Wolseley buoyed by US outlook
PLUMBING and heating supplies group Wolseley was in demand yesterday as strong results and a bullish outlook from US industrial giant Caterpillar raised hopes companies are adapting to a slower global economy.
Wolseley, heavily exposed to the US market, advanced 44p to 1840p as construction and mining equipment maker Caterpillar posted record quarterly profit to September 30 and talked up its sales prospects for next year.
Investor confidence was further lifted by encouraging manufacturing data from China, whose likely continued strong demand for metals boosted the heavyweight mining sector.
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Copper producers Kazakhmys and Antofagasta strengthened 68½p to 925p and 82p to 1178p, platinum giant Lonmin struck it 79p richer to 1112p, while Rio Tinto and Xstrata gained 222½p to 3373½p and 64½p to 1016p.
Wolseley was in demand yesterday as strong results and a bullish outlook from US industrial giant Caterpillar raised hopes
A healthier appetite for riskier assets also cheered engineering stocks such as blue chip GKN, 10p higher at 194p, and mid-caps Cookson Group and Morgan Crucible, up 29p to 516p and 14p to 273p.
With fears easing that UK banks will need to raise fresh funds amid expectations for a major recapitalisation of European lenders, Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays added 1¾p to 34½p and 4¾p to 186¾p. The FTSE 100 Index closed 59.41 points in the black at 5548.06.
Higher crude prices failed to fuel support for major oil companies, with BP and BG Group sliding 1¼p to 438p and 27½p to 1327p ahead of today’s third-quarter updates. Shell and Tullow Oil slipped 11p to 2303p and 10p to 1413p.
Defensive utilities and tobacco stocks were also out of favour. International Power and National Grid were unplugged 5½p to 329¼p and 6½p to 629½p, while cigarette makers British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco were stubbed out 27½p to 2852½p and 14p to 2234p.
Car insurer Admiral Group reversed 3p to 1219p as Berenberg cut its price target from 1300p to 1100p, adding: “The market appears to retain high expectations but we expect the recently exposed cracks will continue to widen and the remaining premium rating unwind.”
Kesa Electricals jumped 16p to 110½p amid suggestions the potential sale of its Comet chain could be followed by the company moving its listing to France, while bargain-hunters took a punt on internet poker group Bwin.Party Digital, up 6¼p to 111¼p, which had been under pressure amid concerns over the uncertain regulatory picture in its key German market.
Rehashed bid gossip lifted price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com 6p to 104p, but property group Shaftesbury was undermined 3¼p to 496¾p following a double downgrade by Credit Suisse to underperform from outperform
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones closed 104.83 points up at 11,913.62.
