Mineral & Fin Share News (MAFL)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices midday Tuesday.
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FTSE 100 WINNERS
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Fresnillo, up 1.9%; Randgold Resources, up 1.1%; BHP Billiton, up 1.0%. The mining stocks are seeing a rebound Tuesday after having suffered on Monday when gold and silver prices both plummeted by more than 2% as traders unwound safe-haven trades that put in place amid last week's eurozone debt concerns. Gold and silver are both higher Tuesday, quoted at USD1,311.96 per ounce and USD20.983 per ounce respectively.
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FTSE 100 LOSERS
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Barratt Developments, down 3.0%; Persimmon, down 1.9%. The housebuilders have slipped since mid-morning data from the Office for National Statistics showed an unexpected jump in UK consumer price inflation to 1.9% annually, along with another jump in annual house price inflation, to 10.5% nationwide in June. The data adds the argument for an early interest rate rise, which would hurt the housebuilders. There is also the risk Tuesday of a damaging comment about the housebuilding sector from Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, who is currently facing questions from the Treasury Select Committee.

Sports Direct International, down 2.0%. The online sports retailer was by far the biggest gainer on Monday following the news that it is set to launch in Australia and New Zealand in the first move after its recent purchase of a stake Mysale Group. In a cautious market, the stock is consolidating from those highs Tuesday.

Schroders, down 1.8%. The asset manager's share are 44 pence lower at 2,489p after Citigroup cut its price target on the stock by 50p to 2,830p.

Kingfisher, down 1.3%. The home improvement retailer saw its price target cut by both Jefferies and UBS Tuesday, following a cut from HSBC and Deutsche Bank on Monday. The cuts come ahead of Kingfisher's pre-close update next week, which Jefferies says should depict "a radically different picture from a weather-boosted first quarter". The bank is forecasting a 3% fall in year-on-year sales across the DIY group.

Admiral, down 0.7%. Numis Securities downgraded the UK motor insurer to Add from Buy following a recent rise in the share price. Numis also said Admiral might see a short-term drag on profit due to increased investment in its new US price comparison website, comparenow.com. Moreover, Admiral also will suffer the cost of financing its new GBP200 million debt issue, although this gives the group the resources to maintain dividend payments over the period of increased investment, Numis says.
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FTSE 250 WINNERS
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Telecom Plus, up 8.3%. The utilities company gave a bullish forecast for its first-half, expecting results "significantly ahead" of the previous year as it saw a strong performance in its first quarter to the end of June. The group said it had seen its customer numbers rise during the quarter to 547,378 from 474,404 in the previous year. It expressed confidence in meeting its target of growing its customer base to around 600,000 by the end of the year.

Michael Page International, up 2.8%. The recruiter said its gross profit increased in the first half of the year, supported by strong growth in the UK, US and China. The group reported a gross profit of GBP263.7 million for the first half of the year year, up 0.7% on a reported basis from GBP261.9 million a year earlier, but up 7.9% at constant exchange rates. However, Michael Page said a strong pound wiped GBP10 million off its gross profit in the second quarter and a total of GBP19 million off its profit for the first half of the year as a whole.

Morgan Advanced Materials, up 1.3%. The precision materials maker was upgraded by Numis Securities to Hold from Reduce.
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AIM All-Share WINNERS
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Mineral & Financial Investments, up 36%. The natural resources investment company jumped as it reported a rise in net asset value in the quarter to end-June and expressed cautious optimism for the remainder of the year. Net asset value per share rose to 10.3 pence from 7.7 pence in the previous quarter, as nickel and zinc prices rose, the price of gold stabilised, and there was cautious improvement in the mining equity markets.

Fletcher King, up 23%. The property fund management business increased its final dividend threefold, doubling its total dividend for the year, after reporting a jump in annual profit. London-based Fletcher King posted pretax profit of GBP711,000 for the year ended April 30, up from GBP292,000 a year earlier, as revenue rose to GBP3.7 million from GBP3.0 million. The company was boosted by a GBP174,000 profit on the sale of investments.

Image Scan Holdings, up 20%. The technology group said that it has signed new contracts worth a total of GBP92,400 for its security products in Asian markets. Image Scan will install is AXIS-64 conveyor x-ray systems as part of a suite of screening equipment at a new national strategic facility in Myanmar. Additionally, It will supply its portable x-ray system FlatScan into Vietnam and Bangladesh for military customers.

Weatherly International, up 15%. The copper mining company said 1,507 tonnes of copper metal contained in concentrate was produced in the fourth quarter ended June 30, up from 1,067 tonnes in the previous quarter ended March 31. During the quarter, the company delivered 6,288 tonnes of concentrate to metal trader Louis Dreyfus Group at a weighted average price of USD6,737 per tonne of copper. The company also said it has raised GBP1.7 million by way of a placement of 43.3 million new shares at a price of 3.95 pence per share to Logiman.
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AIM All-Share LOSERS
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Charlemagne Capital Ltd, down 12%. The independent asset manager's shares have fallen after it said its current level of assets under management is below the level required to ensure sustainable profits, while full-year profit levels will depend on the generation of performance fees during the remainder of the year. The group said assets under management at the end of the first half of the year to June 30, were USD2.8 billion, up 3.6% since January 1. It said net management fees of USD12.4 million were up 3.3% on the previous six months.

URU Metals, down 11%. The base metal exploration company said it has appointed Swedish environmental consultants Pelagia Miljökonsult AB to lead a base line environmental study over the Närke Oil-Uranium project in Sweden.
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By Jon Darby; jondarby@alliancenews.com; @jondarby100

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