London close: Triple digit gains

Footsie's gains exceeded the triple-digit level at trading's close after optimism engendered by an upbeat start to the US results season.Aluminium giant Alcoa posted profits ahead of expectations last night.Here, product testing company Intertek is benefitting from Merrill Lynch lifting its price target for the company from 1640p to 1750p. Chip designer ARM Holdings was wanted after Goldman Sachs named it as a "primary winner" from the introduction of Apple's iPad. British American Tobacco and Unilever also moved up on Goldman's recommendations. Oil giant BP added to yesterday's heavy gains. The shares have been lifted by hopes it is near to stemming the flow of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico. A new 75-tonne steel cap was lowered over the damaged well late last night. According to latest reports, Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said the emirate is considering making an investment in BP. Essar Energy was the only FTSE 100 stock to show a loss on the day. The India-focused energy company said its subsidiary Essar Power has reached agreement for the acquisition of Navabharat Power, a coal-fuelled power plant that is being built in the Indian state of Orissa.Sales of coats and accessories were behind a better than expected leap in sales at luxury goods giant Burberry during the May to June quarter. Total sales jumped 27%, or 21% at constant exchange rates, to £291m in the three months to 30 June, although they grew 30% (24%) to £282m excluding the Spanish business which is being phased out.Northern Foods' sales fell in the first quarter as good growth in chilled foods could not offset falls in the bakery and frozen divisions. Overall, sales in the three months to end June were 1.6% lower, in line with the firm's targets in 'challenging conditions'.Engineering and project management company AMEC has won a five year master services agreement with BP Azerbaijan valued at $340m.Infrastructure specialist Balfour Beatty said its Mansell subsidiary has been appointed as one of three contractors working on a house building programme in Hackney, north London. Mansell's share of the four-year framework agreement for the London Borough of Hackney and Hackney Homes' Decent Homes programme will be about £73m.Home furnishings retailer Dunelm should beat full-year profit forecasts despite a drop in like for like (LFL) during the fourth quarter. LFL sales grew 8% in the year to 3 July following a marked slowdown during the last six months to just 0.8% from 15.4% during the first half. They actually fell 1.9% in the final 13 weeks, reflecting strong comparatives with the previous year. Specialty pharmaceuticals business BTG is enjoying continued momentum across the business with its pipeline of prospects progressing well. "We look forward to selling CroFab and DigiFab from October this year, and to seeing the full financial benefits of this from next year," said chief executive officer, Louise Makin.Bacon, pork and sausages specialist Cranswick lifted sales by 19%, to £198m, in the last three months, with organic growth up by 6% and 13% coming from acquisition CCF Norfolk.IT services provider Computacenter said first half profit is expected to increase more than 10%, in line with management expectations.African Minerals shot forward as it tied up a $1.5bn investment in its iron ore project at Tonkolili, Sierra Leone from Shandong Iron & Steel.Shares in mobile phone payments provider Monitise surged 9% after it said full year revenues are estimated to be around £6m, up 120% from the year before and as it announced plans to raise £32.4m.Online betting group Webis warned that trading for the full year ended 30 May 2010 will be significantly below the group's previous expectations. Kea Petroleum is getting excited as the Tuatara-1 well in which it has a 10% interest is expected to start drilling offshore New Zealand before the end of this month.The record seems to be stuck at Luminar, as sales continue to decline with the World Cup partly to blame. Same outlet sales across 76 clubs for the 19 weeks to 8 July 2010 were down 19.9%. In line with the company's experience of previous tournaments the World Cup has adversely affected trading, with sales down approximately an additional 6% on the run rate.Shares in Gooch & Housego jumped after the optical components and systems maker upped its expectations for revenues and profits for the year ending 30 September.Shares in Intellego climbed more than 25% after the training consultancy announced the launch of a library of workbooks in conjunction with money marketing magazine.FTSE 100 - RisersBarclays (BARC) 312.60p +4.22%Aggreko (AGK) 1,633.00p +4.08%Wolseley (WOS) 1,452.00p +4.01%TUI Travel (TT.) 229.10p +3.90%Intertek Group (ITRK) 1,634.00p +3.61%Burberry Group (BRBY) 817.50p +3.55%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 46.25p +3.51%Home Retail Group (HOME) 233.20p +3.41%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,612.00p +3.33%Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 883.50p +3.33%FTSE 100 - FallersEssar Energy (ESSR) 435.20p -0.87%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 695.00p 0.00%British Land Co (BLND) 451.70p +0.38%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,147.00p +0.53%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,459.00p +0.62%British Airways (BAY) 206.00p +0.64%Invensys (ISYS) 266.80p +0.64%BG Group (BG.) 1,090.50p +0.74%SABMiller (SAB) 1,959.00p +0.75%ICAP (IAP) 436.20p +0.76%FTSE 250 - RisersGaliform (GFRM) 70.80p +9.18%Game Group (GMG) 67.30p +8.11%JD Wetherspoon (JDW) 435.30p +6.93%Mcbride (MCB) 141.70p +6.54%Dunelm Group (DNLM) 379.90p +6.12%Dimension Data Holdings (DDT) 101.90p +5.93%Logica (LOG) 111.10p +5.41%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 198.00p +5.38%Punch Taverns (PUB) 71.00p +5.34%Hansen Transmissions International (HSN) 70.65p +5.13%FTSE 250 - FallersHansteen Holdings (HSTN) 63.00p -3.23%JKX Oil & Gas (JKX) 290.00p -3.01%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 472.00p -2.96%Electra Private Equity (ELTA) 1,246.00p -2.73%Unite Group (UTG) 182.70p -2.04%Supergroup (SGP) 793.50p -1.98%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 264.30p -1.53%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 2,319.00p -1.53%PZ Cussons (PZC) 344.10p -1.40%Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 154.20p -1.22%