London close: Footsie finishes lower

Blue chips closed lower on a mixed day for company results. Insurers rose on the back of figures from Aviva and RSA, but banks slipped back on Barclays' numbers.Disappointing unemployment data from the US also undermined confidence, while the decision from the Bank of England and ECB to keep interest rates on hold will have surprised nobody.Aviva reported a better-than-expected 21% rise in its half-year profit, while RSA Insurance Group announced revenue growth in all geographic regions and a 'resilient underwriting result' in what was a tough first half for the insurance industry. Aviva posted an IFRS operating profit of £1.27bn in the first six months of the year, up from £1.05bn a year ago and higher than forecasts of £1.15bn. The group also grew sales for the third consecutive quarter and improved the group's margin.Over at RSA, net written premiums in the first six months of 2010 rose 9% (6% at constant exchange rates) to £3.80bn from £3.49bn in the first half of 2009. Pre-tax profit was virtually flat at £302m.Medical devices firm Smith & Nephew is in rude health and sees clear signs of progress in its US trauma and European businesses and a strong emerging market performance. It posted a 7% rise in second quarter trading profit.Fund manager Schroders' interim profits surged forward as new business and assets under management both showed big first half gains. Pre-tax profits increased more than five-fold to £188.2m, from £36.3m, and more than doubled even stripping out one-off costs last year. Revenues rose to £693m from £392m.On the downside, Cobham came under heavy attack after the defence and aerospace products group saw pre-tax profits fall in the half year to June 30 as it suffered from weakness in some of its commercial operations and delays in defence contracts. Banking giant Barclays also fell despite reporting a 44% rise in first half pre-tax profits as Barclays Capital more than trebled its contribution. Pre-tax profit rose to £3.95bn in the first half of 2010 compared with £2.75bn last time.Anglo-Dutch household goods conglomerate Unilever slipped lower after it saw volume growth slow in the second quarter and said it expects the trading environment to remain difficult for the rest of the year. The company announced second quarter turnover of €11.75bn, up 12.4% (3.4% using constant exchange rates) from €10.46m in the corresponding quarter of 2009.Randgold Resources was unwanted even after it posted a sharp rise in profits in the three months to June 30, despite lower production, on higher prices for the precious metal and upped its production target for a mine that is developing ahead of schedule.Fresh from its apparent success plugging the leaking Maconda well in the Gulf of Mexico with mud, oil giant BP has been given clearance to start the cementing part of its 'static kill' process.Mining giant Rio Tinto posted a record 125% jump in half year earnings and said it looks to the future with confidence. In a separate statement, the group said it received a binding offer from funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management and the Fonds Stratégique d'Investissement (FSI) to buy a 61% stake in Alcan Engineered Products (AEP), excluding the Cable Division. Hotel group Millennium & Copthorne saw profits soar in the second quarter as the sector - one of the worst hit during financial crisis - continued its recovery.Bookie Ladbrokes is king of the hill among FTSE 250 stocks, despite warning of a challenging consumer environment as it posted a fall in profits for the half year to June 30. Pre-tax profits fell to £105.1m from £130m on revenues that dropped to £500.2m from £565.1m.Capital Shopping Centres, the shopping centre arm of what used to be Liberty International, is enjoying the fruits of the property market recovery.Housebuilder Bellway said it completed the sale of 4,595 homes in the year ended 31 July, an increase of almost 5%, at an average sales price of around £163,000 from £154,005 last time. Ukrainian iron ore producer Ferrexpo saw profits soar in the six months to June 30 as demand for the commodity from steel makers rebounded following the global economic crisis.Telecoms test equipment supplier Spirent Communications reported a 37% hike in first half pre-tax profit as demand picked up across its markets and said it is confident of building on momentum going into the second half.Plastics group Victrex said sales have remained strong since April 1, with volumes in the four months to the end of July amounting to about 940 tonnes.Aircraft services provider BBA Aviation posted a rise in profits in the first half as the aviation industry emerged from the downturn, but said the economic recovery remains uncertain.Time Warner TV production subsidiary Warner Bros has backed a £99.9m management buyout of TV programme producer Shed Media. Shares in AIM-quoted Shed, which makes Supernanny and Waterloo Road, jumped 30p to 113.5p following the news of the 115p a share cash bid, which has been recommended by the independent Shed directors. FTSE 100 - RisersAviva (AV.) 394.30p +7.18%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 133.50p +3.89%Schroders (SDR) 1,385.00p +3.51%Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 985.50p +2.39%Prudential (PRU) 581.50p +2.29%FTSE 100 - FallersCobham (COB) 224.10p -6.63%Randgold Resources (RRS) 5,395.00p -5.60%Unilever (ULVR) 1,736.00p -5.19%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,044.00p -4.92%FTSE 250 - RisersMillennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 510.00p +7.14%Redrow (RDW) 122.00p +5.45%Moneysupermarket.com (MONY) 73.00p +5.42%Ladbrokes (LAD) 145.50p +4.90%Cookson Group (CKSN) 474.70p +4.79%FTSE 250 - FallersConnaught (CNT) 29.00p -9.37%Victrex (VCT) 1,188.00p -4.81%PartyGaming (PRTY) 288.40p -4.22%Meggitt (MGGT) 283.80p -4.12%Premier Foods (PFD) 19.13p -3.09%