Overview: the FTSE 100 added 0.2% today as stocks remained buoyant after Wednesday’s announcement of a fresh US$600 billion stimulus package to spur the slowing recovery.
Today’s US non-farm payrolls data was positive, showing an unexpected gain of 151,000 for the month of October. However, the unemployment rate was unchanged at 9.6%.
Base metal miner Vedanta Resources (LON:VED) led the FTSE 100 with a 6% gain. Medical devices manufacturer Smith & Nephew (LON:SN) followed, climbing 5.2%. Base metal miners Eurasian Natural Resources (LON:ENRC) and engineering company Invensys (LON:ISYS) each added 4.4%. Silver producer Fresnillo (LON:FRES) and chipmaker ARM Holdings (LON:ARM) rose 3.4% and 3.2% respectively. Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (LON:GSK) climbed 2.8% and another mining major Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) moved up 2.5%.
Turbine manufacturer Rolls-Royce (LON:RR) was at the bottom of the pile with a 5% loss. Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) declined 4.5%. Packaging group Rexam (LON:REX) retreated 2% and bank HSBC (LON:HSBA) lost 1.7%.
US stocks were mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.1%, while the broader S&P 500 index added 0.2%. The technology heavy NASDAQ composite was flat.
Commodities
Crude oil futures hit two year highs today, still riding the wave of optimism created by the Federal Reserve’s announcement of a fresh round of stimulus.
US light, sweet crude for December delivery improved to US$86.61/barrel, while January crude reached US$87.28/barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).
On the ICE Exchange, December Brent Crude stood at US$88.04/barrel, while Brent for January delivery last traded at US$88.21/barrel.
BP (LON:BP) posted a small gain, while fellow supermajor Shell (LON:RDSB) declined marginally, as did BG Group (LON:BG) and Cairn Energy (LON:CNE).
Tullow Oil (LON:TLW) held steady.
Amec (LON:AMEC) climbed 1%. Another oil and gas engineering firm Petrofac (LON:PFC) stood just above the opening level.
Midcaps were mixed. Heritage Oil (LON:HOIL) led the group with a 1.6% gain. Premier Oil (LON:PMO) and Salamander Energy (LON:SMDR) added less than 1%.
JKX Oil & Gas (LON:JKX) and Melrose Resources (LON:MRS) moved in the opposite direction, shedding nearly 2%. Dragon Oil (LON:DGO) and Soco International (LON:SIA) declined marginally.
Services companies Wood Group (LON:WG) and Wellstream Holdings (LON:WSM) tacked on nearly 1%.
North Sea oilfield developer Xcite Energy (LON:XEL) and Mongolia focused oil explorer Petro Matad (LON:MATD) were among the top performing small caps, surging 15.5% and 14% respectively.
Gold posts new record highs
Gold prices were in for a slight correction early in the day, dragged down by profit taking after setting a new record at US$1,394/oz on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
However, gold rebounded later and spot prices set a new record high of US$1,396.5/oz later in the session.
Gold last traded at US$1,391/oz. Silver rallied to US$26.53/oz, while platinum fell to US$1,761/oz.
Silver miners surged as the metal hit a new 30 year high well above US$26/oz. Fresnillo (LON:FRES) rallied 3.3%, while midcap Hochschild Mining (LON:HOC) advanced 3.8%.
FTSE 250 constituent Aquarius Platinum (LON:AQP) also did well, rising 2.7%.
Other miing companies were in decline.
In the FTSE 100, platinum producer Lonmin (LON:LMI) lost nearly 1%, while gold miner African Barrick Gold (LON:ABG) dipped 1.3%. Peer Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) was flat.
Midcap gold producer Petropavlovsk (LON:POG) was sitting just below the opening level.
Turkey and Saudi Arabia operating gold and copper explorer KEFI Minerals (LON:KEFI) performed very well, rallying 15%. The only publicly listed gold mining company with primary operations inside the Republic of Uzbekistan, Oxus Gold (LON:OXS), followed with a 9% gain.
Base metals rise
Copper and nickel climbed to US$3.95/lb and US$11.09/lb, while zinc reached US$1.143/lb.
In the last hour of trading, Vedanta Resources (LON:VED) led the base metal miners with a 6% advance.
Eurasian Natural Resources (LON:ENRC) followed, rising 4.4%. Xstrata (LON:XTA), Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) and Anglo American (LON:AAL) climbed 2.5%, 2.6% and 2.2% respectively. Kazakhmys (LON:KAZ) and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) added nearly 2%.
The world’s largest miner BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) rose 1%.
London’s only listed pure iron ore producer and FTSE 250 constituent Ferrexpo (LON:FXPO) performed very well today, surging 4.5%.
Herencia Resources (LON:HER), which is developing the Paguanta zinc-lead-silver-gold Project in northern Chile, and Canada focused mineral exploration and development company Landore Resources (LON:LND) were among the top performing small caps, rising 7.5% and 6.5% respectively.
Banks, insurance, private equity
Banking stocks were mixed. Barclays (LON:BARC) was in the lead with a 1.7% advance. Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) followed, rising 1.3%. Lloyds (LON:LLOY) posted a small gain, while fellow part-nationalised bank Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) dipped 3.8%.
HSBC (LON:HSBA) declined 1.7%.
Most insurance companies were on the rise today. Aviva (LON:AV) and Standard Life (LON:SL) added 1%, while Admiral Group (LON:ADM), Old Mutual (LON:OML) and Prudential (LON:PRU) posted small gains of less than 1%.
RSA Insurance Group (LON:RSA) headed in the opposite direction, dropping 1.6%. Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) declined marginally.
Private equity group 3i (LON:III) was sitting just below the opening level.
Small Cap News
Leni Gas & Oil PLC (LON:LGO) announced it is in talks over a cooperation agreement for the exploitation of unconventional gas opportunities in Spain.
National Milk Records (PLUS:NMR) is planning to restructure its share structure, so it can purge a large proportion of inactive shareholders from its register.
Wasabi Energy (ASX:WAS) has finalised its strategic placement to institutional investors in the United Kingdom, and as a result of strong support from investors, the total funds raised before costs has been increased to £4.9 million (A$7.9 million).
Telit Communications (LON:TCM, PINK:TTCNF) announced the appointment of Alexander Sator as a non-executive director after Massimo Testa resigned as non-executive to focus on other activities.
Avocet Mining (LON:AVM) upped total gold output by 28 percent in the third quarter from the second, to produce 67,792 ounces of gold.
Norseman Gold (LON:NGL, ASX:NGX) said that its director and chief executive Barry Cahill purchased 101,000 shares for A$100,179, taking his total shareholding to 5.3 million shares.
Nyota Minerals Ltd (LON:NYO, ASX:NYO) is planning to announce a further drilling update from its flagship Tulu Kapi gold project in Ethiopia to the market before the end of 2010.
Pan African Resources (LON:PAF, JSE:PAN) is ready to start building a tailings plant at International Ferro Metals’ (LON:IFL) Lesedi mine in South Africa. The company told investors it has now concluded the formal agreement with IFM, and plant construction will begin immediately.
Xcite Energy (LON:XEL, TSX-V:XEL) is certainly living up to its name with the share price up almost 50 per cent this week and an incredible 500 per cent in the past year. This of course is a pivotal period for the heavy oil specialist, which is developing the Bentley field 100 miles east of the Shetland Islands.
Large and Mid Cap News
Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSB) has agreed to sell its interest in six Gulf of Mexico oil and gas fields for US$450 million as part of its portfolio restructuring campaign.