At high noon, the FTSE100 was up 20.52 points at 5,362.45 with the FTSE250 ahead 85.06 points at 10,067.2 and the FTSE Smallcaps 11.65 points lower at 2,874.9. Headline shares were modestly higher in midday trade, with investors shrugging aside Eurozone woes to concentrate on upbeat earnings news and a resurgence amongst the heavyweight miners. US stock futures remained close to the flat line, investors wary after heavy losses in Asia. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 4 points at 10,838, Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed at 1,958 and S&P500 ticked up 1.5 points at 1,163.9.
LONDON MARKETS
Traders shrugged off concerns over Eurozone debt to concentrate upbeat earnings news, pushing the market higher in London after a slow start. Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) helped the miners return to gains, up 50p at 5,495p, after news that Q1 profit, although up 83% on the prior year period, assisted by news that gold had topped the $1,182 an ounce mark. Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) gained 5.5p at 3,195p on reports it was shelving some plans for expansion in Australia on "supertax" concerns. BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) added 22.5p at 1,908.5p in sympathy. Vedanta Resources (LON:VED) gained 43p at 2,437p on revealing a 42% rise in EBITDA to $2.3bn for the year to end-March, on the back of revenue up 21% to $7.9bn.
Insurers made gains, with Prudential (LON:PRU) rising 16.5p at 565.5p as FSA deliberations continued and its planned rights issue stalled. RSA Group added 3.1p at 121.2p after saying it enjoyed good top-line momentum and a strong financial position in the first-quarter with net written premiums of £1.9bn up 5%. Fund manager Schroders (LON:SDR) topped the blue chip leaderboard, up 71p at 1,380p on reporting pretax profit of £93.2m in the first-quarter, compared to £12.2m in the prior year period.
Rexam (LON:REX) rose 11.4p at 324.1p after it said Q1 results were ahead of expectations, with improved volumes in Beverage Cans. Drinks giant Diageo (LON:DGE) jumped 13p at 1,094p, on the back of news that organic net sales were up 12%. Non-food retailers were well represented amongst the gainers, with luxury brand Burberry Group (LON:BRBY) adding 32p at 696.5p, fashion house Next ahead 66p at 2,247p and Argos owner Home Retail Group Plc (LON:HOME) Group up 9.2p at 278p. Other notable gainers included defence contractor BAE Systems…
