Telecoms keep FTSE in buoyant mood
A buoyant performance by telecoms stocks ensured the FTSE 100 Index held on to early gains today to wrap up a positive end to the week.
Sector heavyweights O2 and Vodafone claimed the top two spots on the risers board as the Footsie survived a sell-off on Wall Street to close 9.1 points higher at 4971.8.
Shares in O2 advanced 3% or 3.75p to 124.5p after it revealed on Wednesday that annual profits had more than tripled.
Vodafone, which is expected to announce on Tuesday that annual profits rose to £10.2 billion from £10 billion last time, also cheered 3% or 4.25p to 145p.
Investors ignored events on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped nerly 70 points early on, bringing its recent bull run to a halt.
Paul Webb, a trader at deal4free.com, said: “Essentially traders seem happy to leave the Footsie sitting a little way short of the 5,000 point for the time being.
“Although expectations are for monetary policy to be steady – or even slacken - in the medium term, there are still some question marks hanging over the UK economy as a whole.”
Corporate news was thin on the ground today following yesterday’s flood of updates.
Brewer SABMiller featured high on the risers board as investors toasted yesterday’s news of a 31% rise in annual profits. The stock lifted 16.5p to 844.5p.
The only Footsie firm to report today was Hilton Group, which fell 1.5p to 275p after saying a “challenging” start to the year at its betting and gaming business left group profits 4% lower in the first four months.
But bookie William Hill dipped 5p to 509.5p as new investors lost the right to dividends. The same reason explained the fall by insurer Old Mutual – off 2.75p to 118p – although many traders remain wary about the merits of its bid approach for Nordic rival Skandia.
Also in the sector, Prudential weakened 2p to 494p even though it has bolstered its presence in China by becoming the first European life insurer to win regulatory approval for eight bases in the country.
Pubs and brewing group Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries lost 11p to 1057p despite saying an upbeat Easter had helped it boost half-year profits by 13.6% to £36 million.
Meanwhile, Anite Group, which supplies IT systems and services to the local authority and telecoms sectors, put on nearly 10% or 5.5p to 62.75p after saying it expected full-year results to come in at the top end of expectations.
News of a deal to offload a French company boosted shares in Kingston Communications – up 1.25p to 68.25p. The group said it planned to sell Arche Communications, the French arm of business telecoms specialist Omnetica, in order to focus attention on its UK operations.
Biggest risers were O2 up 3.75p at 124.5p, Vodafone ahead 4.25p at 145p, Man Group up 26p to 1231p and SABMiller rising 16.5p to 844.5p.
Biggest fallers were Corus Group down 1p to 42.5p, Old Mutual weakening 2.75p to 118p, Antofagasta falling 21p to 1076p and Legal & General shedding 2p to 110.75p.
