London close: Modest gains as US struggles

Equities held onto gains despite a lacklustre final session as Wall St struggled to make headway. Mining stocks continue to dominate the list of risers. Silver miner Fresnillo is the best performer after being upgraded to "buy" by Citigroup. In contrast the US bank had downgraded gold miner Randgold Resources to "hold" from "buy". Elsewhere in the sector Anglo American jumps on hopes that Xstrata will bow to institutional pressure and pay a premium for control of Anglo should it launch a bid. Among the sector's second liners Peter Hambro is wanted after Citigroup issued a "buy" note. Broker comment also lifts retailers Marks & Spencer and Home Retail, both of which have been raised to "buy" from "hold" by Citigroup. Car insurance group Admiral sails higher after Bank of America moved its stance from "hold" to "buy" while general insurer Legal & General gets a boost from Morgan Stanley, which has upgraded the stock from "equal weight" to "overweight", saying insolvency fears have been overblown. Cairn Energy is the worst performing blue-chip on fears that its Indian subsidiary may be caned by a new "surface rent" tax on oil and gas producers that has been proposed by the Rajasthan state government. In corporate news, shares in Associated British Foods fell after year-on-year growth slowed in the third quarter of its financial year. The group as a whole saw revenue rise 19% in the 40 weeks to 20 June, but growth slowed in the third quarter, with revenues rising just 15%. Housebuilders have been making an attempt to wrench attention away from mining stocks. Barratt Developments said it remains cautious about the outlook and will continue to match work in progress to demand, whilst reducing debt and controlling costs.Smaller rival Redrow said trading results are expected to be around the lower end of analysts expectation in light of the extreme trading conditions experienced in the year. The group legally completed 2,113 new homes in the 12 months ended 30 June 2009 (2008: 3,925), in line with its expectations. Housebuilder and contractor Galliford Try said results for the full year are expected to be in line with company forecasts as the pickup in the UK housing market continues. Fund manager Man Group reported a slight dip in assets under management in the first quarter as customers withdrew funds, but said it is well placed to grow market share. Recruiter Hays said it has been another tough quarter with demand continuing to weaken in both its temporary and permanent placement businesses. Engineering IT systems provider Aveva hits the skids after Exane BNP cut the stock to "neutral" from "outperform" after Aveva said it has started to see the anticipated decline in initial licence sales in the marine sector. Defence firm Cobham has won a $32m contract from the US Navy to provide low band transmittersIn a similar vein, Air New Zealand has placed an order with aero engine giant Rolls-Royce for Trent 1000 engines to power its Boeing 787-9 aircraft. Online poker firm PartyGaming said revenue since 6 April has been in line with that achieved in the first quarter, though full-year distribution costs are expected to be slightly higher than forecast.Genus said it saw further weakness in the North American dairy market in the final quarter caused by low milk prices but still expects a strong increase in profits for the year. The boards of property groups Segro and Brixton have agreed the terms of their merger. IT services firm Morse slides after it said revenue from continuing operations is expected to be slightly below that reported in the first six months.FTSE 100 - RisersFresnillo (FRES) 487.00p +10.06%Anglo American (AAL) 1,651.00p +5.60%Xstrata (XTA) 609.80p +3.87%Rio Tinto (RIO) 1,967.00p +3.77%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,316.00p +3.62%FTSE 100 - FallersAviva (AV.) 291.00p -3.96%Autonomy Corporation (AU.) 1,322.00p -3.01%ICAP (IAP) 421.50p -2.20%Hammerson (HMSO) 279.00p -2.11%Wolseley (WOS) 1,066.00p -1.93%FTSE 250 - RisersHochschild Mining (HOC) 299.50p +10.11%PV Crystalox Solar (PVCS) 80.00p +8.11%Genus (GNS) 501.00p +7.28%Domino Printing (DNO) 245.25p +5.83%Peter Hambro Mining (POG) 559.00p +5.67%FTSE 250 - FallersPayPoint (PAY) 448.75p -7.76%Redrow (RDW) 201.00p -5.41%Punch Taverns (PUB) 85.00p -4.49%Forth Ports (FPT) 940.50p -4.37%Melrose Resources (MRS) 259.00p -4.07%