Footsie close to 6000 mark
MINERS sewed a rich seam and drove the fabulous Footsie to within spitting distance of the magic 6,000 level.
The heavyweight sector reflected rising commodity prices and hopes that mouthwatering consolidation will continue throughout the rest of the year.
Numis also advised clients to fill their boots because it feels the sector has recovered only slightly from May's painful sell-off of between 15% and 20% and there is plenty of upside.
The broker believes investors need to now regain confidence in the longevity of the current resources boom and in the sustainability of generally strong metals prices as China maintains positive economic momentum.
As the copper price for three months' delivery jumped to $7,700 a ton, Kazakhmys soared 47p to 1287p and Antofagasta added 11¾p at 486¼p.
Break-up bid speculation lifted Anglo American 72p to 2403p, while Xstrata reflected further consideration of its takeover of Falconbridge with a gain of 35p at 2462p.
BHP Billiton added 28p to 1035p and Rio Tinto 90p to 2775p on relief that workers at the La Escondida copper mine in Chile, in which they both have significant interests, had started to return to work.
With Wall Street shut for Labor Day, London had no distractions. The Footsie closed 37.5 points up at the day's best of 5,986.6. The FTSE 250 rose 57.7 points to 9,759.8.
Online casino group PartyGaming rose 3½p to 119¼p on hopes that Thursday's secondquarter figures come up to scratch. Analysts are hoping to hear more about what plans management have for Gamebookers, its recent £69m acquisition.
Unilever, which has sold its Birds Eye frozen food business to Permira for £ 1bnplus, jumped 24p to 1279p. UBS upgraded to buy from neutral and lifted its target price to 1480p from 1250p.
Broker Kepler Teather & Greenwood advises clients to sell Cairn Energy ahead of today's interims and the close was 29p lower at 2116p.
It forecasts a fall in net income to £10.7m from £24m and believes that the planned IPO of its Indian assets will not realise shareholdersany upside from current levels and that costs increases and delays in Rajasthan could impair shareholder value.
Better-than-expected interim results helped by continued high global demand for petroleum products helped support services group Intertek advance 44½p to 752½p.
Deutsche Bank whetted small and mid-cap investors' appetites by placing casual dining group Gondola on its 'top picks' list with a target price of 414p. A large seller was cleared out and the shares closed a tasty 17¼p up at 346¼p.
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Vague takeover rumours lifted reinsurer Benfield 16½p to 389p.
London Stock Exchange soared 47p to £12 amid speculation that Nasdaq, as soon as it can, will increase its stake to 29.9% from 25.1%. Its regulatory handcuffs come off early next month.
Nervous selling ahead of today's trading update left discount clothes group Matalan 6½p off at 170¾p and trading at a big discount to the mooted 200p level of the bid from the 53%-controlling shareholder and founder John Hargreaves.
The Takeover Panel extended the bid deadline by a month to October 11 so that everyone has a chance to access autumn trading. Former cash shell Voss Net resumed trading at 43/8p following its acquisition of Tanzania Gold, which has interest in the Mkurumu Gold Project, the third-largest gold producer in Africa.
A bullish trading statement helped Offshore Hydrocarbon Mapping rise 9p to 118½p. It expects full-year revenues to ' significantly more than double' those of last year.
Vividas, the full-screen video technology company, rose 4p to 46½p after signing a worldwide licensing deal through a channel partner to supply its streaming technology to the largest market for video on demand over the internet.
Vane Minerals edged up ¾p to 9¾p after its 100%-owned Mexican subsidiary completed a drilling programme at its Diablito silvergold mine in Mexico.
Business services minnow Meriden slumped 0.065p to 0.05p after warning it may be forced into administration.
• MORE than 4m shares in oil and gas minnow Afren changed hands and the close was 4p better at 53p. Afren has interests in Nigeria, Gabon and the Republic of Congo. Broker Bridgewell is a fan and recently advised clients that exploration and drilling programmes in Nigeria and the Congo could add up to 34% to the company's net asset value of 84p per share.
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