Markets: FTSE 100 rebounds on miners

17:00 - London markets finished the day on a high after retailer Marks & Spencer (MKS) unveiled pre-tax profits at the top end of expectations and fashion retailer Next (NXT) posted strong third quarter sales.

A surge in commodity prices also helped to lift London's leading index by 70 points to 5107.

Fresnillo (FRES) continued to head up the winners' table, while confectionary powerhouse Cadbury (CBRY) suffered the biggest loss.

16:36 - Wall Street was flying as a surge in commodity prices and a better-than-expected US employment report provided investors with a much-needed confidence boost after yesterday's slump.

The latest figures showed that US companies shed jobs last month at their lowest rate in over a year. 

The Dow Jones was leading the way, with gains of 133 points taking its value to 9905. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq climbed 20 points to 2,077 and the S&P 500 rose 13 points to 1058.  

16:10 - Shares in Norseman Gold (NGL)  soared more than 9% as gold hit record highs of $1,091.75 an ounce.

The AIM-listed Australian gold miner has also announced it is opening a third mine at it Norseman project which will further build on its targeted production of 80,000 per year.

15:52 - Mining giants Fresnillo (FRES) and Kazakhmys (KAZ) lead the charge to push London's top share index ever higher.

A surge in commodity prices, including yet another record high gold price, helped Fresnillo gain almost 10%, while Kazakhmys climbed 7%.

The FTSE 100 rose 76 points to 5113.

15:37 - British Land's (BLND) management team has been given a boost by the arrival of industry veterans Stephen Smith and Charles Maudsley as executive directors, following the loss of three directors last month.

Mr Smith joins from AXA Real Estate Managers where he was responsible for a portfolio worth more than EUR40 billion as chief investment officer and Mr Maudsley joins to take responsibility for business expansion from LaSalles. Mr Smith, a 24-year veteran, is known in the industry as a dealmaker. 
 
British Land shares rose more than 2% to 463.10p. 

14:58 - Wall Street opened on a positive note as a rally in overseas markets and a depressed US dollar helped to boost investor appetite.
 
The Dow Jones gained 60 points to 9831, while the Nasdaq rose seven points to 2065. S&P 500 Index followed suit and climbed six points to 1052.
 
Alcoa Inc. and Bank of America Corp. were the biggest winners, with gains of over 2% each

14:25 - AIM-listed Afren (AFR) was storming ahead on Tuesday, after it announced its admission to the London Stock Exchange's main market.

The oil and gas company will be granted admission in early December. Afren's acquisition of an interest in the OPL 310 block in western Nigeria also helped to boost the company's share value. 

For the full story, read: Main market plans boost Afren

The share price rose just over 6% to 92.50p.

13:55 - Shopping centre owner Liberty International (LII) said today it has seen signs of several indicators which have 'confirmed the improving conditions in the property investment and debt markets.'

Higher overall occupancy and a consistent rent collection rate of 98% have boosted hopes of a recovery. However, the major extension to the St. David's mall in Cardiff still has a third left to let by income after opening last month, the company said. 

The UK's largest retail landlord said overall occupancy rose to 97.6% between July and 4 November from 96.3% previously. The company remains compliant with all financial covenants and has net external debt of £3.1 billion. 

Its shares were up almost 2% to 440.6p.

13:21 - London markets extended their forward charge as gains from commodities lifted the mining sector and signs of recovery in the housing market and retail sectors cheered investors.

The FTSE 100 (UKX) climbed 47 points to 5084 with Fresnillo (FRES) and Kazakhmys (KAZ) top of the pile.

12:50 - Transport firm FirstGroup (FGP) saw its pre-tax profits slump 44% to £30.3 million for the six months to 30 September amid higher fuel costs and a slump in its Greyhound business.

Its UK bus division saw profits fall 15.3% to £50.8 million while its UK rail arm enjoyed a 5% rise in operating profits to £50.8 million. However, its Greyhound operations posted a 71% slide in operating profits to 23.5 million US dollars (£14.4 million) as the recession took hold in the US.

Fuel costs rose by £74 million in the current financial year although the FTSE 250 group expects this to reverse in 2010/11.
It has recommended a 10% rise in dividend to 6.65p.

Its shares were up almost 3% to 385.3p.

12: 26 - Pub chain JD Wetherspoon (JDW) has seen a slowdown in sales in first quarter trading with like-for-like sales growing just 0.3% in the 13 weeks to 25 October.

This compares to a rise of 1.2% for the six weeks to 6 September but the group said it remained confident on its prospects for 2010.

It added that it intends to start formal talks over the refinancing of its main £435 million debt facility, which expires in 2010, by the end of 2009.

Its shares were up almost 3% to 477p.

12:02 - Activity levels in the service sector hit a two year high, according to the latest purchasing managers index although economists warn that the figures are distorting the true picture of the economy.

The headline PMI index rose to 56.9 from 55.3 the previous month. This is its highest level since August 2007 and the sixth successive month above the 50-level that separates growth from contraction.

The business activity index climb to 56.6 while new business expanded at the fastest rate for 25 months, outstanding business contracted at the slowest rate since March 2008 and  business expectations in the sector remained close to September's 29-month high. Meanwhile, job losses slowed.

However, Howard Archer of IHS Global Insight says: 'The service sector purchasing managers' survey needs to be treated with serious caution at the moment, given that the average third-quarter reading of 54.2 for the business activity index was very much at odds with the preliminary national accounts data showing that services output contracted by 0.2% quarter-on-quarter.'

