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FTSE 100 stocks end higher thanks to miners and construction

Last updated: 17:16 17 Nov 2016 GMT, First published: 10:56 17 Nov 2016 GMT

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FTSE 100 stocks ended higher on Thursday thanks to miners and the construction sector, while the laggards included venerable British names Royal Mail and Rolls Royce.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 share index finished 0.7%s higher at 6,794.

Randgold Resources (LON:RRS, NASDAQ:GOLD) was the top riser of 4% to 6085p after investor World Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Randgold Resources Ltd. (NASDAQ:GOLD) by 8.1% during the third quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Randgold Resources by 11% in the second quarter.

The second top riser was Barratt Developments (LON:BDEV) which rebounded 3.5% to 486p. Its shares had fallen sharply on Wednesday when the housebuilder said it was cutting the price of some of its London properties by up to 10% because of the weakening market

Topping the decliners was Royal Mail (LON:RMG) whose shares dropped 7% to 464p after it reported a dip in half-year profits and raised its target for cost savings.

The company saw revenues from letter deliveries fall, although parcel revenues increased.

Royal Mail said income from advertising mail had fallen because of uncertainty surrounding the UK's referendum on EU membership in June.

Rolls Royce Holdings (LON:RR.) said its outlook for 2016 remained unchanged for revenue, profit and cash.

The company said it would benefit from weaker sterling and life cycle cost reductions which would more than offset higher engineering and programme costs in its civil aerospace unit.

But that wasn’t enough to save its shares, the second-biggest faller in the blue-chip ticker, of 5.4% to 699.5p.

In the mid-cap FTSE 250, which ended up 0.7% at 17,600, shares in Virgin Money (LON:VM.) fell 6.4% to 316.7p, making it the second-biggest faller, after US billionaire Wilbur Ross sold his remaining stake in the lender.

Ross's private equity firm WL Ross & Co sold 53.6mln shares in the bank, raising £171.5mln.

The FTSE AIM 100 Index rose by 0.2% to 3882 while the wider small-cap ticker the FTSE AIM All-Share Index finished up 0.2% at 810.

Gainers in London were in the lead with 36% of stocks higher and 26% lower.


Midsession

1pm

  • FTSE 100 now up over 21 pts

  • Retail sales rose 2% in October; foreigners to blame ...

  • Johnson Mathey down on weak results

  • Virgin Money dumped by major shareholder WL Ross

 

FTSE 100 is ahead by over 21 points to 6,771 despite private postal group Royal Mail Group (LON:RMG) weighing heavily.

It comes as retail sales surged by 2% last month adding fuel to the argument that the Brexit vote has been good for Britain and that confidence on the economy has not been dented.

The big laggard continues to be Royal Mail, which is down 6.65% to 465.70p, and paper maker Mondi (LON:MNDI) is the top riser, up 2.51% to 1,549p.

Severn Trent Water (LON:SVT) continued higher, up over 1.5% after gaining yesterday on acquisition news.  Specialty chemicals group Johnson Matthey (LON:JMAT) fell nearly 3% to 3,236pm as first half profit before tax showed a  36% decline to £210mln.

FTSE 100 recovers from unexpectedly strong retail sales - 10.34am

Spend! Spend! Spend! That has been the theme this morning, but more so on the high street than in the stock market.

UK retail sales surged by 2% in October, and Dutch finance house ING opined that consumers continue to be fairly unfazed by Brexit, though the bank thinks the risk of falling real wages next year could dent spending, prompting the Bank of England to cut rates again in 2017.

“Anecdotal evidence suggests that spending by foreign visitors has increased markedly given the weaker pound. Consumer confidence has remained fairly resilient, perhaps partly in response to the BoE’s swift actions back in August, but we also think there may be a statistical factor at play: retail sales has been particularly volatile for the past year, which leads us to take today’s figures with a certain pinch of salt,” ING said.

The surprisingly strong retail sales figures initially sent the FTSE 100 into a slide, and it briefly dipped into the red at one point, but has since recovered to 6,770, up 20 points, about nine points off its intra-day high.

Properties, such as British Land Company PLC (LON:BLND) and Land Securities Group PLC (LON:LAND) were doing much of the heavy lifting for Footsie – both real estate investment trusts had results out this week – while retailers Next Plc (LON:NXT), up 1.5%, and Burberry Group PLC (LON:BRBY), up 1.3%, received a lift from the retail sales data.

Royal Mail’s results initially disappointed and after further study, the market decided its initial disappointment was not severe enough, and pushed the shares 6.5% into the red.

Among the tiddlers, NAHL Group plc (LON:NAH) was nailed to the floor after the Ministry of Justice’s consultation document on personal injury claims was published.

The company, which runs a service called the National Accident Helpline, noted that the government’s proposals seek to restrict the ability for sufferers of minor whiplash injuries to claim compensation.

 

Challenger bank Virgin Money Holdings (LON:VM.) slipped 20.5o to 318p after WL Ross sold off its remaining 12% stake in the lender at 320p a share.

8.50am ...

Despite dragging the dead weight of Royal Mail PLC (LON:RMG), the FTSE 100 has made a positive start.

The FTSE 100 was up 17 points at 6,767, despite Footsie constituent posting a 4% decline after a set of wishy-washy interim.

“Our performance was broadly in line with our expectations,” said chief executive Moya Greene, which is management-speak for ‘not quite as good as we hoped’.

Among the small caps, Xtract Resources PLC (LON:XTR) rose 10% as the company said it has completed a review of the Manica project in Mozambique and opted to develop the asset solely on an open pit basis.

The independent directors of marketing communications group Creston PLC (LON:CRE) have unanimously decided to recommend acceptance of a 125p a share takeover offer from DBAY Advisors. 

The shares shot up 31.6% to 123p.

Preview

London’s FTSE 100 is expected to start Thursday on the front foot, though volatility is never very far away from the minds of investors.

Analysts reckon the Trump effect has started to wash off stock market sentiment, and attentions are turning back to more fundamental matters.

“It seems that just over a week after Mr Trump’ surprise win that investors now can’t decide whether the new President-elect’s intended plans to boost spending and cut taxes will boost inflation as much as currently anticipated,” said Michael Hewson, analyst at CMC Markets.

Wall Street saw a mixed session on Wednesday with the Dow Jones losing around 0.3% to 18,868 and the S&P 500 dipping 0.16% to 2,176, while the Nasdaq actually rose 0.36% to close at 5,294.

In Asia, the Shanghai Composite his morning edged 0.1% higher to 3,209.

Japan’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were both flat, at 17,862 and 22,278 respectively.

In commodity markets Brent crude was nearly 1% lower at US$46.50, while West Texas Intermediary futures were down 0.75% to US$45.47 per barrel.

Gold is this morning changing hands at US$1,226 per ounce.

In London, IG Markets sees the FTSE 100 opening 11 points higher on Thursday, calling the benchmark at 6,764 to 6,768 about an hour before the open.

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