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Epic & Msn data

Epic	ASX
Time:	16:21:00
Mid Price:	2614.33
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Period & price data

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Now:	2614.33
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Additional information

Additional	Information
Market:	All Share Index
Sector:	General Mining
Epic:	ASX
News:	Latest news
Web Site:	UK Market Wrap
Other Articles:	09-02-201009-02-201009-02-2010

FTSE 100 turns negative as commodities slide, US futures mixed ahead of Chicago PMI and sales data

Overview: contrary to pre-trade projections, the FTSE 100 headed south in early trade, sliding 0.8% as only two blue chip companies managed to post gains of 1% or more in the morning. Tour operator TUI Travel (LSE: TT) and utility business Severn Trent (LSE: SVT) added 2% and 1.5% respectively. Caterer Compass Group (LSE: CPG) followed, advancing nearly 1%.

Part-nationalised banks Lloyds (LSE: LLOY) and Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS) were the biggest fallers in the index with losses of 6.5% and 5% respectively. Other financial stocks also were weak as insurers Legal & General (LSE: LGEN) and Aviva (LSE: AV) and investor Resolution (LSE: RSL) made the top fallers list with losses of over 2%.

Engineering group Invensys (LSE: ISYS) and commercial property company British Land (LSE: BLND) also were in decline, shedding 2%.

US stock index futures were mixed this morning as while the Dow Jones was projected to open flat, futures for S&P 500 rose and futures for the technology heavy Nasdaq composite inched lower. Among the updates scheduled for today is the Chicago PMI (purchasing managers index) survey for November.

Commodities

Oil prices inched slightly with January Brent Crude declining to US$77.55/barrel, while US light, sweet crude for January delivery moved down to US$76.40/barrel.

Most major oil and gas stocks were in decline this morning. Supermajors BP (LS:E BP) and Shell (LSE: RDSB) shed 1.3% and 1.7% respectively, while Tullow Oil (LSE: TLW) also lost 1.7%. Petrofac (LSE: PFC) was down 1%, while Cairn Energy (LSE: CNE) declined marginally.

BG Group (LSE: BG) led the sector in the FTSE 100 with a 2% advance.

Midcaps followed with Dana Petroleum (LSE: DNX) and Heritage Oil (LSE: HOIL) sliding 1.5% and 1% respectively, while Dragon Oil (LSE: DGO) declined marginally.

Juniors didn’t show much movement in early trade. Africa and FSU operating oil and gas junior Victoria Oil & Gas (AIM: VOG) was one of the top performers with a 3.5% climb.

Energy investor Xtract Energy PLC (AIM: XTR) headed in the opposite direction, sliding 4%, while Atlantic Canada operating oil and gas group Enegi Oil (AIM: ENEG) and Irish oil and gas exploration company Petroceltic International (AIM: PCI) followed with losses of 3.5%.

MIners slump as gold and silver slide

Precious metals also slid. Gold was down to US$1,171/oz, while silver and platinum declined to US$18.19/oz and US$1,439/oz respectively.

Blue chip mining companies also turned negative in early trade. Platinum miner Lonmin (LSE: LMI) was at the bottom of the pile with a 1.4% decline. Gold miner Randgold Resources (LSE: RRS) pulled back 1%, while silver producer Fresnillo (LSE: FRES) followed with a marginal loss.

Specialty chemicals firm Johnson Matthey (LSE: JMAT) lost nearly 1%.

Midcaps also declined with the exception of Aquarius Platinum (LSE: SQP), which posted a gain of less than 1%. Gold miner Petropavlovsk (LSE: POG) mirror Randgold with a 1% loss, while silver producer Hochschild Mining (LSE: HOC) declined marginally.

Tajikistan operating gold miner Kryso Resources (AIM: KYS) and Australian gold and copper prospector Solomon Gold (AIM: SOLG) led the small caps with gains of over 9%.

