Randgold Resources was the strongest riser after it said it hit targets for 2013, boosted gold production to a new record level and expects output to rise over the next five years. Production for the quarter and year to December rose 20 per cent and 15 per cent respectively, in line with the company´s guidance and ahead of some analysts´ forecasts. Cash costs dropped by 5% in the last quarter of the year when compared with the previous three months.Reckitt Benckiser Group was rising strongly after Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated its 'outperform' rating on the shares. Weir Group was another top performer as investors ignored the target price reduction (2,500p to 2,335p) from broker Jefferies and instead focused on its comments that the oil and gas group could experience a favourable shift in sentiment if "the on-going concerns towards the Minerals division [were] to dissipate". Rexam climbed after it proposed the sale of the Pharmaceutical Devices and Prescription Retail Packaging divisions of its Healthcare business for $805m. Following completion of the sale, the group plans to return around £450m to shareholders. Meanwhile, shares in Lloyds were at the bottom of the pile after the group revealed its payment protection insurance (PPI) bill had soared by a further £1.8bn to nearly £10bn, and despite predicting its full-year underlying profits would be almost double that predicted by analysts. Sector peer Barclays was also a heavy faller. Financial stocks took a hit after the European Central Bank said the largest banks in the euro-area's will be required to prove their capital will not drop below 5.5% of their assets in the event of an economic crisis. Vodafone slumped ahead of the telecommunication giant´s release of its results on Thursday, when it is expected to post a 5% decline in revenue for the three months to the end of December. The Sunday Times called attention to its exposure to the recent mayhem in India, South Africa and Turkey.FTSE 100 - RisersRandgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,387.00p +4.63%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 4,697.00p +2.94%Weir Group (WEIR) 2,148.00p +2.58%Aggreko (AGK) 1,582.00p +2.33%Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,778.00p +2.24%Sage Group (SGE) 417.00p +2.13%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 894.50p +2.11%Rexam (REX) 503.00p +2.03%SSE (SSE) 1,333.00p +1.99%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,178.00p +1.99%FTSE 100 - FallersLloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 80.92p -2.86%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 382.30p -2.17%Vodafone Group (VOD) 223.35p -1.41%Barclays (BARC) 269.10p -1.25%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,430.00p -1.24%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 336.40p -1.06%Schroders (SDR) 2,442.00p -1.01%Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,376.00p -1.01%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,472.00p -0.94%BAE Systems (BA.) 425.50p -0.84%NR
Last checked at 
