London close: Footsie runs out of steam

Wall Street's inability to hold onto new home sale-inspired gains was the final nail in the coffin for London, bringing to an end a six-day winning streak.Much of the blame lay with the UK-listed miners who hogged the list of largest losers on weaker metal prices.Antofagasta was among the worst hit after posting a sharp slide in pre-tax profits. For the six months to June 30, profit slumped to $476.6m from $1.66bn a year ago as revenues slid to $1.18bn from $2.4bn. Peers Fresnillo, Xstrata and Rio Tinto joined the retreat.It was much the same picture for oils, with pre-tax profits plunging at Tullow in the first half of the year as the firm felt the pinch of the slide in crude prices. Profit dived to £34.8m in the six months to June 30, down 83% from the £126m reported in 2008. Revenues skidded 23% lower to £291.3m. Cairn Energy also struggled after disappointing results Tuesday, while oilfield services group Petrofac was another out of favour after declaring figures earlier this week.WPP staggered lower after saying half-year results continued to reflect the impact of the global economic contraction, which intensified in the second quarter, though results for July did indicate a 'less-worse' picture. Pre-tax profit for the six months fell 47% to £179.3m, partly due to the impact of higher sterling translation of interest costs on Euro-denominated debt. On a brighter note, outsourcing specialist Serco topped the risers after it said its strong performance in the first half and the good start to the second period supports its expectation in achieving its financial guidance for 2009 and beyond. Pre-tax profit for the half-year increased 32.8% to £93.4m on revenue that rose to £1,950 from £1,491m. The strong results allowed the firm to hike dividends by 25% to 1.85p per share. Royal Bank of Scotland was wanted in the wake of Tuesday's cost-saving measures relating to its pension scheme.In the mid-cap index Punch Taverns is up for the second day in a row after Shore Capital reinitiated the pub group as a 'buy' after yesterday's trading update. Fellow pub landlord Enterprise Inns is also higher, as is pubs owner and brewer Marston's.Lovell, the affordable housing division of construction and regeneration specialist Morgan Sindall, has been chosen as a contractor for a £20m redevelopment programme in Hampshire. Meanwhile, support services and construction company Carillion has won three new contracts worth £121m. The company has been chosen by real estate investment trust Segro for a £50m project in Farnborough that will involve the construction of four office buildings in Farnborough.Oil services group John Wood saw profits slide in the half-year as the tough market conditions hit exploration and production (E&P) spending worldwide. The group said the recent higher oil prices are likely to have little impact on E&P spending in the second half.Oil and gas firm Melrose Resources saw first half revenue and profit tumble as a result of lower oil prices and the planned cessation of production from its Galata field.Sector peer Premier Oil has plugged and abandoned the Frida Marine-1 well in the Congo Marine XI permit. Ireland's largest bookmaker Paddy Power reported a decline in half year pre-tax profit but saw 20% growth in online customers.In vitro diagnostics firm Axis-Shield saw profits almost double in the first half and said business remains strong. Underlying pre-tax profit rose to £3.6m in the six month ended 30 June compared with £1.6m last time. Statutory pre-tax profit increased to £7.5m from £1.6m.FTSE 100 - RisersSerco Group (SRP) 482.30p +6.00%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 56.60p +5.30%Schroders NV (SDRC) 924.50p +2.84%Schroders (SDR) 1,097.00p +2.72%Diageo (DGE) 996.50p +2.57%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,070.00p +2.49%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 274.50p +1.59%Old Mutual (OML) 94.00p +1.57%Centrica (CNA) 239.10p +1.31%SABMiller (SAB) 1,434.00p +1.27%FTSE 100 - FallersFresnillo (FRES) 604.00p -5.18%Antofagasta (ANTO) 752.00p -4.75%Cairn Energy (CNE) 2,479.00p -4.14%Xstrata (XTA) 825.50p -4.12%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,381.50p -3.99%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,053.00p -3.92%Petrofac Ltd (PFC) 872.50p -3.80%Amec (AMEC) 777.50p -3.36%Lonmin (LMI) 1,471.00p -3.10%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 917.50p -2.91%FTSE 250 - RisersRedrow (RDW) 240.50p +5.34%Ashtead Group (AHT) 78.90p +5.20%Kier Group (KIE) 1,132.00p +5.11%Enterprise Inns (ETI) 171.40p +4.90%Marston's (MARS) 106.30p +4.83%Spirent Communications (SPT) 78.35p +4.40%Henderson Group (HGG) 123.70p +4.39%Keller Group (KLR) 647.00p +4.35%F&C Asset Management (FCAM) 76.85p +4.13%Mcbride (MCB) 143.80p +3.98%FTSE 250 - FallersBlueBay Asset Management (BBAY) 285.50p -7.00%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 155.20p -6.51%SIG (SHI) 136.00p -6.34%Cookson Group (CKSN) 389.90p -5.36%John Wood Group (WG.) 308.40p -5.20%Galiform (GFRM) 61.25p -4.82%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 246.10p -4.50%Novae Group (NVA) 320.00p -4.48%Moneysupermarket.com (MONY) 83.15p -4.32%GKN (GKN) 111.60p -4.29%