LONDON (ShareCast) - A bullish start on Wall Street gave London an extra lift during the afternoon session, with insurers and miners continuing to offset mixed banks.

Mining giant Xstrata expects a "significantly stronger" second half performance across its portfolio, while Kazakhmys said copper cathode production for the full year should be at least in line with 2007 despite possible power disruptions in Kazakhstan.

Ferrexpo, Anglo American and Vedanta Resources all joined the rally.

Car insurance group Admiral surged after posting record half year profits and a 26% dividend hike. Pre-tax profit rose 16% to £100.3m on turnover up 13% to £472.5m.

Strong figures also buoyed insurer Aviva, which posted a 12% increase in first half profit and remains confident about the future prospects. It will also make a £1bn offer to eligible policyholders to reattribute surplus money in two with-profit funds.

Can maker Rexam was settled among the leaders as interim profit leapt 61%. It expects the second half to match expectations. Underlying pre-tax profit rose to £158m in the six month ended 30 June versus £98m last time.

But banks lost out after Lloyds TSB reported a 70% plunge in first half profit before tax on a statutory basis to £599m. It took a £585m hit from “market dislocation”. Profit on a continuing businesses basis fell 19% to £1.57bn, but rose 11% excluding the write-down. HBOS dropped ahead of tomorrow’s results.

Confectionery giant Cadbury revealed a 46% jump in first half profit and issued a confident outlook for the remainder of 2008.

A 69% slump in first half profits at its residential unit has prompted British gas-owner Centrica to hike gas prices by 35% and electricity prices by 9%.

British Airways continued its ascent after yesterday’s announcement that it is in merger talks with Spain’s Iberia. The news prompted Cazenove and Deutsche Bank to upgrade their ratings on the UK airline.

Citigroup has raised its recommendation on BP to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ after the oil giant’s solid second quarter results Tuesday.

RSA Insurance Group, formerly Royal & Sun Alliance, said the litigation between General Motors with current and former members of RSA has been settled on terms which are confidential. The group added the settlement will have no effect on RSA's earnings.

Fashion retailer Next said it remains ‘very cautious’ on its second half outlook as it reported a 6% fall in first half underlying like-for-like sales. Marks & Spencer fell in sympathy.

Landsbanki has slashed its profit forecasts for Woolworths and lowered its rating on the high street retailer to ‘reduce’ from ‘hold’ following Tuesday’s gloomy trading update.

Acertec has lost half its value after the steel products maker warned 2008 profits are expected to be “substantially” short of expectations due to a legal dispute with a supplier.

Data centers operator Telecity Group posted maiden profits during its interims and said it continues to perform ahead of its own forecasts.

Packaging firm Mondi saw half year operating profits increase by 8%, driven by a strong performance from its Europe & International division. Underlying operating profit rose to €263m in the six month ended June compared with €243m last time.

Investment bank Close Brothers said its performance continues to be relatively resilient and expects a broadly satisfactory outcome for the 2008 financial year.

James Cropper said volatility in forward gas prices over the last month has been sufficient, at its peak, to potentially reduce the paper manufacturer’s results for the full year to a loss.

Shares in Business Direct more than doubled after the parcel group said a sale of all or part of business is the most likely option to secure funding.

FTSE 100 - Risers
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 295.25p +11.73%
Admiral Group (ADM) 914.00p +10.79%
Rexam (REX) 380.50p +9.50%
Aviva (AV.) 507.50p +8.73%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 2,040.00p +7.99%
Xstrata (XTA) 3,647.00p +6.17%
Friends Provident (FP.) 86.30p +5.89%
British Airways (BAY) 263.00p +5.84%
Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 987.50p +5.84%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 98.50p +5.35%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Lloyds TSB Group (LLOY) 306.00p -4.67%
Drax Group (DRX) 719.00p -1.91%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,167.00p -1.77%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 266.00p -1.39%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,036.00p -1.15%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 691.50p -1.14%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 259.75p -1.14%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 727.00p -1.09%
Next (NXT) 995.50p -0.95%
Cadbury (CBRY) 620.00p -0.88%

FTSE 250 - Risers
PayPoint (PAY) 647.00p +9.48%
Provident Financial (PFG) 894.50p +9.09%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 420.00p +7.83%
Investec (INVP) 344.75p +7.73%
Yell Group (YELL) 77.50p +7.64%
JPMorgan Russian Secs. (JRS) 633.00p +6.75%
Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 804.50p +6.70%
JPMorgan Indian Inv Trus (JII) 321.50p +6.46%
PV Crystalox Solar (PVCS) 175.00p +6.06%
SIG (SHI) 445.75p +5.82%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Aquarius Platinum (AQP) 503.00p -6.51%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 42.50p -5.03%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 100.00p -4.76%
Bellway (BWY) 491.50p -4.66%
Bradford & Bingley (BB.) 54.75p -4.37%
Dana Petroleum (DNX) 1,420.00p -4.05%
De La Rue (DLAR) 850.00p -2.80%
Regus Group (RGU) 71.00p -2.74%
Randgold Resources (RRS) 2,355.00p -2.65%
Dimension Data Holdings (DDT) 49.25p -1.99%

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