London open: Ireland gives market a lift

Markets opened strongly on hopes that Ireland's decision to accept a bail-out will mean some stability for the battered eurozone.Miners are leading the market higher with banks also in demand. Xstrata, Kazakhmys and Vedanta are the best of the metals-focused firms, while Lloyds and Barclays have picked up among the banks. Hotels giant Intercontinental is the best performer. It's a slow start to the week on the company's front. But Rolls-Royce has picked up a morale boosting $1.8bn (£1.1bn) engine order from China just weeks after the problems that grounded Airbus A380 super-jumbos around the world.Defence group Qinetiq has nabbed a $2bn five-year deal to provide engineering services to the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. The contract, with US space agency NASA, is a cost-plus-award-fee contract to begin next March and will run for five years. Mining heavyweight Anglo American has puts its Callide thermal coal mine up for sale. The mine in Central Queensland, a low cost coal producer, will go as part of Anglo's focus on growing its metallurgical coal and high margin export thermal coal businesses.Mitie has grown interim profit by 12% and the outsourcing and asset management group is confident of meeting expectations for the full-year and picking up new government work next year. Profit before tax and one-off items was up to £47.5m in the six months to 30 September from £42.3m a year ago on revenue 15% higher at £918.7m. Estate agent chain Winkworth expects to beat full-year profit forecasts after growing revenue by 20% in the first nine months, but 2011 is expected to be another low volume year, like 2010. Franchise offices enjoyed a strong third quarter, it said Monday, despite low transaction volumes, especially outside London, and a drop in prices compared with the first half. Education solutions provider RM reported record full year profit as growth continues in each of its three divisions. Pre-tax profit rose to £24m for the year to 30 September 2010 from £16.3m the year before. Revenue increased to £380.1m from £346.9m the year before.