London close: Footsie gives up gains

The leading share index gave up early gains to finish only slightly higher as euphoria over strong trade figures from China in December gave way to renewed fears over recovery prospects. China's December imports jumped by 55.9% from the same month the previous year, while exports were 17.7% higher. Continued demand for commodities was behind much of the rise, with crude oil imports climbing 25% and copper imports up by more than a quarter.Oil company Cairn Energy was a strong performer after positive noises from Citigroup. The broker says that fast-tracking the multi-well exploration drilling programme in Greenland has made the group its preferred play on frontier exploration in 2010. Dana is its value play while Tullow could be the most exciting story over the first quarter.Elsewhere in the sector, BP and Shell advanced as oil hit a 15-month high.But miners, which had been among the top risers after the Chinese data came out, gave up these gains in afternoon trading. Silver miner Fresnillo slipped back after it dropped out of the race for Canadian mining company Canplats Resources. Eurasian Natural Resources, Vedanta Resources, Anglo American and Xstrata also closed lower.Bank Barclays has received its third upbeat broker note in less than a week. This time it is Citigroup that reckons the bank is cheap, adding that the market is applying too low a rating to Barclays' earnings. Citigroup's target price is 413p, implying 30% upside.Property groups Land Securities and British Land climbed after the former was added to Goldman Sachs' 'conviction buy' list. Segro, which updated on trading today, rose after Goldman upgraded its rating on the stock to 'neutral'. Inès Reinman, Segro's head of Continental Europe, has resigned from the industrial property group barely a year she was promoted to the board. "Current trading and market conditions are in line with our expectations at the time of our Interim Management Statement issued on 5 November 2009," chief executive Ian Coull added.SABMiller fell after it pulled out of the race to buy the Femsa stable of beer brands leaving the way clear for rival brewer Heineken.Cash strapped plumbers merchant Wolseley is to raise just under £24m from the sale of its Irish businesses. WIBHM, a company backed by private investor, is paying €26.5m for Wolseley Ireland Holdings Limited. The exceptional loss on disposal, excluding currency impacts, is expected to be around €55m (£50m).Online gaming group PartyGaming has tied up an an exclusive, five-year agreement with state-controlled Danske Spil to provide an online gaming platform for poker and casino games in Denmark. Outdoor clothing retailer Blacks Leisure said it is mulling a possible equity fundraising in the first quarter to raise between £15m and £20m depending on investor demand. It hopes to roll out new stores, having closed 87 loss-making outlets in the fourth quarter of 2009. It said trading in the ongoing stores was very healthy with like-for-like sales increasing by 12.0% in the half year ended 7 JanuaryThe US Navy has awarded defence and aerospace group Cobham a contract worth up to $11.5m for the UK group. Cobham has won the Band 5/6 TWT (Travelling-wave Tube) Replacement Module Assembly (TRMA) development contract.Stem cell therapy group ReNeuron said it is on track to start human trials of its flagship treatment ReN001 for disabled stroke patients in the first quarter of this year.EMED Mining's quest to reopen the Rio Tinto mine in Spain moved a step closer following recent court rulings deemed favourable to the company. The cases all related to objections by previous stakeholders in the mine.FTSE 100 - RisersLand Securities Group (LAND) 683.00p +2.86%TUI Travel (TT.) 271.00p +2.69%British Land Co (BLND) 473.40p +2.60%BG Group (BG.) 1,223.00p +2.43%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 375.00p +2.35%Cairn Energy (CNE) 370.30p +2.32%Kingfisher (KGF) 230.80p +2.30%BP (BP.) 635.50p +2.22%SEGRO (SGRO) 350.70p +1.95%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 290.20p +1.90%FTSE 100 - FallersEurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 1,010.00p -2.32%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,590.00p -2.09%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 82.55p -2.08%SABMiller (SAB) 1,801.00p -2.01%Prudential (PRU) 626.50p -1.88%Man Group (EMG) 314.00p -1.81%Vedanta Resources (VED) 2,834.00p -1.80%Anglo American (AAL) 2,845.00p -1.79%Xstrata (XTA) 1,224.50p -1.76%Fresnillo (FRES) 852.00p -1.62%FTSE 250 - RisersRenishaw (RSW) 602.00p +5.61%St James's Place (STJ) 270.00p +5.47%Electra Private Equity (ELTA) 1,280.00p +5.09%Interserve (IRV) 229.90p +5.07%Lamprell (LAM) 211.00p +4.87%BlueBay Asset Management (BBAY) 347.40p +4.48%Halfords Group (HFD) 436.00p +4.31%Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 493.00p +4.23%Telecity Group (TCY) 424.00p +3.95%Domino Printing (DNO) 353.60p +3.66%FTSE 250 - FallersImagination Technologies (IMG) 262.80p -5.81%Weir Group (WEIR) 798.00p -4.09%Carphone Warehouse Group (CPW) 192.20p -2.88%Close Brothers Group (CBG) 712.00p -2.40%Unite Group (UTG) 289.10p -2.36%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 138.70p -2.26%Charter International (CHTR) 770.00p -2.10%SIG (SHI) 122.80p -1.92%DS Smith (SMDS) 125.70p -1.80%Investec (INVP) 454.80p -1.69%