Oriel Resources(ORI)

LONDON (ShareCast) - An early three digit loss on Wall Street ensured London stayed in negative territory through to the close, although Sainsbury’s led a fightback that trimmed losses late on.

The supermarket improved on news it has formed a £1.2bn property joint venture with real estate firm British Land, also higher on the announcement.

Sainsbury’s also announced today that like-for-like sales in the fourth quarter rose 4.1%, including fuel it rose 6%. Total sales for the quarter rose 5.1% excluding fuel.

Miners helped the recovery despite the failure overnight of miner Vale to buy Xstrata. Recent reports have suggested that concluding a deal was proving problematic, with Xstrata’s board apparently turning down an offer of £40 per share in cash and shares.

It fell sharply, but other miners did well, as commodity prices rebound and on talk that Vale is still on the hunt for an acquisition. Kazakhmys and Anglo American rose, while South African miner Aquarius Platinum received an additional boost from HSBC, which increased its price target to 710p from 680p.

Rumours that work in Rajasthan has stopped on a pipeline which is to transport Cairn Energy’s oil had its shares lower. But a rally on the oil markets following weaker than expected US supply data aided a recovery. Royal Dutch Shell reacted phlegmatically to news that its oil production in Gabon has been suspended as a result of a strike by workers.

Vodafone was buoyant on reports that it will start receiving dividends again from its US joint venture Verizon Wireless. Elsewhere in the telecoms sector Cable & Wireless got a lift from UBS which has upgraded the stock to “neutral” from “sell”, though it has cut its price target to 140p from 150p.

In other broker comment, AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline both ease after Morgan Stanley cut its price targets for the stocks. Astra now has a price target of 2,150p (previously 2,450p) and GSK a price target of 1,161p (previously 1,391p).

Friends Provident rose after the FT reported that JC Flowers is working on a fresh approach to the embattled life assurer, although gains disappeared later on.

Energy supplier Scottish Southern Energy said it would double the amount of energy it generates from renewable sources in the UK and Ireland in five years.

Department store Debenhams is friendless on market rumours that Merrill Lynch has placed 47m shares at prices ranging from 60p to 66p.

Housebuilder Bellway posted lower interim profits and is battening down the hatches for a tough second half of the year.

Oil and gas exploration firm Soco International saw profits for the year rise despite production being slightly lower.

United Utilities expects to deliver full-year results in line with forecasts and said it remains on track to meet the tougher leakage target set by water regulator Ofwat for 2007/08.

Budget airline Ryanair said it will review all of its major costs over the coming weeks as the price of oil rises to over $100 a barrel. The group said it was freezing the pay of its senior management for the year and is reviewing other costs including airports, staffing, fuel and currency exposures.

Tile retailer Topps Tiles will report a small decline in underlying interim sales this year, adding the consumer market is getting "increasingly challenging".

Photographic retailer Jessops said like for like sales for the 25 weeks to 22 March is down 5.1% with total sales falling 24.6%, reflecting the closure of 81 stores last year.

Sofa retailer ScS Upholstery moved to a first half pre-tax loss after a ‘challenging’ trading period, but said it remains confident of a profitable second half.

Chrome and nickel miner Oriel Resources has agreed to a £749m takeover from Russian mining and metals firm Mechel.

Stockbroker Hichens, Harrison fell back despite confirming it is bid talks with Religare Enterprises. The New Delhi-based retail brokerage is considering a cash offer for the UK stockbroker at a proposed price of 285p per share.

Metal-Tech plunged on news that the speciality metal and metal-based chemicals firm expects to fall “significantly” short of full year profit expectations.

Architect firm SMC said the restructuring steps it took during 2007 has helped increase second half revenues and EBITDA compared with the first half.

CAP-XX was wanted after signing a letter of intent to establish a partnership with Japanese electronic components company Murata to provide high performance super-capacitors to the mobile hand-set industry and for other applications.

Outsourced car valeting and vehicle preparation provider Autoclenz firmed despite reporting lower profits. The company said it is making progress on reducing its dependence on the automotive sector and expanding its presence in the car rental market.


FTSE 100 - Risers
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 358.00p +6.39%
Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,606.00p +4.15%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 1,258.00p +3.80%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,945.00p +3.62%
Lonmin (LMI) 3,101.00p +2.51%
SABMiller (SAB) 1,115.00p +2.39%
ICAP (IAP) 590.50p +2.34%
BG Group (BG.) 1,114.00p +2.30%
Cable & Wireless (CW.) 141.90p +2.23%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 651.50p +2.12%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Aviva (AV.) 601.00p -5.43%
Xstrata (XTA) 3,522.00p -5.22%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 553.50p -5.06%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 1,845.00p -4.50%
Wolseley (WOS) 527.00p -4.27%
Persimmon (PSN) 737.50p -4.22%
Shire (SHP) 995.50p -3.91%
WPP Group (WPP) 594.50p -3.33%
Standard Life (SL.) 244.25p -3.27%
Barclays (BARC) 444.75p -3.10%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Aquarius Platinum (AQP) 710.50p +7.73%
VT Group (VTG) 648.00p +5.28%
Enodis (ENO) 151.50p +5.21%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 182.00p +5.05%
Dana Petroleum (DNX) 1,178.00p +4.99%
DS Smith (SMDS) 150.00p +4.90%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 430.25p +4.62%
888 Holdings (888) 154.00p +4.05%
International Personal Finance (IPF) 210.00p +3.96%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 609.00p +3.92%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Debenhams (DEB) 59.25p -17.13%
Melrose Resources (MRS) 300.00p -6.61%
Collins Stewart (CLST) 122.00p -5.97%
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 565.50p -5.36%
Cattles (CTT) 222.25p -5.22%
CSR (CSR) 320.50p -5.18%
Keller Group (KLR) 675.00p -4.93%
Redrow (RDW) 289.00p -4.86%
Trinity Mirror (TNI) 295.00p -4.76%
Informa (INF) 301.50p -4.51%

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