WGB.L Share News (WGB)

Hints from the US Federal Reserve that it will resume its bond buying programme sooner rather than later galvanised the UK market in the morning session with mining stocks going particularly well. Xstrata, Anglo American, Rio Tinto and Antofagasta are the pick of a mining sector buoyed by the prospect of increased fiscal stimulus for the world's largest economy, Mexico based precious metals miner Fresnillo is also shining after it said silver production reached a record level in the third quarter. The company said it on track to achieve its production targets for 2010 of 340,000 ounces of attributable gold and 41.1m ounces of silver.Even mining stocks are left in the slipstream of Petrofac, however. The oil services group is upgraded to 'overweight' from 'equal-weight' at the broker Morgan Stanley, which thinks business opportunities in Britain, Iraq and Algeria will lift the company's order backlog.The morning's worst performing blue-chip was Burberry, which fell back even after underlying sales matched forecasts for the first half. The luxury clothing group said it is predicting full-year adjusted profit will be in the top half of the range of estimates. Underlying sales for the six months to 30 September jumped 17%, or 21% on a reported basis, to £641m. Comparable store sales rose 9%. Standard Chartered, the emerging markets focused bank, takes a tumble after saying it is preparing for stricter capital requirements for banks with a £3.26bn cash call. The company intends to issue the shares at 1,280p on the basis of 1 new share for every 8 held. The board believes that the new Basel III banking arrangements will see regulators raise requirements relating to minimum capital ratio levels and they may accelerate the transition timetable. The funds from the issue will enable the company to accommodate such increases without having to constrain risk weighted asset growth.The cash call overshadowed an upbeat third quarter trading statement. The bank said income in the July to September period was above the first half run rate for the business.Barclays is also lower on the concerns Standard may not be the only bank to tap shareholders in the near future. Medical equipment maker Smith & Nephew (S&N) is looking a bit poorly after US rival Biomet gave a third quarter update that disappointed. Biomet's 3% top line growth was below expectations, while the 11% decline in the company's European sales was also a worry to S&N shareholders.Rockhopper, the oil and gas explorer that's found oil in the North Falkland Basin, is mulling fundraising options and warns resource estimates for its Sea Lion discovery are currently about 30% less than predicted in June due to a lack of data. Miner Petropavlovsk has chopped the price of the Hong Kong listing of its base metals division IRC and scaled back the size of the float. The shares are now being sold at HK1.80 each, compared with an original prospectus range of HK$2.20 - HK$3. The shares are expected to start trading on 21 October, a week later than previously forecast. Headline operating profit this year at metallurgical coatings specialist Bodycote is set to be at the upper end of the range of City forecasts. The company said the range of forecasts for headline operating profit spans from £40.0m to £49.0m, with an average of £42.5m.Ascent Resources, the oil and gas exploration and production company, has received an independent report corroborating the highly prospective nature of its Petisovci-Lovaszi project area on the Hungarian-Slovenian border. An independent oil and gas assessor has estimated proven and probable (P50) reserves of gas in place at 412bn cubic feet (Bcf).Luxury interior furnishings firm Walker Greenbank is doing so well it's "comfortably" beating pre-recession levels, driven by growth at its wallpaper and fabric printing factories.FTSE 100 - RisersPetrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,478.00p +4.53%Xstrata (XTA) 1,295.00p +4.02%Amec (AMEC) 1,035.00p +4.02%Invensys (ISYS) 317.90p +3.92%Anglo American (AAL) 2,840.00p +3.78%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,996.50p +3.48%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,292.00p +3.44%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,283.00p +3.38%G4S (GFS) 265.00p +3.27%Man Group (EMG) 265.20p +3.27%FTSE 100 - FallersBurberry Group (BRBY) 1,015.00p -2.31%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,866.50p -2.20%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 557.00p -2.11%Barclays (BARC) 290.10p -1.58%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 292.70p -1.41%Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) 1,124.00p -1.06%Autonomy Corporation (AU.) 1,430.00p -0.97%Tesco (TSCO) 435.00p -0.48%United Utilities Group (UU.) 584.50p -0.34%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 388.80p -0.19%