My private school is ditching the Teachers' Pension Scheme: Should I take a salary cut to move to a state school and keep it?
Did Nationwide spend £39M to grab 163,000 new customers? Record influx thanks to £200 switching bonus - as other banks lose out
Ten stocks to invest in NOW if you want to profit from Rishi's multi-billion pound defence spending boost: JEFF PRESTRIDGE gets experts' tips
Buy-to-let hotspots revealed: Where landlords are still buying - and why they are targetting these areas
Almost half of those considering divorce stay together over worries about the financial impact
Car insurers to make pay monthly cheaper and fairer after warning about 'poor product' on premium finance
How used Range Rover values have tumbled: Owners struggling with insurance hikes driven by luxury SUV thefts face a big hit if they sell now
The ULEZ effect: Diesel fuel sales fall twice as fast in London - now green campaigners want new diesel cars banned before 2035
BUSINESS CLOSE: FTSE 100 hits new closing record at 8,079; Barclays profits slip 12% to £2.3bn; Sainsbury's boosts guidance
Unilever sales jump as consumer giant eases price hikes and new chief exec's turnaround plan shows progress
BHP swoops on Anglo American in £31bn mining megadeal sparking fresh fears for shrinking London market
Barclays profits hit by weaker mortgage lending and deposits - but cost-cutting and promise of dividends lifts shares
AstraZeneca boasts sales of £10.2bn thanks to blockbuster oncology and diabetes drugs
Back WH Smith shares 'more for patient money than fast bucks', analysts say as travel bounce fails to lift profits
Mini's electric ace up its sleeve: New Aceman EV is a family-friendly crossover with a 250-mile range - but its price tag certainly isn't mini
Vietnam is primed for growth: A postcard from a fund manager's visit to Asia's rising investment star
Mice ate my cables but HomeServe won't pay my first insurance claim in 20 years: SALLY SORTS IT
How YOU can lower your council tax by challenging your bill: 99.6% of people's bills either fall or stay the same if they follow these steps
My husband began to cry, he said we'd won £2.2m: We hit the lottery jackpot and this is what life as a winner is really like
Royal Mail's £5 fines are a cynical way to make us pay for its failure to stop flood of fake stamps, says JEFF PRESTRIDGE
Almost no fixed rate energy deals are cheaper than the Ofgem price cap - and they can charge high exit fees to leave
Why the £2.9bn takeover of Virgin Money may mean BETTER savings rates at Nationwide: SYLVIA MORRIS explains
Supercar speed in an electric saloon: New Tesla Model 3 Performance on sale with a 0-60mph time under 3 seconds - but it comes at a steeper price
Iconic Mercedes G-Wagen - famed for its military background and popularity with celebs - goes electric

Yesterday's trading: Soco soars on drill hit

By Geoff Foster for MailOnline
Updated: 04:07 EDT, 5 June 2007

View
comments

Good morning Vietnam. Soco International gushed a spectacular 291p to a peak of 1832p following the revelation it had found oil and gas in Oligocene sands, when exploring its Te Giac Den prospect in block 16-1 offshore Vietnam, where it has a 24.8% stake.

Buyers filled their boots even though Soco said it will require another 15 days of drilling to assess the commercial potential of the prospect. Only then will the company decide whether to test the well.

Still, Bridgewell analyst Al Stanton is bullish and said the prospect has the potential to hold some 1.5bn barrels of oil and gas and such a discovery could add over £8 to his 1480p a share to Soco's net asset value.

Rival broker Kepler Teather & Greenwood added if successful, the prospect has the potential to double its net asset value which currently stands at 1,440p a share.

With an active drilling programme, Soco remains one of its favourite exploration and production companies.

Morgan Sindall, a builder of affordable houses, soared 175p to 1500p after its aquisition of Amec Developments and Amec Design & Project Services for £26m, giving it exposure to the strong urban regeneration market. Broker Panmure Gordon was unimpressed. It said despite paying what looks to be a good price, there must be concerns about the logic of the deal due to the recent history of the operations they are buying.

The Footsie took the latest 8% wobble in Chinese stocks in its stride with dealers more concerned about whether UK interest rates will rise again on Thursday. The index closed 12.6 points easier at 6,664.1 with proceedings not helped by a fault which rendered the LIFFE market useless for almost three hours. Wall Street lost 49 points at the opening.

Royal Bank of Scotland improved 6p to 638p on confirmation it is putting Southern Water up for auction. It bought the utility for £2bn in 2002 and it could fetch £4bn. The bank and its 'friends' are still trying to buy ABN Amro and will release a trading update today.

As the Footsie's trap-door creaks open, Bradford & Bingley cheapened 4½p more to 422¾p. The mortgage bank is expected to be replaced by Barratt Developments (31p down at 1064p) when the FTSE Steering Committee meets tomorrow.

Profit-taking after the recent rise on bid hopes and dearer money worries left Hammerson 30p off at 1585p. British Land shed 24p to 1436p and Land Securities 32p to 1919p. Talk of a pending bullish circular lifted Qinetiq 6½p up at 205½p.

Nervous selling amid vague talk of a profits warning saw Serco touch 454¼p before closing 9¾p down at 463¼p. The group, which operates the cameras round the M25, bought management consulting firm Cornwell for £7m cash in April.

Goals Soccer Centres scored a penny gain to a year's high of 406¾p. Shop broker KBC Peel Hunt on Sunday took over its excellent centre in Alperton, near Wembley, to sponsor a City 5-a-side competition. Some 16 stockbroking and fund management teams took part for the chance to win a short-break stay in Las Vegas, plus spending money.

Congratulations then to Charles Stanley who won on penalties in the final against NCL Investments. As for KBC, they won two and lost three games despite the guest appearance of former Arsenal star Paul Merson.

SHARES ADVICE & TOOLS

null

As rumours of a 65p a share bid from a European bank intensified, Commoditrade advanced 3p to 56¼p. Andrew Regan's Corvus Capital, which has a sizeable stake in the commodity trader, edged up 1p to 25¼p.

Takeover hopes lifted Carluccio's 8½p to 228½p after multi-millionaire Richard Caring doubled his stake in the Italian restaurant group to 6%. He recently announced the sale of his Signature Restaurants business, which includes Strada, Belgo's and Bierodrome, to Tragus which is owned by Blackstone.

Cambridge Mineral Resources firmed 0.375p to 3¼p on news a feasibility study has confirmed gold reserves and resources for its Quintana Mine, Colombia. Dealers heard the short-term newsflow will be bullish. Leyshon Resources hardened ¾p to 26p after acquiring the first of four exploration licences adjacent to its Zheng-Guang gold-zinc property in northeast China.

Pantheon Resources soared 30p to 67p on hearing about 'highly successful' initial test results on Wilson Prospect, Padre Island. Dimension Resources doubled to 0.3225p following a placing at 0.25p to raise £250,000 and board appointments.

• Sandhaven Resources eased 5p to 155p on PLUS Markets, but dealers reckon some good news is on the way. Rumours suggest the oil and natural gas developer is about to reveal it has purchased some leases in BarnettShale in Texas. They are said to contain some 37bn cubic feet of gas worth an estimated £40m and it is paying less than £3m. Bulls roar it could put 30p on the share price.

Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click on them we may earn a small commission. That helps us fund This Is Money, and keep it free to use. We do not write articles to promote products. We do not allow any commercial relationship to affect our editorial independence.