LONDON (ShareCast) - Miners are pulling Footsie lower in early dealings while Home Retail is leading the blue chips after it said it performed “very strongly” in the first half.

Miner Kazakhmys said total copper cathode output declined 5% in the third quarter adding that overall production for the year could be lower than 2006. Lonmin, Vedanta Resources, Antofagasta, Xstrata and BHP Billiton are also in the red.

Elsewhere in the sector, Rio Tinto’s offer for Canadian aluminium business Alcan has been successful, it said Wednesday, after receiving 79.41% acceptances for the $38.1bn cash deal.

Household goods retailer Home Retail is leading the risers after it said it performed “very strongly” in the first half, with benchmark pre-tax profit up 40% thanks to higher sales at Argos.

The group, demerged from GUS in October last year, reported a profit for the 26 weeks to 1 September of £149.8m, up from a pro forma £107.2m a year ago. Reported profit before tax was £169.3m.

Insurer Friends Provident is also among the top performers after it said life and pensions new business increased 35% in the third quarter and announced new target returns of capital to shareholders after the merger between Friends and Resolution. Fellow insurers Aviva, Standard Life and Prudential joint the advance.

Consumer package company Rexam said it would delist its American Depository Receipt (ADR) quotation from Nasdaq and trade on the US over-the-counter market instead.

Davis Service is leading the mid-caps after it said it saw double digit growth in both revenue and operating profits in the third quarter plus higher interest costs, reflecting acquisitions made in the first half.

Intercontinental Hotels has announced it will take an exceptional charge of £30m to finance the worldwide relaunch of the Holiday Inn brand.

Engineering firm Bodycote saw sales for the nine months to the end of September grow 18.7% at constant exchange rates and expects all its markets to remain buoyant except automotive.

Stuart Blake has stepped down from his role as chief executive of recruitment company Greatfleet with immediate effect due to ill health.

BP Marsh & Partners, a niche venture capital provider to early stage financial services businesses, has seen its net asset value excluding deferred tax rise 12.8% on last year.

Drinks firm Diageo launched and priced $500m of long 5-year and $1bn of 10-year SEC registered securities and said proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.

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