London midday: Footsie stays strong after rally

Footsie seems to have stabilised in positive territory amid a mixed reception for today's deluge of company updates.There were no surprises from the Bank of England today as its Monetary Policy Committee kept rates on hold at 0.5%.Insurer Aviva is currently the best performer after it reported a better-than-expected 21% rise in its half-year profit.But Cobham is under heavy attack after the defence and aerospace products group saw pre-tax profits fall in the half year to June 30 as it suffered from weakness in some of its commercial operations and delays in defence contracts. Banking giant Barclays is also down despite reporting a 44% rise in first half pre-tax profits as profits at the lender's investment banking arm, Barclays Capital, more than trebled, though that was partially offset by an increase in impairments in Barclays Corporate in Spain. Pre-tax profit rose to £3,947m in the first half of 2010 compared with £2,745m last time. Excluding movements on own credit, gains on acquisitions and gains on debt buy-backs, pre-tax profit increased by 22% to £2,963m.Anglo-Dutch household goods conglomerate Unilever is lower after it saw volume growth slow in the second quarter and expects the trading environment to remain difficult for the rest of the year. The company announced second quarter turnover of €11.75bn, up 12.4% (3.4% using constant exchange rates) from €10.46m in the corresponding quarter of 2009.Randgold Resources is unwanted even after it posted a sharp rise in profits in the three months to June 30, despite lower production, on higher prices for the precious metal and upped its production target for a mine that is developing ahead of schedule.RSA Insurance Group reported revenue growth in all geographic regions and a 'resilient underwriting result' in what was a tough first half for the insurance industry. Net written premiums in the first six months of 2010 rose 9% (6% at constant exchange rates) to £3.80bn from £3.49bn in the first half of 2009. Pre-tax profit was virtually flat at £302m.Fresh from its apparent success plugging the leaking Maconda well in the Gulf of Mexico with mud, oil giant BP has been given clearance to start the cementing part of its 'static kill' process.Mining giant Rio Tinto posted a record 125% jump in half year earnings and said it looks to the future with confidence. In a separate statement, the group said it received a binding offer from funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management and the Fonds Stratégique d'Investissement (FSI) to buy a 61% stake in Alcan Engineered Products (AEP), excluding the Cable Division. Hotel group Millennium & Copthorne saw profits soar in the second quarter as the sector - one of the worst hit during financial crisis - continued its recovery.Medical devices firm Smith & Nephew said it sees clear signs of progress in its US trauma and European businesses and a strong emerging market performance as it posted a 7% rise in second quarter trading profit.Capital Shopping Centres, the shopping centre arm of what used to be Liberty International, is enjoying the fruits of the property market recovery.Bookmaker Ladbrokes is the top riser in the FTSE 250 even after it warned of a challenging consumer environment as it posted a fall in profits for the half year to June 30. Pre-tax profits fell to £105.1m from £130m on revenues that dropped to £500.2m from £565.1m. Housebuilder Bellway said it completed the sale of 4,595 homes in the year ended 31 July, an increase of almost 5%, at an average sales price of around £163,000 from £154,005 last time. FTSE 100 - RisersAviva (AV.) 396.50p +7.77%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 134.00p +4.28%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 583.50p +4.20%Schroders (SDR) 1,392.00p +4.04%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 77.11p +3.52%ARM Holdings (ARM) 325.90p +3.30%Schroders NV (SDRC) 1,138.00p +3.08%Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 990.50p +2.91%Prudential (PRU) 584.50p +2.81%Burberry Group (BRBY) 881.50p +2.56%FTSE 100 - FallersCobham (COB) 225.60p -6.00%Unilever (ULVR) 1,743.00p -4.81%Randgold Resources (RRS) 5,485.00p -4.02%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,054.00p -4.01%Barclays (BARC) 328.00p -3.49%Whitbread (WTB) 1,412.00p -1.74%Inmarsat (ISAT) 714.00p -1.18%Cairn Energy (CNE) 469.20p -1.08%Rolls-Royce Group (RR.) 568.50p -1.04%Compass Group (CPG) 543.50p -1.00%FTSE 250 - RisersLadbrokes (LAD) 147.10p +6.06%Spirent Communications (SPT) 135.60p +5.69%Cookson Group (CKSN) 474.50p +4.75%Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 32.10p +4.36%Moneysupermarket.com (MONY) 72.20p +4.26%Keller Group (KLR) 632.00p +4.20%Redrow (RDW) 120.50p +4.15%GKN (GKN) 150.60p +3.86%Petropavlovsk (POG) 1,097.00p +3.49%Telecity Group (TCY) 439.30p +3.44%FTSE 250 - FallersConnaught (CNT) 30.40p -5.00%PartyGaming (PRTY) 291.00p -3.35%Victrex (VCT) 1,210.00p -3.04%Carpetright (CPR) 724.50p -2.09%Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 391.80p -1.88%JKX Oil & Gas (JKX) 289.60p -1.80%Xchanging (XCH) 167.60p -1.76%Rightmove (RMV) 650.50p -1.59%Halfords Group (HFD) 479.20p -1.54%Davis Service Group (DVSG) 387.50p -1.30%