03.07.07
Miners lead a strong UK market for the second day
02.07.07
Subdued start in London after weekend events
29.06.07
UK shares slip back after explosive device found in London
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A strong start in London this morning was led once again by the mining sector With Lonmin up 3.6% on talk of a bid after yesterday’s 7% rise in shares of Anglo American. The oil majors also continue their recent strength with crude comfortable above $70 per barrel. On the downside, Scottish & Newcastle disappointed a little when it said that operating profit would be lower in the first half compared with the previous year, while trading in the French wholesale business remains extremely challenging. It did however remain confident its performance for the full year would meet expectations, and the shares recovered to stand down a few pence after an earlier 4% drop.
As expected shares in London were marked down this morning, but overall trading volumes were not high ahead of the MPC’s decision on interest rates on Thursday. The bank sector saw some relief from the recent spate of bad news, with Barclays rising after it was granted an extension by the Dutch market regulator so that an announcement on the availability of the formal offer for ABN Amro can take place on or before 23 July. The oil sector continued its recent strength after crude edged back above $70 per barrel.
After an early rally, shares in London drifted back on unfolding news of a bomb planted in the centre of the capital. One area that was already weak was property, where the sector was hit after HSBC cut its price target on Land Securities to 2000p from 2240p. It also lowered its view on Segro , formerly Slough Estates, to 'underweight' from 'neutral' with a reduction in that company’s target to 625p from 840p as part of a review of the sector.
A much better performance was seen in the shares of Rank, a previous FTSE 100 constituent, which said like-for-like revenue rose 5% in the first half of the year, but added it expected the second half to be adversely affected by changes to casino taxation and the smoking ban.
