London afternoon: Miners retain most of their gains

London has lost some of its gains in the early afternoon but it is showing signs of a renewed upturn.Miners remain the best performers on expectations that the US dollar will suffer a relapse after the G20 agreement over the week-end that should, if adhered to, bring an end to so-called currency wars. A weaker dollar usually boosts demand for minerals, which are typically quoted in the US currency, and that has prompted buying interest in the likes of Antofagasta, Kazakhmys,Xstrata and Rio Tinto. They remain higher but their gains have been pared back. In contrast, banks are proving a drag on the market, none more so than Lloyds, which has seen its price target cut by Credit Suisse. Pearson is another stock on the slide despite an upbeat trading statement. It has raised full-year earnings forecasts again after all parts of the publishing and education group continued to "perform strongly" in the third quarter, but the shares head south. The firm is trading ahead of previous guidance and now expects full year adjusted earnings per share to be about 10% higher than 2009's 65.4p.BG has seen the run of successful drilling on the Tupi prospect in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil, rise to nine with the latest well hitting light oil.BP is selling four mature producing deepwater oil and gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico for $650m (£413m) in cash just seven months after agreeing to buy them as part of a wider $7bn deal with Devon Energy. Centrica has effectively shelved its £1.5bn plan to build two gas storage facilities in the North Sea and Irish Sea unless the Government finds a way to subsidise the proposal, the Telegraph reports.London Stock Exchange, which a couple of years ago saw off the unwanted attentions of US bourse operator NASDAQ, is the subject of bid speculation again. The Singapore Stock Exchange has unveiled an $8.3bn bid for the Australian Stock Exchange, suggesting that a new round of consolidation among stock market operators could be underway.Software company Micro Focus, however, sees bid frenzy die down a bit today. On Friday its share price rose on suggestions that computing giant IBM is eyeing it up, but profit takers have moved in today.British Land has struck a deal with Oxford Properties, the real-estate arm of Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (Omers) pension fund, to build the Leadenhall Building in the City of London.Hotel giant Intercontinental Hotels' US revenues have picked up strongly in the past three months, driven by a revamping of its Holiday Inn chain and more business travellers. Revenue per room (or revpar) in its Americas division sped up through the third quarter to 6.7%.The British Bankers' Association (BBA) reported that mortgage approvals for house purchases sank to an 18-month low in September. That has sent the housebuilding sector into a funk, with Taylor Wimpey, Barratt Developments and Redrow leading the sector lower. Engineer IMI is buying Zimmermann & Jansen, a German severe service valves and related flow control products firm, for an enterprise value of €135m.Household and personal care products maker McBride said it continues to see growth despite intense competition and is trading in line with company expectations.Construction industry consultancy Driver said it is trading broadly in line with company expectations despite an increasingly challenging UK construction market. The shares rose after the company said its international business has a strong pipeline of secured work, with levels for the year to 2011 already similar to those achieved in the current year.Giles Clarke, the chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, has joined the board of AIM-quoted Mercury Recycling. His associate Nick Harrison has also become a director. Invesco has sharply reduced its stake in Education Development International from 5.42% to 1.08%. Slater Investments still owns 6.31% of EDI. Shares in Regal Petroleum have perked up on the news that Timis Trust, which is associated with former Regal boss Frank Timis, has cut its stake to 2.3%. FTSE 100 - RisersKazakhmys (KAZ) 1,386.00p +3.98%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,314.00p +3.55%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,029.00p +3.52%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,135.00p +2.76%Xstrata (XTA) 1,324.50p +2.71%Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,212.50p +2.64%BHP Billiton (BLT) 2,252.00p +2.41%Man Group (EMG) 262.60p +2.18%Serco Group (SRP) 634.50p +2.17%Anglo American (AAL) 2,978.50p +2.14%FTSE 100 - FallersLloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 69.36p -3.47%Invensys (ISYS) 309.40p -3.43%Cairn Energy (CNE) 409.10p -2.04%Pearson (PSON) 962.00p -1.43%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 45.54p -1.39%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,813.50p -1.36%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,362.00p -0.80%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 132.80p -0.75%BG Group (BG.) 1,194.50p -0.71%Standard Life (SL.) 228.00p -0.65%