London afternoon: Stocks come off the boil

Investors creamed off a few profits over the lunchtime session pushing the Footsie back below 5900. Fund manager Schroders has muscled its way to the top of the Footsie leaderboard, seeing off competition from several other heavy hitters that have made trading updates today. Profits rocketed at Schroders during the third quarter to more than twice the figure for last year thanks in part to net inflows of £5.4bn since the end of June. Miners are moving higher as precious and non-precious metals jump in price. Gold miners Petropavlovsk, African Barrick and Randgold Resources are posting good gains after the yellow metal advanced to a new record amid concerns over the European debt situation. Randgold saw a 12% quarter-on-quarter increase in gold sales in the third quarter, helped by a 4% rise in the received gold price. Gold sales in the quarter ended 30 September totalled $116.3m, up from $103.4m in the preceding quarter and $103.5m in the third quarter of 2009. Copper prices have advanced on strong Chinese car sales, boosting the likes of Antofagasta, which mines for the red metal in South America.Barclays is in demand after eked out a small increase in nine-month profit as a doubling of profit at the investment banking arm offset huge impairment charges at the Spanish business. The bank has made £4.27bn so far in 2010, up 4% on the same time last year, or 6% to £4.24bn excluding movements on own credit, gains on acquisitions and disposals and gains on debt buy-backs. Impairment charges were slashed by 31% to £4.30bn.Mobile phone giant Vodafone, another riser, raised its profits forecast for the current year and vowed to get more cash out of its stakes in Verizon Wireless and SFR one way or another in a bullish half-year update. The firm now expects adjusted operating profit for the 2011 financial year will be in the range of £11.8bn to £12.2bn, up from its previous range of £11.2bn -£12bn.Marc Bolland, the new boss of Marks & Spencer, which is slightly lower today, said the company will focus mainly on the UK initially, with the aim of becoming the UK's leading multi-channel retailer by 2013/14. Bolland unveiled his strategic plan for Marks & Spencer (M&S) as an accompaniment to interim results that showed adjusted profit before tax in the 26 weeks to 2 October up 16.9% to £348.6m from £298.3m a year earlier.KBC Peel Hunt was among the unimpressed, reiterating its "sell" recommendation and suggesting that investors seeking exposure to midcap retailers should take a look, instead, at Debenhams, Supergroup and Dunelm. Panmure Gordon, meanwhile, is sticking with its "hold" rating and has steered clients in the direction of fellow clothing retailer Next.Primark and British Sugar owner Associated British Foods had a record year with group revenue up 10% to £10.2bn and adjusted profit before tax up 26% to £825m.The results announcement from hotels owner Intercontinental Hotels disappointed, though it was more the absence of revisions to full year earnings guidance that soured the mood rather than the quarterly numbers. The Holiday Inns group grew revenue in the past three months for the first since early 2009, as recovery in the global economy fed through into demand for rooms. Revenue per room, or revpar, rose 8.1% in the three months to September, with Greater China increasing 24.4% and Europe, Middle East and Africa all growing at the fastest pace for two years.Insurance giant Legal & General has confirmed a 27% hike in worldwide sales for the first nine months of the year and says it's set to beat its full-year net cash target. Most of the numbers, including total worldwide new business of £466m in the three months to 30 September, were published last month, more than two weeks early after it sent them to analysts by mistake. Insurer Jardine Lloyd Thompson said despite challenging trading conditions it on track to achieve its strategic and financial objectives for the year.BP is going well after a US presidential commission investigating the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster found no evidence to support charges the company and its rig partners put profits ahead of safety. Yellow Pages publisher Yell posted a decline in half year profit but it still believes it can meet expectations for the full year adjusted EBITDA. In a separate statement Yell also announced Michael Pocock will become chief executive officer 1 January 2011.Coal-fired power station Drax remains on track to meet forecasts this year with its large slug of forward contracts insulating it against low electricity prices.Property group Hammerson is seeing strong investment demand for prime property in both the UK and France. Overall occupancy in the property portfolio increased to 96.6% at 30 September 2010, from 96.2% at 30 June.Central London-focused property group Capital & Counties has reported strong trading across the business during the period between the start of July and November 9. Rents have been rising at Covent Garden, with the outdoor retailer Jack Wolfskin and the female fashion chain Whistles among the companies to sign letting agreements recently.The first benefits of the acquisition of rival support services VT Group helped Babcock put in a strong performance in its latest first half, with underlying profits rising by 27% to £90.9m, from £71.8m, on sales of £1.22bn up from £935m.Food supplier Northern Foods revealed a sharp drop in underlying profit for the first half as tough competition at its Frozen division outweighed progress in Chilled and Bakery.