Wood Group (J) Share News (WG.)

Hopes that the US can avert the impending 'fiscal cliff' were helping markets register decent gains on Thursday morning, following comments from policy-makers Stateside yesterday.US Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner said that he was "optimistic that we can continue to work together to avert this crisis sooner rather than later." He said that Republicans were willing to put "revenue on the table" as long as it is accompanied by spending cuts. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama told the public in a press conference today to pressure Congress to act to avert the automatic tax increases, saying: "When the American people speak loudly enough, lo and behold, Congress listens." He said he expects a deal by Christmas."So today I'm asking Congress to listen to the people who sent us here to serve. I'm asking Americans all across the country to make your voice heard."Economic newsGerman unemployment rose for the eighth consecutive month in November, up a seasonally adjusted 5,000 to 2.94m, according to the Federal Labor Agency. However, this was much less than the 16,000 increase predicted.The Confederation of British Industry's (CBI) distributive trades survey index for the month of November rose to 33 points, after 30 in the previous month (Consensus: 18).The latest Bloomberg poll has the world economy in its 'best shape' for 18 months, as the US is expected to avoid the fiscal cliff, albeit with political manoeuvres expected before hand, and as China's prospects improveStill to go on today's schedule are US jobless claims data and US preliminary gross domestic product figures. Expectations are for 390,000 jobless claims last week (down from 410,000 the week before) and 2.8% economic growth in the third quarter (up from 2% in the second)."Given this is a preliminary number, it is the initial announcement for the quarter and therefore has the propensity to impact the market," said research analyst Joshua Mahony from Alpari.FTSE 100: Miners provide a liftRio Tinto was among the best performers this morning after Chief Executive Tom Albanese boasted at an investors seminar that the company is "very well positioned despite the challenging global environment. The company said that it is targeting cumulative savings of more than $5bn of operating and supports costs by the end of 2014.Sector peer BHP Billiton was also in demand after its Chief Executive Officer Marius Kloppers gave a cautiously optimistic outlook at the company's annual general meeting. He highlighted the company's diversified portfolio, which he stressed means it is "poised to capture the opportunities presented by markets in all stages of the demand cycle". Vedanta, Kazakhmys, ENRC, Antofagasta and Fresnillo were also making gains on hopes that the US can reach a deal on its budget. Meanwhile, comments from Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming were also providing a lift - he said that China will definitely hit its growth target of at least 7.5% this year. Luxury brand Burberry, a stock often sensitive to developments in China, was also on the rise.Utilities firm Pennon, which owns South West Water and waste business Viridor, rose after delivering a half-year pre-tax profit in line with expectations, up 3.4% to £111.1m. Energy services giant Wood Group was leading the fallers on reports that the Wood family trust and members of the Wood family reduced its stake in the firm by 4.4%.DIY group Kingfisher was lower after seeing like-for-like sales fall 2.8% in the third quarter. In the UK, Kingfisher's biggest market, total sales declined by 0.7% to £1.05bn, and were down 3.8% in like-for-like terms. Pay-TV and broadband group BSkyB was lower after Jefferies downgraded its rating on the stock from 'hold' to 'underperform' and cut its target price from 700p to 650p, saying: "we no longer believe Sky's valuation reflects the challenges it faces as the UK's incumbent pay TV platform as the market matures." FTSE 250: Invensys continues to soarTechnology group Invensys extended yesterday's surge after announcing last night that it is to sell its rail division to Siemens for £1.742bn, pay down its pension deficit and return £625m in cash to shareholders. Shares rocketed 27% yesterday and gained a further near-10% this morning. Rigid plastic packaging supplier RPC Group dropped after seeing net profit halve in the first half as it was hit by restructuring costs and impairment losses. William Hill rose after coming a step closer to buying out its online joint venture partner Playtech after formally triggering a valuation process for William Hill Online. Electrical retailer Dixons was lower after full-year sales rose 4% to £3.29bn in the first half. The company's figures reflected the European economic divide as sales grew in the North, but took a hit in Southern countries. Brewer and pub operator Marston's was lower despite full-year group revenue gaining 5.5% to £720m and underlying profit before tax increasing by 9.2%. FTSE 100 - RisersRio Tinto (RIO) 3,069.50p +4.39%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 705.00p +3.91%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 274.70p +3.62%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,093.00p +3.50%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,318.00p +3.45%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,281.00p +3.39%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,872.00p +3.03%Pennon Group (PNN) 616.50p +3.01%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,097.00p +2.91%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,985.00p +2.64%FTSE 100 - FallersWood Group (John) (WG.) 784.00p -3.80%Kingfisher (KGF) 276.60p -1.43%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 754.00p -1.24%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 776.50p -0.32%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,072.50p -0.24%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,505.00p -0.16%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,145.00p -0.12%Pearson (PSON) 1,177.00p -0.08%Diageo (DGE) 1,878.00p -0.03%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 170.10p 0.00%FTSE 250 - RisersInvensys (ISYS) 306.90p +9.61%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 32.50p +5.18%SDL (SDL) 465.40p +4.94%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 261.70p +4.68%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 58.25p +4.58%Persimmon (PSN) 801.00p +3.76%Man Group (EMG) 76.60p +3.65%Regus (RGU) 99.60p +3.59%Ruspetro (RPO) 89.00p +3.55%Yule Catto & Co (YULC) 176.00p +3.53%FTSE 250 - FallersRPC Group (RPC) 389.70p -8.50%NMC Health (NMC) 174.80p -2.89%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 25.51p -2.07%Bumi (BUMI) 257.30p -1.76%Perform Group (PER) 379.90p -1.32%PayPoint (PAY) 844.50p -1.23%IP Group (IPO) 110.06p -1.21%Provident Financial (PFG) 1,284.00p -1.15%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 421.90p -1.01%ITE Group (ITE) 192.10p -0.93%BC