Kazakhstan operating gold producer and copper developer Frontier Mining (AIM: FML) also did well, climbing 6%, while Copper and gold miner EMED Mining (AIM: EMED) and Philippines focused gold producer Medusa Mining (AIM&ASX: MML) followed, tacking on more than 4%.

Argentina focused gold explorer Patagonia Gold (AIM: PGD) was up 4% and Turkey and Ethiopia operating gold miner Stratex International (AIM: STI) and Africa focused gold miner Pan African Resources (AIM: PAF) added more than 3%.

Turkey and Saudi Arabia operating gold explorer KEFI Minerals (AIM: KEF) was at the bottom of the pile with an 11% decline.

Base metals mixed

With the exception of zinc, which improved to US$1/lb, base metals declined with copper and nickel sliding to US$3.10/lb and US$7.24/lb respectively.

Base metals focused miners were mixed in the morning. Eurasian Natural Resources (LSE: ENRC) was in the lead with a 1.5% advance, while Anglo American (LSE: AAL) added 1% and Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO) and BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT) declined marginally.

Kazakhmys (LSE: KAZ), Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO), Vedanta Resources (LSE: VED) and Xstrata (LSE: XTA) headed in the opposite direction, shedding less than 1%.

Iron ore focused investor Red Rock Resources (AIM: RRR) was one of the top performers among the junior miners, rising 9%. Russia focused copper and nickel miner Amur Minerals (AIM: AMC) and Philippines operating nickel miner Rusina Mining (ASX: RML; AIM: RMLA) slipped 5.5% and 4% respectively.

Banks, insurance, private equity

The banking sector was in selling mode today with the sole exception of HSBC (LSE: HSBA), which posted a marginal gain. Bailed out banks Lloyds (LSE: LLOY) and Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS) were at the bottom of the pile with losses of 6% and 5% respectively. Standard Chartered (LSE: STAN) and Barclays (LSE: BARC) lost 1%.

Most insurers also turned negative. Legal & General Group (LSE: LGEN) sank to the bottom with a 3.6% loss. Aviva (LSE: AV) was down 1.5%, while Prudential (LSE: PRU) slid 1%. Admiral Group (LSE: ADM), RSA Insurance Group (LSE: RSA) and Standard Life (LSE: SL) lost less than 1%.

Private equity group 3i (LSE: III) was down 1%.

Small Cap Movers

Other notable movers among the small caps included Cement operator Prosperity Mineral Holdings (AIM: PMHL), which soared 37% after agreeing to sell the entire share capital of Upper Value Investments Limited to TCC International Holdings Limited for £312 million.

Virtual queuing systems for theme parks and major attractions specialist, Lo-Q (AIM: LOQ), which released a trading update for the first ten months of the year this morning, rose 6%. Healthcare workforce optimisation solutions provider Allocate Software (AIM: ALL) also was in demand, adding 4%.

Large and Mid Cap News

FTSE 100 oil and gas producer, Cairn Energy (LSE: CNE) (‘Cairn’) announced it will take full ownership and control of its exploration subsidiary, Capricorn Oil. Cairn will acquire the 9.99% stake from Dyas BV (‘Dyas’’) in return for 1.8 million shares, certain interests Albania and Tunisia and a small proportion of cash. The overall deal value is said to be $95 million.

Reports from Namibia suggest, perhaps hardly surprisingly, that mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX & LSE: RIO) is very keen to purchase the Rossing South project from Australian explorer, Extract Resources (ASX & TSX: EXT) and develop it in conjunction with its existing major mining operation some 7 km to the north.

Aerospace and defence systems manufacturer and FTSE 100 constituent BAE Systems (LSE: BA) has entered into a joint venture (JV) agreement with Mahindra & Mahindra Limited to create a land systems focused India-based company. The new entity is expected to be established in the first half of 2010.

