London afternoon: Financials drag index lower

An early three-digit loss on Wall Street has the Footsie near its worst levels of the day, with financials the biggest fallers.Insurers Aviva, L&G and Standard Life are deep in the red, as are and RBS and Barclays on fears about Irish debt.Metal heavyweights are limiting the deficit though. Most are still higher, as they have been all day. Antofagasta, Kazakhmys, Xstrata, Fresnillo and Rio Tinto are in demand, as is oil major BP.Iron specialist Ferrexpo is the best performer. Cash is pouring in, output is at record levels and the prospects rosy for 2010 and 2011, the company said.Indian miner Vedanta posted a sharp rise in profits in the six months to September 30 as it tapped into the recovery in commodity prices with record production of a number of metals. Pre-tax profits were up to $1.11bn (£690m) from $605m over the same period the previous year on revenues that soared to $4.58bn from $2.98bn.Kazakhstan-based mining leviathan Eurasian National Resources (ENRC) said production is expected to remain at full capacity in the final quarter of the year. "Revenue and cost growth is broadly in line with our expectations. Cost management remains a priority for the group in order to maintain our advantageous cost position," said Felix Vulis, chief executive officer of ENRC.Telecoms titan BT is another good performer after it bumped up adjusted profit before tax by 13% during the second quarter and increased earnings forecasts for the full-year. Cost cutting helped earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), adjusted for one off charges, add 3% to £1.45bn, taking the six-month total to £2.85bn. That was enough for the company to increase its prediction for full-year adjusted EBITDA to around £5.8bn.But shares are subdued overall. Yule Catto is among the stocks helping to dampen sentiment. A mixed trading update sparked a negative reaction from investors. Within Polymer Chemicals, monomer prices continued to rise, the group said, but at at a lower rate than the first half. The business continued to recover these increases in its end markets. Volumes remained robust in most segments, it added, though the weak volumes in the low margin compound business persisted.Real estate giant Land Securities built underlying profit up by 6% during the first half - excluding valuation gains of £314m - and businesses are now more willing to commit to new space than even the company expected. Revenue profit grew to £135.9m in the six months ended 30 September, up from £128.4m the year before, though that jumps to £455.3m including the revaluation compared with a £4.6m loss last time.Electricity generator International Power said expected 2010 spreads and load factors in its merchant markets remain in line with the guidance given in AugustNewsagent chain WH Smith saw lower sales in its High Street and Travel divisions in the period between 1 September and 6 November, though this is in line with expectations as the company has been focusing on margins rather than sales. Total sales were down by 2% compared with the same period the previous year. Like-for-like sales in the travel division, which includes shops in railway stations and airports, were down by 1%. High Street like-for-like sales fell by 4%.Private equity house 3i ramped up investment and swung into profit during the first half. Profit before tax came in at £54m for the six months ended 30 September compared with a £57 loss in 2009, helped by a much smaller exchange rate hit. The net portfolio return rose by £4m to £236m.AMEC, the provider engineering and project management services to the oil & gas and other sectors, said trading has been towards the top end of expectations this year as all three divisions stay busy.Restaurant Group, owner of the Garfunkel's chains, said it is trading in line with management expectations despite the tough economic backdrop and is confident of meeting full year targets.