FTSE close: M&S cheer; TUI up, builders down

By Ed Monk for Thisismoney.co.uk
Updated: 03:33 EDT, 7 April 2011

17.00: The FTSE-100 at the close was up 34.07 at 6041.13.

Eye on the market: Traders will watch the retailers today.

15.35:

The FTSE 100 is holidng onto gains, 36.95 points higher at 6044.01.

14.40:

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones opened higher and is 42.5 points up at 12,436.17.

Back in London, the FTSE 100 has put on a spurt and is now 42.3 points higher at 6049.37.

13.25:

The FTSE 100 is up 39.5 points at 6,046.5 as retailers surged and miners and banks also moved into positive territory.

Upbeat investors shrugged off disappointing manufacturing data showing growth in industrial production shuddered to a halt in February, putting an expected rise in GDP in doubt. We have more on that here.

M&S was 6% or 20.1p higher at 360.3p after its better than expected results, while Next was up 75p at 2,106p.

And banks were ahead despite ongoing fears over Portugal's debt crisis.

Lloyds Banking Group was the second highest riser after press reports that the Independent Commission on Banking is unlikely to suggest that it should demerge HBOS to create more competition in the market. Shares were up 4%, or 2.4p to 62.1p.

Barclays also benefited after Canaccord Genuity upgraded it from hold to buy and said the stock was undervalued by speculation before the ICB's report on Monday. Its shares were up 8.4p to 295.2p, or 3%.

HSBC was another top riser after JP Morgan advised investors to buy the stock before the bank holds an investor day in May. Shares were up 16p to 663.4p.

Miners were buoyant as commodity prices continued to rise, with Randgold Resources up 120p to 5345p after gold future prices hit new highs.

Vedanta Resources was also on the risers board after reports it is set to win approval to buy Cairn India's business in coming days. Shares were up 2%, or 39.5p to 2561p.

11.00:

We have more on retail bellwether Marks & Spencer, which has delivered first-quarter figures that pleaantly surprised the City.

Celebrity-laden ad campaigns have boosted sales, its chief executive claimed today.

The shares are up 18.4p at 358.6p.

Struggling retailer JJB Sports also got a share boost after claiming its latest £65m cash call would mark the end of its financial overhaul, leaving it free to concentrate on turning around its stores.

Its stock rose 9% or 2.5p to 31p. Read more here.

The Dow Jones is heading for a higher open, according to futures trading. Hopes that the US economy is firmly on the path to recovery and a burst of of mergers and acquisitions activity have cheered investors across the Atlantic.

The FTSE 100 is 18.5 points higher at 6,025.6.

09.50:

The FTSE 100 moved higher today as retailers cheered better sales at M&S, while TUI rose on an upgrade and builders and land companies fell.

The blue-chip index rose sharply in early trading before settling 7.99 points at 6015.05 by 9.45am.

Shares in Marks & Spencer took centre stage in London today after the retail chain defied City fears of a winter sales slump.

The stock jumped 4% or 14.65p to 354.8p, while rival Next added 58p to 2089p after M&S said like-for-like sales rose by 0.1% in the fourth quarter of its financial year.

The sales figure was much better than expected and contributed to an overall positive performance by the London market.

Other big risers in the top flight included holidays firm TUI Travel after Citigroup upgraded the stock to hold from sell and said a recent slump in its share price following disruption to the company's Egypt and Tunisia travel packages looked overdone.

Shares rose 5.95p to 234.45p, while rival Thomas Cook added 6p to 174.1p in the FTSE 250 Index.

The same broker also had an impact on the housebuilding sector after it downgraded three of the leading players in the industry to hold from buy.

Taylor Wimpey fell almost 3% - off 1.1p to 39.1p, while Barratt Developments dropped 2.7p to 109.6p and Redrow slipped 0.7p to 123.4p.