Reuters
Published Sep 30, 2009 07:24AM ET
* Miners rally as metal prices firm
* Life insurers strong on M&A speculation led by L&G
* Oils majors weak on demand concerns
By Jon Hopkins
LONDON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index was
flat at midday on Wednesday as gains by miners, life insurers
and banks in the last session of a strong quarter was countered
by weakness in oil majors and retailer Marks & Spencer
By 1109 GMT the FTSE 100 <.FTSE> was 0.7 point higher at 5,160.43 and on course for its best quarterly performance since the index was launched in 1984.
Hefty gains over the course of the summer have seen British blue chips rise 21.4 percent in the three months to September, although the index is still 4.7 percent below its level just over a year ago before the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
"The rally has undoubtedly been impressive, but is it sustainable over another quarter?," said David Jones, chief market strategist at IG Index.
"Perhaps because of this sort of question, there is a note of caution lingering over the UK index today as traders take stock before a new month begins," he said.
Miners were the best performing sector, having lagged in Tuesday's session with market heavyweights benefiting from firmer metal prices as the dollar lost some recent strength.
Lonmin
Life insurers also saw strong demand with the sector boosted by a resurgence of M&A speculation.
Legal and General was a top FTSE 100 riser, up 5.5 percent following recent reports it could be a target for a number of companies, and supported too as Deutsche Bank raised its rating on the firm to 'hold' from 'sell'.
RSA Insurance
Banks were higher as a sector, with RBS
Among other financials, Man Group
Software company Sage Group
M&S WEAK AFTER UPDATE
Marks & Spencer
Analysts said better-than-expected sales and profit margins were factored into a recent rally in M&S shares, while a downgrade in its cost guidance was not. [ID:nLT484259]
Clothing retail peer Next
Oil majors were a drag on demand concerns after weak U.S. consumer confidence data on Tuesday although crude CLc1 prices held above $67 a barrel on the back of a weak dollar.
BP
Thomas Cook
Reed Elsevier
U.S. stock indices looked set to bounce back after falls on Tuesday following disappointing consumer confidence numbers.
Attention this afternoon will be on the final reading for second quarter U.S. GDP, due at 1230 GMT, which was forecast to show the economy shrank at an annualised rate of 1.2 percent.
And U.S. ADP employment figures for September, due at 1215 GMT, were expected to show a drop of 210,000.
Meanwhile, British consumer morale saw its biggest one-month jump since 1995 in September to notch its highest level since January 2008, the GfK/NOP consumer confidence barometer showed on Wednesday. [nLAG003790] (Editing by Dan Lalor
Written By: Reuters
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