11:40 - The price of oil gathered momentum and breached $80 a barrel on Wednesday, boosted by record-high gold prices.

London Brent was also up at $78.11 a barrel ahead of oil inventories being released this afternoon.

The resurgent oil price provided some comfort to oil major Total which saw its net income to tumble by 54% to €1,869 million in the third quarter when oil averaged $68 a barrel. Very low refining margins also knocked profits.

11:23 - Property website Rightmove (RMV) found favour with investors after reporting healthy growth in revenue and earnings during the last four months.

The FTSE 250 company said it has enjoyed a record number of page impressions hitting a peak in August - up 40 on the same period the previous year.

The number of advertisers on its website at the end of October stood at 17,600, up 5% from the low point in February 2009.

'The board is confident of meeting market expectations for the current year and expects to achieve further progress in 2010,' it says.

Its shares were up more than 3% to 542.5p.

11:01 - London markets continued to push forward during morning trading as retailers hinted at better times to come on the High Street.

The FTSE 100 climbed 39 points to stand at 5076 with Next (NXT) and Marks & Spencer (MKS) the biggest movers, both up more than 6%.

10:45 - Kraft Foods said it remained interested in a possible offer for confectionary giant Cadbury (CBRY) despite a dip in third quarter earnings.

The US processed foods group saw net earnings drop to $824 million from $1.36 billion a year earlier due to currency conversions, but added that it still has cash in place for its £10.2 billion potential bid for the UK firm.

Kraft first made a bid in September, which Cadbury promptly rejected as an unappealing prospect.

Cadbury's share price remained unchanged at 775.50p following the update.

10:25 - Shareholders in Barratt Developments (BDEV) snapped up 92.3% of shares in the housebuilders' recent £720 million rights issue.

This means it has raised around £665 million to help shore up its balance sheet and allow it to plough more cash into building projects.

Rival Redrow (RDW) today said 97.2% of shares had been snapped up its recent 13 for 14 rights issue to raise £150 million.

The sector was buoyed by stronger results from Redrow and Taylor Wimpey. Redrow shares lifted almost 8% to 150p with Barratt shares up more than 7% to 129.6p. 

10:02 - Northern Rock (NRK) says its financial performance is improving thanks to 'encouraging' economic trends, but has warned that the number of mortgage borrowers falling behind with repayments is rising.

The nationalised lender adds that although its performance in the second half of the year is expected to show a 'significant' improvement, it still anticipates making a loss for the year as a whole, driven by losses on loans. Rising unemployment, the fragile economy and subdued housing market all give it cause for concern.

Last week, the European Commission gave the green light for Northern Rock to be split into a "good" bank and "bad" bank, for the former sold back to the private sector.

For the full story, read: Northern Rock still on rocky ground

09:38 - Gold prices surged to a new high of $1,090 an ounce as investor interest in the precious metal held strong.

The earlier announcement that India had agreed to buy 200 tonnes of gold from the International Monetary Fund helped to boost the commodity's appeal.

A weak US dollar also supported the yellow metal's momentum.

09:10 - Aviva's (AV) share price was steadily climbing after the insurer said it had significantly improved its capital and balance sheet strength.

Although total sales dropped by 11% as a result of weaker demand, falling to £2.4 billion in the first nine months from £2.7 billion in 2008, Aviva maintained that total profitability for the year remained 'good.'

In the past three months, Aviva completed the sale of its Australian life business, listed on the New York Stock Exchange and announced a series of management changes, including the appointment of a new chief financial officer Pat Regan.

The group's share price rose just over 6% to 402.50p.

08:41 - London markets were clawing back some of yesterday's losses as stronger results from the High Street retailers boosted investor confidence.

The FTSE 100 stood up 30 points at 5067 with Marks & Spencer (MKS) the top riser following its first half results.

John Murphy of ODL Securities says: 'It was interesting to see Buffett splash the cash in the US yesterday, indicating that he believes that there is value in the market at these levels.  One would have hoped that this would have provided global indices with a stimulus, but it still feels that there is an underlying fragility at this moment in time.'

Asian markets saw choppy trade but finished in the black after two days of losses as the World Bank upped its growth forecasts for China's economy and resource companies received a boost from stronger commodity prices.

The Nikkei closed up 41 points at 9844 with the Hang Seng piling on 375 points to 21615.

Wall Street was a mixed bag on Tuesday as investors awaited news of the latest Federal Reserve decision on interest rates and the health of the economy.

The Dow Jones slid 18 points to 9772 although the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both edged up into positive territory.

High Street staple Marks & Spencer fuelled hopes of a retail recovery with interim results coming in at the top end of expectations.

Group sales to end September grew 2.8% to £4.3 billion while adjusted profit before tax came in slightly higher than last year at £298.3 million.

Chairman Stuart Rose said: "We have had a good start to the third quarter. However, the market remains competitive and, as we come up against volatile trading conditions last year, we remain cautious about the outlook for Christmas and the year ahead."

Its shares rose almost 5% to 356.7p.

Rival Next (NXT) was also on the front foot after upping its guidance for second half after third quarter trading proved to be stronger than expected.

Retail like-for-like sales dropped 1.3% in the three month ended 31 October, while directory sales were up 5.1%.

Next has consequently raised its like-for-like sales forecast to 0% to -3% compared with previous expectations of -3.5% to -6.5% for the second half of the year.

Its shares were up more than 4% to 1885p.

08:00 - The FTSE 100 (UKX) opens at 5037.21.