10th Nov 2014 10:54
LONDON (Alliance News) - UK shares made a solid start to the week, rising in morning trade Monday and continuing the mildly bullish mood from a positive US jobs report on Friday, with energy and mining stocks leading gains.
At mid-morning, the FTSE 100 is up 0.3% at 6,586.43, the FTSE 250 is 0.1% higher at 15,475, and the AIM All-Share index is up 0.1% at 722.33.
In Europe, France's CAC 40 is 0.6% higher while the DAX 30 in Germany is up 0.4%.
Serco is by far the biggest faller in the FTSE 250, down by almost a third after the company identified GBP1.5 billion in impairments, cut its earnings forecasts for the next two years and announced a rights issue of GBP550 million to shore up its balance sheet. It was trading down 31% at 220.0 pence a share.
Cairn Energy is the leading gainer in the FTSE 250, up 9.1% at 172.3 pence, after announcing a second oil discovery in its exploration programme offshore Senegal. Preliminary estimates for the contingent resource range from 150 million barrels of oil to 670 million barrels of oil and further evaluation is being carried out at the well. The company is hoping to reach lower targets as it continues drilling.
Commercial property developer Hammerson reported improvement in its UK retail estate, but said conditions in its French market remain subdued, although stable. The company said UK shopping centre sales are up 2.6% so far in 2014, while French sales are down 2.8%. Total rent from new group lettings are up 37%, and the total area of lettings is up 21%. Shares are 1.8% lower at 595.5 pence, the second biggest faller in the FTSE 100.
Lonmin climbed 3.6% to 194.2 pence despite reporting a full-year loss after the longest strike in the platinum industry's history halted production in South Africa for five months of the year. The platinum miner forecast a return to normal rates of production in the 2015 financial year, at 750,000 ounces of saleable platinum in concentrate, with sales expected to reach 730,000 platinum ounces. The company stressed that a stable operating environment is key to achieving these goals but added it has identified potential savings totalling ZAR2.00 billion over the next three years.
Chinese inflation data was slightly weaker than expected, steady at 1.6% year-on-year in October, and economic data calendars are thin for the first couple of the days of the week.
Futures for US markets are indicating a slow start, with the DJIA, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite all called to open flat to slightly positive.
By Ian Edmondson; [email protected];
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