London open: Rise continues

Miners are giving London's blue chips a boost in early dealings, while Tullow Oil gained on the second oil find in as many days.Fresnillo, Kazakhmys, Antofagasta, Lonmin and Xstrata are all among the top performers. Tullow Oil gained after announcing the discovery of a significant oil field at Ngassa which has the potential to be the largest in the basin to date. The Ngassa-2 exploration well in Uganda has encountered 7 metres of oil pay in a 14 metre gross sand. A strong performance from B&Q helped DIY retailer Kingfisher post a sharp rise in pre-tax profits in the half year to August 1. Pre-tax profits for the period came in at £201m, compared with £146m over the same period the previous year as revenues climbed 7.3% to £5.5bn from £5.1bn. Engineer and construction contractor Balfour Beatty said it is in advanced discussions regarding a 'significant acquisition' which would be substantially funded by a rights issue. The group said a potential deal would materially accelerate the fulfilment of its existing strategy.Engineer and construction contractor Balfour Beatty said it is in advanced discussions regarding a 'significant acquisition' which would be substantially funded by a rights issue. The group said a potential deal would materially accelerate the fulfilment of its existing strategy.Emerald Energy, the oil explorer soon to be taken over by Chinese state-run oil company Sinochem Resources, said it continues to be pleased with the results achieved from its Colombian asset portfolio, 'with oil produced from a second horizon in the Mirto No.1 exploration well, the identification and commencement of an opportunity to enhance the production capability of the recently discovered Caballos oil reservoir in the Gigante No.2 well, and steady production from the producing fields.'Building and civil engineering contractor Kier Group reported annual pre-tax profit of £24.8m down from last year's figure of £63.4m but there are signs that its markets are improving.Eastern European coffee shop operator Coffeeheaven fell into losses in the year to March 31 as the global economic downturn wreaked havoc in some of its important markets.Cash and carry group Booker saw a slight deceleration in like for like sales growth in the 12 weeks to 11 September.Fashion group French Connection saw half year losses widen and said it plans to implement further measures to enhancing profitability over the next six months.FTSE 100 - RisersBritish Airways (BAY) 238.60p +4.93%Wolseley (WOS) 1,517.00p +3.62%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,229.00p +3.54%Fresnillo (FRES) 810.00p +3.25%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,165.00p +2.82%Kingfisher (KGF) 210.80p +2.58%Antofagasta (ANTO) 772.00p +2.39%Lonmin (LMI) 1,873.00p +2.29%Home Retail Group (HOME) 299.80p +1.80%Xstrata (XTA) 997.00p +1.79%FTSE 100 - FallersSmith & Nephew (SN.) 556.50p -1.50%Balfour Beatty (BBY) 339.50p -1.31%Intertek Group (ITRK) 1,257.00p -0.55%Sage Group (SGE) 226.30p -0.53%BG Group (BG.) 1,155.00p -0.43%Next (NXT) 1,809.00p -0.33%Carnival (CCL) 2,085.00p -0.33%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 2,973.00p -0.30%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 287.70p -0.28%Associated British Foods (ABF) 857.50p -0.23% Tullow Oil Balfour Beatty Kingfisher Kier Antofagasta Fresnillo