Moneysupermarket.Com Share News (MONY)

The market's retreat is picking up pace, as the losses suffered by miners lengthen in the wake of disappointing results from Alcoa, the US aluminium producer. Alcoa, which kicked off the fourth quarter earnings reporting season in the US, declared a slightly worse than expected loss from continuing operations of $266m in the fourth quarter of 2009.Miners such as Fresnillo, Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC), Kazakhmys, Vedanta and Xstrata dominate the list of FTSE 100 laggards. Even Rio Tinto is down, despite UBS lifting its price target from 3550p to 4020p. Tesco is off the top but clinging on to the morning's gains. The Cheshunt based company enjoyed its best Christmas in three years as shoppers braved the winter weather to stock up on festive treats. In the six weeks to January 9, the firm posted a 5.1% rise in like-for-like sales excluding petrol and VAT at its UK business, ahead of expectations. Sector peer Morrisons is marginally higher despite Citigroup issuing a sell recommendation.Insurances stocks claw back some of the losses sustained yesterday with Standard Life, Aviva and RSA leading the rally. Cadbury dealt another blow to hopeful bidder Kraft Foods today, repeating its view that the American's offer is 'derisory' and completely undervalues the British chocolate maker. Ahead of full-year results on Thursday, it said its 2009 performance is 'well ahead' of previously upgraded market expectations thanks to strong growth in the fourth quarter.Inter-dealer broker ICAP is on offer after IPGL, a private company controlled by Tory party treasurer Michael Spencer, sold off 7m shares at 440p each.Bookmaker Ladbrokes has confirmed that chief executive Chris Bell is standing down after nine years at the helm and that it is looking for a replacement.Housebuilders are going well after Credit Suisse issued a bullish update on prospects for the UK housebuilding sector with outperform ratings on all of the main companies, bar Berkeley, which is a hold. The Swiss broker sees an average 58% upside from current share price levels based on flat house prices in 2010 and no further impairments across the sector. Bovis is CS's top pick, with 86% upside to its target price.Fellow Swiss bank, UBS, likes the look of laundry and workwear firm Davis Service, which it has raised to 'buy' while upping the price target from 400p to 450p.Department store Debenhams has missed the pre-Christmas rush experienced by many of its rivals, though profits and margins both increased. Like-for-likes sales in the eighteen weeks to 2 January rose by just 0.1%, which Debenhams says was in line with its forecasts.Elsewhere in retail, video games retailer Game Group has lowered its full year profit expectations after seeing a sharp fall in sales over the Christmas period. In the five weeks to January 9, total sales were down by 12.1%, while like-for-like sales slid 13.8%. In the UK and Ireland, sales fell by 18% or 17.5% on a like-for-like basis. Home furnishings retailer Dunelm kept up its impressive performance through the first half, but warned it will become 'much more difficult' to sustain like for like growth over the next six to twelve months. The group, which operates 100 shops including 88 of out-of-town superstores, reported like for like (LFL) sales up 15.4% in the 26 weeks to 2 January after a 15.1% rise in the 17 weeks to end October.Tile and flooring specialist Topps Tiles said its trading performance over the first 14 weeks provides reassurance that consumer confidence is returning. However, the group added it was cautious about the outlook for the economy and believes that 2010 may continue to present a challenging economic environment for consumers. Moneysupermarket.com, the price comparison website, today confirmed that its 2009 results were in line with what was expected when it last updated in November.Joinery company Galiform said it expects pre-tax profits for the year to come in at the top end of expectations after it continued to perform resiliently. Sales climbed by 6% to £220m between October 5 and December 26 from the same period the previous year, however over the year Howden Joinery UK Depot sales fell by 3.4% to £756.4m.Emerging markets fund manager Ashmore has seen its share price dented by a broker note from UBS. The Swiss outfit has downgraded the stock to 'neutral' from 'buy' and lowered the price target from 330p to 285p.UK and Ireland focused property investment and development group Real Estate Opportunities has received a boost from a rent hike for its largest tenant, Vodafone.Shares in power products group Volex are on a charge after the company said it may meet or beat expectations for the trading year to 4 April.Debt advice firm Fairpoint reinstated its dividend payment and said trading in the second half was in line with management expectations.FTSE 100 - RisersAviva (AV.) 409.30p +1.14%Standard Life (SL.) 213.50p +1.14%BT Group (BT.A) 144.10p +1.05%Tesco (TSCO) 421.55p +0.89%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 125.90p +0.88%Land Securities Group (LAND) 689.00p +0.88%FTSE 100 - FallersFresnillo (FRES) 806.00p -5.40%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,435.00p -3.82%Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 973.00p -3.66%Vedanta Resources (VED) 2,732.00p -3.60%Xstrata (XTA) 1,182.50p -3.43%International Power (IPR) 307.40p -3.21%