Further gains by mining stocks and a bullish forecast from Norwich Union insurer Aviva helped the FTSE 100 Index to push ahead today.
A strong session in New York also contributed to an initial gain of 16.7 points, although the FTSE later slipped back to stand 8.6 points higher at 5295.1 towards the end of the first hour of trading.
The mining sector continued its recovery from Friday’s heavy sell-off with RioTinto leading the way with a gain of 68p to 2262p. Xstrata lifted 41p to 1389p while Antofagasta cheered 34p to 1504p.
The update from Aviva concerned its RAC business, which it said should generate annual pre-tax profits of up to £250m by 2008.
With Aviva setting out “ambitious growth plans” for the recently-acquired business, shares in the insurer gained by more than 2% or 13.5p to 635.5p. It helped a number of other stocks in the sector, including Royal & Sun Alliance, which added a penny to 95.5p.
Elsewhere, gambling stocks continued to fluctuate after a warning from Empire Online that full-year profits would be 10% lower than expectations. The second-tier stock fell 5% or 4.5p to 93.5p, while PartyPoker owner PartyGaming fell 1p to 78.5p in the top flight.
References: EGi News 18/10/05
