London afternoon: Retailers sag after sales data

Leading shares remain mixed, with the Footsie easing back into the red over the lunchtime session.Retailers are out of sorts despite some moderately optimistic news from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) concerning retail sales. The BRC said annual retail sales growth in September accelerated to 4.9% from 2.2% in August. The BRC cautioned, however, that this year's September figures include the late August Bank Holiday whereas last year's did not; furthermore, the September 2008 figures were very weak, coming as they did at the height of the crisis in consumer confidence.Clothing retailers Next and Marks & Spencer pull back, even though the BRC said stronger sales of clothing and footwear lifted non-food sales by 0.8%. Food sales growth slowed again, prompting selling pressure on the likes of supermarkets Tesco and Morrisons.Kazakhmys is on the up after revealing it is in talks with the China Development Bank and JSC Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna regarding a potential corporate loan facility of around $2bn. The company also announced the sale of a 25% stake in its Ekibastuz GRES -1 power plant to Samruk-Kazyna.Ukrainian iron ore producer Ferrexpo is still in the red, however, despite a strong third quarter, in which it operated at full capacity. Lloyds Banking is marked down on fears it may have to pay a break fee of more than £1bn to pull out of the government's asset protection scheme. The company is expected to announce a huge fund raising exercise soon. Insurer Old Mutual is wanted after launching a £500m fixed rate senior bond with a coupon of 7-1/8% but sector peers Prudential, Legal & General and Friends Provident are stuck in reverse.Whitbread shareholders are happy to wake up and smell the coffee as the Costa Coffee company reported an improving trend at its budget hotel chain Premier Inn. That news offset disappointment with half-year profit, which dropped 10.4% to £110.5m (excluding exceptional items) and barely came within the range of market expectations. Among the mid-caps, ITV rallied on news it has no plans for a rights issue. It will raise £120m through convertible bonds, it said today.Footwear to condom group SSL lifted underlying sales by 3% to more than £321m in the half year to September, helped by new products and good demand in Europe and the Far East. 'We are pleased with the first half performance. Housebuilder Bellway slumped to a full-year loss after one-off items, but it's maintained the final dividend and is keen to start buying up land, especially in the South East of England. International service company Serco Group announced that Chairman Kevin Beeston will step down the group's AGM in May 2010. The group said it will now begin the process of appointing a new chairman.JJB Sports is on the rise after it finally unveiled its delayed £100m rights issue this morning. The company will issue 400m shares at 25p each a 23.7% discount to Friday's closing price.Social housing firm Connaught reported a 39% rise in annual pre-tax profit and is confident of future growth as orders continue to grow.Cash and carry firm Booker's half-year numbers have come in as expected, with like for like sales up 7.7% and profit up 12.1% on the year before. Profit before tax for the 24 weeks ended 11 September 2009 jumped to £29.7m from £26.5m in 2008 on total sales up 7.7% to £1.6bn.Shares in AEA Technology rallied after the climate change and energy consultancy said it is trading slightly ahead of management expectations. The group said it enters the second half with 80% of revenue secured to meet forecasts. Prospects remain good with the US market, in particular, providing significant opportunity for growth going forward.