FTSE 250 oil and gas engineering company, Lamprell (LSE: LAM) announced this morning that it had agreed to receive a combined cash and equity final payment for the BassDrill Alpha drill barge. The final payment is due in December, and represents a $23 million writedown on the original price agreed between Lamprell and BassDrill Alpha Limited.

UK outsourcing group, Xchanging plc (LSE: XCH) revealed a new strategic alliance with ‘absence management’ specialists FirstCare. The partnership sees the pooling of services between the two support management service groups to offer both integrated and unbundled services.

Small Cap News

Virtual queuing systems for theme parks and major attractions specialist, Lo-Q (AIM: LOQ), confirmed this morning that trading in the first 10 months (to 31 October 2009) was in line with market expectations despite a number of unique challenges during the period.

African Medical Investments (AMI; AIM: AMEI), which is looking to capitalise on the growing demand for quality medical services in Africa, whose middle class is undergoing rapid expansion, has updated the market on its progress in the six months to 31 August 2009, announcing increases in patient numbers and plans for further “aggressive” expansion, fuelled by the recently secured funding from a US hedge fund.

Middle East, Africa and US operating oil and gas company Sterling Energy (AIM: SEY) has sold its US assets for US$90 million, which will enable the company to repay all of its bank debt and improve its cash balance.

Solomon Gold PLC (AIM: SOLG) plans to start a thorough exploration of Fauro Island in the north of Solomon Islands for gold copper porphyries and large scale epithermal gold ore bodies after it was granted a three-year prospecting licence for the tenement covering a 70 square kilometres area.

Central China Goldfields (AIM: GGG) said Obtala Resources (AIM: OBT) has bought 1.75 million more shares in the company, raising its holding to 28.25 million shares, or 15.41 percent of the capital.

British pub group, Mitchells and Butlers (LSE: MAB) complained to the Takeover and Mergers Panel claiming a number of its large shareholders are attempting to take control of the board. In a statement, Mitchells and Butlers said the actions of the Piedmont Investment Group (‘Piedmont’) threaten to undermine the independence and effectiveness of the Board ‘to advance the interests of a small group of shareholders’.

Jupiter Mines (ASX:JMS) has announced further high-grade magnetite intersections from the Mt Ida prospect, part of the company’s Central Yilgarn Iron Project in Western Australia. Red Rock Resources (AIM: RRR) has a 27% stake in Jupiter Mines.

Stratex International PLC (AIM: STI) made a significant new gold discovery in the Afar Region in northern Ethiopia and was granted a three year Exclusive Exploration Licence (EEL) over 1,579 square kilometres around the discovery.

South America focused gold exploration and development mining junior, Patagonia Gold, (AIM: PGD) (“Patagonia”) confirmed this morning that new legislation recently passed in the Province of Santa Cruz, Argentina, to create an "Area of Special Interest for Mining” encompassed its Lomada de Leiva, Cap Oeste and La Manchuria Projects.

Ukraine focused gas producer, Regal Petroleum (AIM: RPT) has provided an update from its Mekhediviska-Golotvshinska (MEX-GOL) and Svyrydivske gas and condensate fields in Ukraine, where the company is currently drilling a series of new generation wells with two Saipem-operated Lewco 2000hp rigs, seeking to establish additional production from the projects.

EMED Mining Public Ltd (AIM: EMED) said independent experts have commenced the due diligence investigations for certifying the company's operating and rehabilitation plans as part of the regulatory approval process required for the restart of the Rio Tinto copper mine in Spain’s Andalucia province.

Wireless communications developer, Telit Communications (AIM: TCM) announced that it had entered into an agreement with Astaire Securities to raise £5.3 million before expenses by placing 26.5 million shares at 20 pence per share. The placing price represents a 17.6% premium to the mid-market share price at the close of trading last Friday (27 November).

South American based explorer Mariana Resources (AIM: MARL) has secured an option to acquire the remaining 30% interest in the Santa Cruz JV (joint venture) from IAMGOLD Corporation, which would give it full ownership of the project.

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