ICI Boosts FTSE 100

Ivaylo
22 Nov, 2006
New York City

London equities were higher at mid-day on Wednesday following steady sessions in the US and Asia overnight. ICI shares surged after it announced the sale of one of its departments. Firmer metal prices gave strength to the mining sector with Vedanta Resources and Xstrata leading the gainers. Airline stocks were given a boost following news of a possible merger. By mid-day, the FTSE 100 in was up 9 points to 6,211.9.

[R]9:30AM The FTSE 100 in London advanced in early trade on rally in ICI.[/R]
By mid-day, the FTSE 100 in London gained 9 points to 6,211.9.

Advancers

ICI led the advancers, gaining 9%, after it announced the sale of Quest, its flavours and fragrance business, to Givaudan of Switzerland for 1.2 billion pounds.

Miners were strong in early trading on the back of firm metal prices.Vedanta Resources rose 3.6% and Xstrata gained 2.2%. BHP Billiton was 2.5% stronger on speculation it could bid for US mine operator Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold.

Airline stocks were also upbeat following news that Macquarie Bank of Australia and Texas Pacific Group have made a buyout offer for Quantas Airways. British Airways rose 2.6%, EasyJet added 2% and Ryanair increased 0.9%.

Legal & General added 2% on several upbeat broker comments. HSBC raised its price target while Credit Suisse upgraded the stock from underperform to neutral.

Northern Foods firmed 5.1% after it announced the disposal of its speciality bread, chilled pastry, cakes and flour milling to Vision Capital for 160 million pounds.

Decliners

On the downside, DSG Internation, owner of Dixons slipped 4.4% after it reported mixed first-half numbers.

Several stocks were down as they began trading without the latest dividend rights. Scottish Power fell 1.5%, Vodafone lost 1.1% and Debenhams was 1.6% lower.

Kensington Group slumped 9.6% after the mortgage lender said it expected to lower levels of growth in profits in 2007.

[R]7:30AM Asian stocks surged Wednesday, led by Japanese financials.[/R]
Asian markets finished higher on Wednesday. Tokyo''s 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 180.09 points, or 1.1%, to 15,914.23. shares of Internet and telecom conglomerate Softbank jumped 8.4%, its first gain in six trading sessions. Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ , the largest bank in Japan by assets, rose 2.2% while lender Mizuho Financial Group advanced 2%. Department store group Mitsukoshi Ltd rose 3.4% while Fast Retailing operator of the Uniqlo retail chain, gained 1.5%.

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong rose 1.3% to end at 19,250.79. Hong Kong property developer Cheung Kong Holdings rose 2.9%. the China Enterprises Index, surged 3.4% to end 8,610.04, led by gains in property and banking shares. Mainland lender China Construction Bank rose 5.1% while China''s largest lending by assets Industrial & Commercial Bank of China.

Australia S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.6%, led higher by gains in BHP Billiton. The largest mining group in the world rose 2.9%, pacing gains in copper and petroleum prices. Elsewhere in Asia, Singapore Straits Times Index added 0.8%, Malaysia KLSE Composite rose 0.9%, and New Zealand NZX-50 Index closed 0.1% lower. Kospi in South Korea added 1.2% and Indonesia JSX Composite gained 1.1%. Shares listed in Shanghai wiped off earlier losses to trade higher in the afternoon, lifting the Shanghai Composite 0.2%.