London open: Banks spoil the party

Stocks have rallied following yesterday's slide, but only slightly as the banking sector puts a dampener on the recovery.First quarter profits fell sharply at part-nationalised lender Lloyds Banking, as the bank took an impairment charge that was half a billion pounds larger than it was expecting, largely to reflect declining Irish property prices. The group saw profit before tax fall to £284m in the first quarter on a combined businesses basis from £1,104m the year before. Underlying income fell to £5.20bn from £5.97bn a year earlier and £5.75bn in the preceding quarter.Times have been tough in the 13 weeks to 1 May but Morrisons has been appealing to its customers' sense of patriotism, helping the supermarket to post growth ahead of the market, it said today. Total sales excluding fuel during the period were up by 4.2% from the same period a year ago, or by 2.5% on a like-for-like basis. Nevertheless, the shares are slightly lower.Miners are rallying following falls yesterday. Gold miners, such as Africa's Randgold, which today posted higher profits and production for the first quarter, and Russia's Petropavlovsk, are among the most prominent risers.Indian mining giant Vedanta produced record volumes of commodities as prices soared, helping it post a sharp rise in full-year profits. In the year to 31 March, EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) rose by 55% from the previous year to $3.6bn (£2.2bn), on revenues that climbed 44% to $11.4bn.Paper and packaging firm Mondi said price increases have been pushed through across all of its major product lines, contributing to the group's best quarterly performance for some time. Underlying profit in the first quarter of 2011 of €187m was well ahead of the figure for the corresponding period of 2010 and was also better than the results achieved in the final two quarters of 2010.Medical devices firm Smith & Nephew said first quarter revenue was boosted by progress at its US knee franchise while net profit fell. During the first quarter ended 2 April 2011 revenue rose to $1.055bn from $995m the year before. Trading profit fell to $241m from $250m after it incurred higher administrative expenses. Go-Ahead is in the fast lane. The rail and bus operator is benefiting from cash-strapped drivers abandoning their cars to take the bus and expects to deliver a full-year operating profit ahead of expectations. In the same sector, National Express said it is on track for an improved financial performance for 2011 after seeing good growth in the first quarter. FTSE 100 - RisersSmith & Nephew (SN.) 679.50p +2.95%ARM Holdings (ARM) 573.00p +2.69%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,075.00p +2.05%Diageo (DGE) 1,233.00p +1.73%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,540.00p +1.65%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,889.00p +1.56%Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,213.50p +1.48%Man Group (EMG) 262.40p +1.43%BHP Billiton (BLT) 2,455.50p +1.40%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,229.00p +1.40%FTSE 100 - FallersLloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 55.12p -5.00%Schroders (SDR) 1,798.00p -3.95%Schroders (Non-Voting) (SDRC) 1,464.00p -3.75%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 40.70p -2.40%G4S (GFS) 271.60p -1.09%Barclays (BARC) 281.20p -0.92%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 297.70p -0.87%Unilever (ULVR) 1,961.00p -0.61%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 396.50p -0.60%Investec (INVP) 477.10p -0.56%FTSE 250 - RisersGo-Ahead Group (GOG) 1,491.00p +6.50%Redrow (RDW) 135.30p +4.16%AZ Electronic Materials SA (WI) (AZEM) 290.00p +3.46%Petropavlovsk (POG) 879.00p +2.27%Anglo Pacific Group (APF) 312.40p +1.96%Fidessa Group (FDSA) 1,840.00p +1.94%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 172.70p +1.89%Mondi (MNDI) 598.00p +1.79%Helical Bar (HLCL) 264.20p +1.77%ITE Group (ITE) 254.20p +1.72%FTSE 250 - FallersCapital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 164.20p -4.31%Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 130.00p -3.70%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 2,654.00p -2.78%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 882.50p -2.49%Sports Direct International (SPD) 195.30p -1.81%easyJet (EZJ) 342.70p -1.61%Elementis (ELM) 159.50p -1.54%Shanks Group (SKS) 116.90p -1.43%Mothercare (MTC) 414.20p -1.33%Kesa Electricals (KESA) 130.40p -1.21%