LONDON (ShareCast) - Higher commodity prices are lifting oil and mining stocks as the FTSE 100 continues to enjoy a period above the 5500 mark, although the blue-chip index is off its highs for the day.

Among miners, BHP Billiton, Antofagasta, Xstrata and Rio Tinto are the main risers, while in the oil sector services groups Petrofac and John Wood and producer/explorer Cairn Energy are the top performers. The mining sector received an additional lift from Merrill Lynch, which claimed the sector was “over-sold”.

Travel giant TUI Travel delivered a 39% rise in underlying operating profit in the third quarter. Revenue for the quarter rose 9% to £3.6bn. TUI said it is confident that its expectations for 2008 and 2009 can be achieved. The oil price rise overshadows the results however, and the shares fall back, as do those of sector peer Thomas Cook.

Banks are also lower after Goldman Sachs said Barclays may need to write down another £1.5bn over the next year and a half and suggested the dividend may be under threat.

British Land has reported an underlying pre-tax profit of £74m for the first quarter to 30 June, down from £76m a year ago, but an IFRS loss of £572m versus a £266m profit in 2007. The portfolio valuation is down 5% this quarter, while the Net Asset Value has dropped 10% to 1,212p a share.

Rolls-Royce and Goodrich Corporation have signed a letter of intent proposing the formation of a joint venture company, which would develop and supply engine controls for Rolls-Royce aero engines. Under the proposals, each group would own 50% of the joint venture company.

Logica is sharply higher after the software group upped its full-year revenue growth forecast and reported a 31% jump in adjusted operating profits in the first half.

Bellway sold 6,556 home in the twelve months ended 31 July, 14% less than the year before. It doesn't expect widespread land write downs, "but the position is being monitored in light of market conditions." Sector peers Taylor Wimpey, Barratt Developments and Persimmon give up ground in the wake of Bellway’s update.

Broker comment lifts jeweller Signet and oil explorer JKX Oil. The former is still buoyant after yesterday’s upgrade from Investec while the latter is wanted after being upgraded by UBS from “neutral” to “buy”, with a price target of 520p.

In contrast, rat-catcher Rentokil Initial slides after UBS cut its price target to 90p from 105p on the back of a reduced earnings forecast, while newspaper group Johnston Press is lower after Landsbanki changed its view on the shares from “hold” to “reduce”.

Drug developer Protherics is on a high after it announced after last night’s close of trading that it has received numerous bid approaches.

Earnings are in line with expectations at electronic payment services group Paypoint, while revenue rose 11% to £71m between the end of March and 27 July.

Stockbroker Daniel Stewart has narrowed its full year pre-tax loss to £2m from £5m in 2007 and boosted turnover by 11% to £8.4m.

Private aviation services group Air Partner expects results for the full year to be better than market forecasts, after experiencing good trading conditions.

Heat pump maker Turbotec reported a 7% hike in first quarter pre-tax profit following robust demand for its energy efficient heating products as consumers face rising energy costs.

IT services company Phoenix IT Group said first quarter results are in line with company expectations and it remains confident in its growth prospects. The shares fall back, however, after the company said some softening in the market for Partner Services had slowed growth.

FTSE 100 - Risers
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,605.00p +6.15%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 571.00p +6.13%
Xstrata (XTA) 3,130.00p +5.60%
Petrofac Ltd (PFC) 547.50p +5.19%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,899.00p +5.17%
Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 1,040.00p +5.05%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 237.00p +4.87%
John Wood Group (WG.) 397.75p +4.67%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 2,759.00p +4.63%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,912.00p +4.34%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 222.00p -3.37%
Rolls-Royce Group (RR.) 391.50p -2.85%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 794.50p -2.28%
Barclays (BARC) 344.00p -2.13%
FirstGroup (FGP) 564.50p -1.91%
TUI Travel (TT.) 223.75p -1.86%
Man Group (EMG) 521.00p -1.70%
Unilever (ULVR) 1,481.00p -1.66%
HBOS (HBOS) 302.50p -1.47%
Thomson Reuters (TRIL) 1,488.00p -1.39%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Logica (LOG) 126.00p +12.00%
International Ferro Metals (IFL) 72.25p +11.58%
Signet Group (SIG) 67.50p +11.11%
JKX Oil & Gas (JKX) 383.00p +7.51%
Venture Production (VPC) 755.00p +6.41%
Debenhams (DEB) 56.50p +6.10%
Premier Oil (PMO) 1,260.00p +5.97%
UK Coal (UKC) 433.00p +5.61%
Savills (SVS) 223.25p +5.43%
Wellstream Holdings (WSM) 1,027.00p +5.12%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Speedy Hire (SDY) 477.00p -7.92%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 50.25p -6.51%
PayPoint (PAY) 597.00p -6.21%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 78.75p -5.97%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 127.75p -5.72%
Johnston Press (JPR) 59.50p -5.56%
Persimmon (PSN) 339.00p -5.51%
Moneysupermarket.com (MONY) 81.00p -4.99%
Melrose Resources (MRS) 369.75p -4.70%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 644.00p -4.38%

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