FTSE Rises 1.1%; Construction Activity Slumps; Imperial Tobacco Net Soars

Arthi Gupta
02 Nov, 2010
New York City

The UK indexes rose on strong earnings. The UK construction activity fell to an 8-month low in October. Irish manufacturing sector expanded but consumer sentiment deteriorated to 17-month low in October. BP net plunged on $7.7 billion pre-tax charge related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

[R]4:00 PM London – The UK indexes rose on strong earnings. The UK construction activity fell to an 8-month low in October. Irish manufacturing sector expanded but consumer sentiment deteriorated to 17-month low in October. BP net plunged on $7.7 billion pre-tax charge related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.[/R]

In London, FTSE 100 Index traded higher 61.88 or 1.11% to 5,756.50 and the pound edged lower to close at $1.6023.

The British construction sector showed its weakest growth in eight months, according to a survey. The seasonally adjusted Markit/Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply construction Purchasing Managers'' Index fell to 51.6 in October.

Among the three broad sub-sectors, housing and civil engineering both recorded contractions in activity. The commercial sector reported growth, but the expansion slowed from the previous month.

Irish manufacturing sector expanded in October as new business rebounded and output growth accelerated, according to a report released by the Markit Economics today. The seasonally adjusted NCB manufacturing purchasing managers'' index rose to 50.9 in October from 48.4 in September.

Irish consumer sentiment dropped for a fourth successive month in October to its weakest level since May 2009, survey results from the Economic and Social Research Institute showed today. The KBC Ireland/ESRI consumer sentiment index declined to 48.1 in October from 52.4 in September. A year earlier, the index was at 54.2.

Industrialist and Labor peer Swraj Paul resigned as Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords, expressing unhappiness over the ""gross injustice and violations"" over the four-month suspension from the House. Paul was suspended along with two other peers of Asian origin - Baroness Monzila Pola Uddin and Lord Amirali Alibhai Bhatia over the issue of parliamentary expenses claims reimbursed by MPs having residences outside London.

Gainers & Losers

Aviva plc gained 1.48% to 403.50 pence after the British insurer reported world-wide sales of £35.93 billion for the nine-month period, higher than £34.17 billion in the year-ago period.

The company said it is on track to deliver profitable growth for the full year 2010, as it saw a strong rise in profit for the third quarter as well as the year-to-date period. The company said it is continuing to reduce costs, and expects to deliver £200 million of cost savings and £200 million of efficiency savings by the end of 2012.

BG Group plc rose 0.52% to $40.81 after the oil and gas company reported third quarter revenue increased 23% to $4.45 billion from $3.67 billion in the year-ago third quarter. Profit for the quarter rose 13% to $922 million or 25.8 cents per share from $818 million or 23.1 cents per share in the same quarter of fiscal 2009, driven by increased prices for oil, liquids and international gas.

Gresham Computing plc dropped 1.85% to 26.50 pence after the provider of real-time financial solutions said Eric Sepkes resigned as Chairman and Director with effect from November 2, 2010. Ken Archer, currently a Non-Executive Director, is appointed Non-Executive Chairman.

Imperial Tobacco Group plc climbed 2.85% to 2,054.00 pence after the global tobacco company stated fiscal year 2010 revenue grew 6.2% to £28.17 billion from £26.52 billion a year ago. Net income in the period surged 126% to £1.5 billion or 148 pence per share, compared to net income of £663 million or 65.3 pence per share last year.

Lloyds Banking Group Plc tumbled 3.13% to 67.42 pence after the British lender said it delivered good underlying income growth in its core businesses in the third quarter, incurred lower costs and remains on track to deliver moderately lower impairments in the second half of the year. The company issued an optimistic forecast for the full year.

Media Square PLC declined 2.90% to 12.38 pence after the company engaged in the advertising, marketing and design services reported revenue for the half-year period ended August 31 increased 9% to £25.59 million from £23.49 million last year. Loss from continuing operations narrowed 52% to £1.24 million from £2.57 million last year. Basic loss per share on continuing operations also narrowed to 3.84 pence from 7.98 pence last year.

Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc advanced 2.10% to 3,599.00 pence after the household and health care products reported third quarter net revenue rose 11% to £2.11 billion, from £1.91 billion in the same period last year. Net income in the quarter increased 19.3% to £426 million or 58.4 pence per share, compared to net income of £357 million or 49.6 pence per share a year ago.

Stagecoach Group plc rose 1.26% to 216.90 pence after the public transport operator reported a 2.3% like-for-like revenue growth in its UK Bus unit and 6.5% rise in UK Rail segment like-for-like revenue for the 24-weeks ended October 17.