London open: Retailers brighten the mood

Good news from two major retailers has boosted sentiment with a late rally on Wall Street also helping the mood. High street giant Marks & Spencer produced interim results right at the top of expectations, with underlying profits rising slightly as food sales improved for a fourth quarter in a row. Adjusted profit before tax was slightly ahead of last year at £298.3m. Most analysts had expected profits of about £290m.Fashion chain Next has upped its guidance for second half sales up to Christmas Eve after reporting better than expected sales in the third quarter. Retail like-for-like sales dropped 1.3% in the three month ended 31 October, while directory sales were up 5.1%, with both Next Retail and Next Directory performing ahead of the second half guidance the group gave in September.Trading conditions are also on the mend for shopping centre owner Liberty International. The retail tenant market still faces challenges but activity levels are on the up while the number of retailers going belly up declined substantially in the third quarter, the company said.Life group Aviva is going well after chief executive Andrew Moss said, "The outlook for the group's total profitability in 2009 is good despite a reduction in sales driven by continuing customer caution and active management of sales volumes to optimise profitability".Guinness owner Diageo is tapping the bond market to raise half a billion dollars. The five-year US dollar-denominated bond carries a coupon of 3.25%.Housebuilder Redrow said house sales in the second half of the year have been 'remarkably stable'. Net private reservations in the 18 weeks from 1 July have averaged 45 homes per week, even in the normally quiet months of July and August, and are 47% ahead of the corresponding period of last year.Redrow's sector peer, Taylor Wimpey, is also seeing conditions stabilising, with UK orders steady and selling prices 9% higher than the £163,000 average at the end of July. Barratt and Bellway are also on the up.Cut price food and booze pubs group JD Wetherspoon reported a 0.3% rise in like-for-like sales in the first quarter and said it remains confident of the company's prospects for the full year.Defence and commercial aerospace equipment maker Cobham said revenue has grown strongly, broadly in line with company expectations in the first nine months of 2009, and expects the trend to continue in the final quarter.