London close: Footsie left behind

Footsie was the sick man of Europe at trading's close as it failed to sustain a recovery that followed a downward turn sparked by disappointing US economic data.

US gross domestic product (GDP) data for the second quarter was disappointing. Inflation adjusted and seasonally adjusted gross domestic product rose at an annualised rate of 2.4% in the second quarter, a significant slow-down from the 3.7% annualised gain in the first quarter.

The second quarter figures was only marginally below market expectations, but had repercussions across the pond here in the UK, pushing prices lower. Mainland European bourses were in the blue or near at the close, but not London's leading share index.

Investors turned to utilities, not just because of their traditional defensive qualities, but because of bid hopes after EDF sold its UK electricity grid operation to a consortium headed by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing for £5.8bn. Severn Trent, National Grid and United Utilities are all ahead.

Embattled airline British Airways finished higher after the company said it still expects to break-even for the year even though ash clouds from Iceland and strike action caused losses to grow at during a tough first quarter.

Losses before tax jumped to £164m in the three months ended 30 June from £148m a year ago as revenue fell by £46m, or 2.3%, to £1.94bn. Passenger revenue dropped 3.4% on capacity down 11.2%. BA blamed "additional finance costs and the impact of non cash foreign exchange movements" for its higher pre-tax loss.

Gold miner Randgold Resources was lifted by comments in the afternoon from chief executive Mark Bristow, who said its recent discovery of a gold deposit at Gounkoto in western Mali confirms the region's potential for further finds of this size.

Elsewhere in mining, Anglo American's interim results came in slightly below analyst forecasts but the mining giant said it remains confident about its prospects. The group also announced that it reinstated its dividend payments with an interim dividend of 25c per share.

Revenue came to $15.02bn in the six months ended 30 June compared with $11.13bn last time, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to $5.41bn from 2.99bn previously.

Sticking with the miners, Indian mining giant Vedanta more than doubled EBITDA in the first quarter, though mined metal production dropped slightly on last year.

Broadband group TalkTalk has signed a deal with Vodafone to launch a mobile service under its own brand. The group also updated the market on quarterly figures. It added 34,000 net new broadband customers in the quarter, taking the total base to 4.231 million.

Bid target Dana Petroleum's Fin-1X exploration well has discovered a new oil field, in the North Zeit Bay area in the Gulf of Suez, in Egypt . The latest find follows the discovery of the Lorcan oil field last month in the same area, Dana said.

Rentokil is to merge its pest control and washrooms businesses to cope with 'increasing price pressures', especially in Europe. Profits in the half year to June rose from £8.2m to £30.9m, with underlying profits up 37% to £77m. Revenues fell though, by 2.3% to £1.23bn.

The first six months of 2010 were "encouraging" for insurance broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson as profit easily beat expectations.

Paper and packaging group Mondi confirmed underlying operating profit for the first half of 2010 will be considerably higher than last year.

Media conglomerate UBM is on track to meet expectations for the full year despite a decline in profit before tax at the half-way stage. Pre-tax profit for the six months ended 30 June fell to £58.1m from £59.5m, but was down 8% at £61.9m before exceptional items. Revenue was little changed at £434.3m. Adjusted operating profit rose 6% to £83.2m.

Funeral home operator Dignity was among the top performers in the FTSE 250 after it reported higher first-half revenue and profit and said it is on track to meet full-year expectations.

Home maintenance specialist Homeserve reports good progress during the first four months of the year, with guidance unchanged.

Gourmet Burger Kitchen restaurant chain owner Clapham House has confirmed that it has received a bid approach. The shares have shot up by more than a third over the last week.

Shares in Avisen dropped after the performance management specialist's pre-tax losses widened to £3.1m from £100,000, partly due to the costs associated with integrating new acquisitions.

Film and DVD distributor Metrodome said talks regarding a possible acquisition of all or part of Target Entertainment have terminated after the companies failed to agree mutually satisfactory commercial terms with the various stakeholders of Target. The board will continue to look at other possible acquisitions, it said.

Oil and gas group Pantheon, which operates in Louisiana and Texas, saw its shares fall after reporting delays in drilling at one of its wells.

Shares in Norseman Gold fell even after the Australian gold producer unveiled a rise in production to 14,469 ounces from 14,114 the previous month, with gold prices rising to A$1,343 an ounce from A$1,224.

FTSE 100 - Risers
United Utilities Group (UU.) 585.00p +4.37%
Severn Trent (SVT) 1,316.00p +2.81%
British Airways (BAY) 219.90p +1.81%
Randgold Resources (RRS) 5,745.00p +1.41%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 69.60p +1.00%
BG Group (BG.) 1,023.00p +0.99%
SABMiller (SAB) 1,943.50p +0.88%
African Barrick Gold (ABG) 537.50p +0.75%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 555.00p +0.73%
Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 907.00p +0.72%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Essar Energy (ESSR) 413.10p -3.68%
Man Group (EMG) 218.00p -2.42%
SEGRO (SGRO) 280.30p -2.40%
Rexam (REX) 309.10p -2.34%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 90.00p -2.28%
Shire Plc (SHP) 1,457.00p -2.21%
Pearson (PSON) 990.50p -2.12%
Investec (INVP) 496.60p -2.05%
Whitbread (WTB) 1,410.00p -2.02%
3i Group (III) 284.50p -2.00%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Bodycote (BOY) 237.10p +4.87%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 396.90p +4.34%
International Personal Finance (IPF) 243.60p +3.26%
Dignity (DTY) 703.00p +3.08%
Laird (LRD) 123.00p +2.50%
Pennon Group (PNN) 591.00p +2.34%
Savills (SVS) 319.10p +2.28%
F&C Commercial Property Trust (FCPT) 92.50p +1.82%
Rank Group (RNK) 119.00p +1.71%
Melrose (MRO) 234.00p +1.61%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Inchcape (INCH) 300.80p -6.50%
Salamander Energy (SMDR) 237.80p -6.23%
Premier Foods (PFD) 19.02p -5.37%
Homeserve (HSV) 2,181.00p -5.22%
Charter International (CHTR) 722.50p -4.75%
Hansen Transmissions International (HSN) 68.50p -4.40%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 102.70p -4.29%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 277.20p -4.25%
CSR (CSR) 342.10p -4.17%
Mcbride (MCB) 141.60p -4.13%