Progress in London but trading volumes thin

Encouraging results from mining heavyweight Kazakhmys ensured the London market made progress in thin pre-holiday trading today.

The group topped the FTSE 100 Index risers board after its first-half results topped market expectations and the company surprised investors by revealing it was on course to exceed its annual copper production target.

Other mining stocks were lifted by the update and meant the Footsie added 5.8 points to 4896.4 by mid-morning, having finished lower last night after a run of six sessions in positive territory.

Kazakhmys climbed 4% or 37p to 954.5p and Fresnillo cheered 9p to 613p.

Royal Bank of Scotland, which set a nine-month high last night, was given a further boost today by an upgrade from broker KBW, although shares ran out of steam and were unchanged at 56.5p.

Barclays rose 5.5p to 368.5p but Lloyds Banking Group slipped 2.5p to 106p and Standard Chartered eased 32p to 1382p.

Drinks giant Diageo was lower – down 4% or 36p to 960.5p – after it forecast a challenging 2010 and predicted slower profits growth in the year ahead. Results for 2009 were at the lower end of expectations with profits of £2bn (€2.3bn).

Engineering services firm Amec was another casualty on a busy day for corporate results, as shares fell 34p to 743.5p after the company reported a 4% drop in pre-tax profits due to difficult trading conditions.

One of the biggest gains in the FTSE 250 Index came from transport group National Express after it revealed an improved takeover offer from a consortium featuring its biggest shareholder.

The company is mulling the new approach, as well as its own proposals to raise money from shareholders in a rights issue. Shares were up 2% or 8.8p to 408.8p, but rival Arriva fell 3% or 14.7p to 476.3p after reporting a decline in rail profits for the first six months of the year.