FTSE up despite losses in property stock

The London market moved closer to the 6,600 barrier today, despite losses from property stocks after British Land shelved the sale of a stake in Meadowhall shopping mall.

British Land declined more than 3%, or 40p to 1124p, after tighter credit conditions left it struggling to secure a decent price for the stake in Sheffield’s £1.7 billion shopping complex.

But the FTSE 100 Index closed up 47.9 points at 6595.8, boosted by a bullish opening on Wall Street after stronger-than-expected payroll data in the US.

The figures showed headline payrolls rose ahead of hopes, but the real momentum came as a revision to last month’s data revealed an uplift during August compared to a previously stated decline – indicating continued health in the US economy, despite the recent market turmoil.

Negative sentiment over British Land saw stocks elsewhere in the property sector on the back foot with Land Securities falling 56p to 1687p. Liberty International was down 32p at 1153p, while Hammerson slid 52p to 1168p. Housebuilders also suffered with Barratt Developments down 33p at 765p and Taylor Wimpey off 7.5p at 293.5p.

Mining shares added their weight to the leading index after an upbeat note on the sector from brokers at ABN Amro expecting higher iron ore and copper prices. Kazakhmys was the biggest gainer – up 70p to 1596p – a rise of more than 4% - followed by Antofagasta, 26p higher at 826p.

Other risers included oil giant BP, 10.5p ahead at 572.5p on firmer oil prices as it recovered from a poor week.

Yellow Pages publisher Yell Group jumped 13.75p to 463.25p after a positive note from Bear Sterns, which said the stock was attractive following over-discounting on the back of the group’s profit warning in April.

Back among the fallers, crisis-hit mortgage lender Northern Rock was 2%, or 3.2p, off at 158.5p as the company slipped back from three consecutive sessions of gains after reports suggested the bank had been forced to borrow an extra £3 billion from the Bank of England in the last week.

Alliance & Leicester topped the Footsie fallers’ after a broker downgrade from Deutsche Bank which cast doubt over future returns at the lender as margins remained under pressure. The stock fell 58p to 794p – or 7% – after Deutsche also forecast a potential increase in bad mortgage debts.

Barclays lifted 5p to 660p after it pulled out of the running for Dutch bank ABN Amro. Royal Bank of Scotland was 6.5p higher at 569.5p as Barclays’ retreat cleared the way for a takeover by the consortium.

In the second tier, low-cost airline easyJet was flying 24p higher at 571.5p after it said annual profits would be towards the top end of the 40% to 50% growth range previously forecast.

The biggest Footsie risers were Kazakhmys up 70p at 1596p, InterContinental Hotels Group ahead 40p at 1055p, Antofagasta up 26p at 826p and Yell Group ahead 13.75p at 463.25p.

The biggest Footsie fallers were Alliance & Leicester off 58p at 794p, Hammerson down 52p at 1168p, Barratt Developments off 33p at 765p and British Land down 40p at 1124p.