London close: Footsie turns positive

London's top stocks finished the day above the 5,500 mark after turning positive in afternoon trading.Luxury fashion label Burberry was the best performer of the day after saying it expects profits for the full year to be at the top end of expectations after seeing strong sales in the last three months of 2009. Cadbury closed higher after the chocolate maker accepted a revised offer from the US food giant Kraft which values each Cadbury share at 850p a share. Shares in the group were up by almost 4% at 836.5p when the markets closed.In contrast, the share price of SABMiller was going down faster than a bottle of the brewer's Peroni on a hot summer's day. SABMiller saw lager volumes dip slightly in the first nine months of its current year with the US in particular under pressure. Banks were also under the cosh with Lloyds Banking, Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered the biggest fallers.Land Securities is also lower even after saying it continued to perform well in the third quarter and plans to spend £655m on development projects in London this year. Pearson slipped back despite the FT publisher raising its forecasts for 2009 for the second time in three months after strong growth in US higher education and a better than expected result from the FT. Water company Severn Trent has announced a 'one-off' cut in the dividend to help it meet the output and operating efficiency demands of the industry regulator.FTSE 250-listed Carphone Warehouse moved up after saying it expects its full year earnings to be at the top end of expectations after seeing strong trading at both its divisions in the third quarter.Chemring was on the attack after strong demand for military equipment driven by continued conflict in Afghanistan helped the military decoy specialist post a jump in sales and profits in the year to October 31. Pre-tax profits climbed to £95.8m from £57.7m. Sales climbed to £503.9m from £354.2m.Spread bet firm IG Group upped its interim dividend by 25% after another record first half for sales and profits as bad debts fell sharply. Trading revenue in the six months to 30 November 2009 rose 14% to £143.8m, (10% on a constant currency basis), while adjusted profit before tax was £78.0m, up 34%. Pre-tax profits were 26% higher at £69m.Half yearly profit powered ahead at fantasy war games group Games Workshop after it benefited from a weaker pound, cut costs and saw an increase in royalties.Software provider Alterian said third quarter revenue surged 21% after a bumper performance in the US but the share price was hammered after the company added that the outturn for the full year is not certain.FTSE 100 - RisersBurberry Group (BRBY) 649.00p +8.26%Cadbury (CBRY) 836.50p +3.59%Rexam (REX) 303.20p +3.41%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,123.00p +3.12%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 38.34p +2.95%British Airways (BAY) 200.40p +2.93%United Utilities Group (UU.) 503.50p +2.57%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,284.50p +1.94%Unilever (ULVR) 1,972.00p +1.70%AstraZeneca (AZN) 3,067.50p +1.69%FTSE 100 - FallersLloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 57.07p -2.58%SABMiller (SAB) 1,779.00p -2.25%Pearson (PSON) 891.00p -1.98%Wolseley (WOS) 1,459.00p -1.95%Barclays (BARC) 312.10p -1.78%Amec (AMEC) 760.50p -1.55%Compass Group (CPG) 459.00p -1.40%WPP Group (WPP) 596.50p -1.40%Alliance Trust (ATST) 329.60p -1.38%Home Retail Group (HOME) 264.30p -1.31%