Supply Management's factory index results which will be out after the open in New York.MAN UP AFTER NINE-MONTH RESULTSFunds under management (FUM) at hedge fund manager Man Group have edged up during 2012, despite customers reducing the amount of money they have placed with the company. Meanwhile, the company announced a change to its divided policy in which 100% of adjusted management fee earnings per share each financial year will be paid out in dividends. Shares rose 6% in the opening hour.Advertising giant WPP was also a high riser after reporting champion revenues and profits as its gears up for Olympic year. Revenues at the Dublin head-quartered company came in at £10bn, ahead of analysts' predictions of £9.9bn. Profits before tax came in at £1.4bn, against a market consensus of £1.1bn, and 17% ahead of 2010 on a constant currency basis.Mining giant Kazakhmys rose after saying that 2011 revenues rose to $3,563m, from $3,237m the year before, while earnings edged slightly higher. The group said that output of copper in 2012 should be similar to the level produced in 2011. Leading the fallers was engineering group Weir due to its ongoing issues in the takeover of Australian mining equipment maker Ludowici. Weir is nervously awaiting the outcome of the Review Panel of the Australian Takeovers Panel regarding the bid battle for Ludowici and has reminded the firm's shareholders that its offer will remain open for acceptance until six hours past the publication of the Panel's verdict. Biopharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca edged higher after announcing that its Chairman of eight years, Louis Schweitzer, intends to retire at the start of September. The group also revealed a number other changes to its boardroom, including the proposed appointment of the Rexam CEO and a Uniliver executive as non-executive directors.CWW SOARS ON TATE COMMS SPECULATIONIt appears that Tata Communications is considering a bid for telecoms firm Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW) , according to the Times of India, stepping on the toes of Vodafone which last month revealed its interest in the company. The website said that CWW could be valued at more than $1.2bn and Tata could launch a bid in the next two weeks, citing sources close to the matter. CWW's shares surged nearly 20% early on, while Vodafone was flat.Communications technology company Spirent was performing well after it reported a 10% rise in annual profit after a strong performance at its major division performance analysis.Also in demand was UNITE Group, the student accommodation manager, after it reinstated its dividend following a 'strong year' in 2011 in which it achieved 99% occupancy and an increase in net asset value (NAV).Defence group Chemring was a heavy faller after saying that while it is trading in line with expectations, its long-serving Finance Director will step down by the end of July. A search is underway to find a replacement for Paul Rayner who will step down no later than July 31st. Rayner has been with Chemring since 1994 and has been Finance Director since 1999.BCFTSE 100 - RisersMan Group (EMG) 138.70p +5.96%WPP (WPP) 830.00p +3.30%Essar Energy (ESSR) 106.80p +1.81%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,126.00p +1.53%ITV (ITV) 86.80p +0.99%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,098.00p +0.92%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,255.00p +0.76%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,085.00p +0.74%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,206.00p +0.67%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 559.00p +0.67%FTSE 100 - FallersWeir Group (WEIR) 2,089.00p -0.81%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 296.10p -0.74%Reed Elsevier (REL) 546.50p -0.73%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 27.72p -0.72%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,890.00p -0.63%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 34.73p -0.59%CRH (CRH) 1,340.00p -0.59%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 267.60p -0.52%Shire Plc (SHP) 2,187.00p -0.50%Kingfisher (KGF) 282.80p -0.49%FTSE 250 - RisersCable & Wireless Worldwide (CW.) 32.96p +18.22%Spirent Communications (SPT) 147.90p +4.97%Perform Group (PER) 273.50p +3.13%Electrocomponents (ECM) 248.40p +2.86%Unite Group (UTG) 190.00p +2.70%Restaurant Group (RTN) 283.30p +2.05%JD Wetherspoon (JDW) 409.50p +1.97%Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 35.31p +1.90%Savills (SVS) 370.00p +1.90%Ultra Electronics Holdings (ULE) 1,718.00p +1.90%FTSE 250 - FallersChemring Group (CHG) 428.00p -2.46%Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 124.20p -1.90%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 538.00p -1.65%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 503.50p -1.47%Ocado Group (OCDO) 91.75p -1.40%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 89.55p -1.38%Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) 692.50p -1.35%Hansteen Holdings (HSTN) 74.00p -1.33%Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 114.70p -1.29%Betfair Group (BET) 854.50p -1.21%