London close: Triple digit fall for Footsie

Footsie suffered a triple digit fall today with virtually all blue-chip stocks except defensive favourites such as utilities having their foot jammed hard down on the reverse pedal.Resource stocks led the decline as metals and oil prices moved lower. Platinum miner Lonmin was the weakest stock in a shell-shocked mining sector, after it shut down its Number One furnace. The group's initial estimate is that a full repair of the vessel is likely to take around 30 days. Other miners were also under pressure led by Fresnillo, ENRC, Vedanta, Xstrata, Antofagasta and. Rio Tinto.Among oil stocks Tullow was the major faller, with Royal Dutch Shell not far behind. The recent rally by the dollar has upset the resources sector say traders. On the bright side second-tier oil explorer Heritage Oil was wanted after it completed a placing of 25.4m ordinary shares at 520p. Lloyds was the best blue-chip performer, followed by pharmaceutical stock AstraZeneca after Citigroup upgraded the stock to 'buy'. Utilities were barely changed, which counted as a good result today.Pub owner Punch Taverns is to raise approximately £350m through a placing and open offer and intends to make a tender offer to purchase any or all of its outstanding convertible bonds. The group also said today that trading results to date reflect the challenging market conditions being faced by the sector. Rival pub groups Marston's, Enterprise Inns and JD Wetherspoon were weak in sympathy. Reports at the weekend that Lloyds Banking will lose an estimated £450m on Admiral Taverns, the pub giant, have also upset the pub groups.Support services group Serco has renewed and expanded its contract for air traffic services at Dubai International Airport. The new contract is valued at £245m over a longer period of ten years.Addax Petroleum soared on a weekend story it will receive a £4.8bn bid from Sinopec, the Chinese state oil group, trumping an approach from the Korean National Oil Corporation. Wine warehouse chain Majestic Wine reported a 55.8% drop in full-year profits but said it has made a more encouraging start to the new financial year. TV programme maker Ten Alps achieved growth in profits and margins in line with market expectations for the year despite the tough conditions. Housebuilder and contractor Galliford Try has been awarded a £54m contract called Campus 21 by West Kent College to redevelop the college's Tonbridge campus. The redevelopment will include the construction of a new performance arts building, a main reception area, a community hub and learning areas.Educational computing specialist RM said it has been selected as ICT supplier for the Salford and Wigan Building Schools for the Future programme with the first stage expected to be worth up to £26m over the next five years.Household goods and engineering group Metalrax tumbled after it warned results in the current year could fall below current market expectations.Miner Condor Resources has welcomed news that Worldwide National Resources has withdrawn its unsolicited offer for the company.Publisher Bloomsbury is being sued by the estate of English children's writer Adrian Jacobs over claims that JK Rowling copied his work in one of her Harry Potter books. FTSE 100 - RisersLloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 66.80p +2.30%AstraZeneca (AZN) 2,650.00p +0.80%Admiral Group (ADM) 850.00p +0.77%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 2,744.00p 0.00%FTSE 100 - FallersLonmin (LMI) 1,300.00p -9.78%Fresnillo (FRES) 600.00p -7.41%Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 683.00p -7.26%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,484.00p -7.19%