London shares on front foot

London shares were on the front foot today, buoyed by strong corporate results from Centrica and BAE Systems.

A rally for gold, precious metal and oil prices helped steer blue-chip stocks ahead to see the FTSE 100 Index advance 36.8 points to 6393.9 by mid-morning.

British Gas owner Centrica led the Footsie risers, with a gain of more than 4%, or 15.5p to 385.75p, after it banked annual profits of £1.44 billion.

The profits haul was down 5% on last year, but the company said both performance and margins improved considerably in the second half of the year.

Power station operator Drax rose more than 3% after reports suggested the group was sparking interest from a number of venture capital firms. The stock was 24p higher at 715p.

BAE Systems benefited from a strong set of results and an upbeat outlook statement. Its shares were up 11.5p at 458.75p, after it said it was set for another year of solid growth led by its US businesses, particularly in the Land & Armaments sector.

A strong performance from mining stocks helped lift FTSE 100 stocks with Kazakhmys leading the sector on a rise of 31p to 1156p on firmer metal prices. Vedanta Resources was up 31p to 1316p, while Xstrata was ahead 60p at 2539p.

Cairn Energy was ahead 25p at 1572p and BG Group climbed 10.5p to 706.5p as oil prices also strengthened.

London congestion charge group Capita did not fare so well with a fall of 28p to 640p, more than 4%, as its full year profit came in below expectations and its contract pipeline slipped below its half year level.

In the second tier, Rentokil Initial dived more than 8%, down 13.75p at 149p, after full year profits slid by 6% to £251.4 million as restructuring costs continued to outweigh revenue growth at the troubled hygiene-to-pest control firm.

Colt Telecom followed Rentokil up the FTSE 250 fallers’ board as its results also came in below analysts expectations and it announced plans to undertake a strategic review to determine the best way forward for the group. The stock was off 14.25p at 163.25p.