FTSE stays on positive course
The London market looked on course for a positive end to the week today as mining stocks helped lift recent gloom.
The FTSE 100 Index, which had recently dipped to levels not seen since mid-January, stood 20.1 points higher at 4810.3 by mid-morning despite heavy falls across the Atlantic last night.
New York’s weakness was brought about by disappointing GDP numbers in the United States, triggering a fall of more than 100 points by the Dow Jones Industrial Average last night.
In London, miners were among the highest climbers as they rebounded from a poor performance yesterday prompted by production figures from BHP Billiton. BHP was fourth on the Footsie risers board today – lifting 13p to 637p – while rivals Anglo American added 27p to 1157p and Rio Tinto cheered 27p to 1584p.
Corporate news was thin on the ground today at the end of a hectic week for blue-chip firms.
Publishing group Pearson provided the main focus in the top flight after its AGM statement highlighted a sharp rebound for its US textbook market and pointed to a recovery for its Penguin books business. Shares were 4p higher at 634.5p.
In the second tier, shares in pubs chain JD Wetherspoon were 3% or 7p stronger at 250p, despite the company reporting continued tough trading conditions and a 2% fall in third quarter like-for-like sales.
Magazine publisher Highbury House Communications plunged more than a third after rival Future unveiled a £30.5m (€45m) deal to buy a string of titles just two weeks after pulling its offer for the whole firm.
Shares fell 1.5p to 2.75p as analysts said the move would make it harder for the group to find another buyer.
And life continued to be tough for Marconi following the telecoms equipment group’s failure to land any work from a flagship BT contract.
The shares plummeted 38% on the news yesterday and were down by another 12% or 34.5p at 263.5p early today.
