* BT Group leaps after results beat expectations
* Pharmas higher; AstraZeneca ups guidance
* Miners in demand as commodity prices rise
* Reed Elsevier drops on guidance, fund-raising
By Jon Hopkins
LONDON, July 30 (Reuters) - Britain's leading share index
was up 1.3 percent by mid-session on Thursday as investors took
heart in better-than-expected earnings from companies such as BT
Group <BT.L>, with miners also lending support to the market.
By 1111 GMT, the FTSE 100 <> was 58.65 points firmer at
4,606.18, having gained 18.69 points on Wednesday and resuming
its advance after snapping a two-week winning streak on Tuesday.
The index has gained over 31 percent since hitting a
six-year low in March, but is still down 2.6 percent in 2009.
"Traders are looking at 4,680 as a target. If we can break
above this range then upwards momentum could continue. Until
then however, movements are likely to be limited and trading may
be choppy," said market strategist Joshua Raymond at
spreadbetters City Index.
BT Group was the top FTSE 100 gainer as the fixed-line
telecoms firm posted a smaller-than-expected 3 percent dip in
first-quarter adjusted core earnings and said it was on track to
deliver cost cuts after a "solid" start to the year.
[]
Cazanove's rating upgrade to "in-line" from "underperform"
helped boost BT shares gains further to 9.6 percent.
Drugmakers also lent strength to the market on one of the
year's busiest days for earnings reports.
AstraZeneca <AZN.L> shares gained 2.3 percent after the
group raised its full-year earnings forecast and posted healthy
second-quarter results, helped by the absence of generics to
heart drug Toprol XL and cancer treatment Casodex.
[]
Peers GlaxoSmithKline <GSK.L> and Shire <SHP.L> added 0.8
percent and 0.5 percent respectively.
Miners provided the biggest prop for the blue chips as
copper prices rose slightly after a sell-off on Wednesday, with
Rio Tinto <RIO.L>, BHP Billiton <BLT.L>, Xstrata <XTA.L>, and
Eurasian Natural Resources <ENRC.L> adding 1.3 to 2.7 percent.
Chilean copper miner Antofagasta <ANTO.L> gained 5.1 percent
after reporting a 6.6 percent dip in first-half copper
production, slightly better than expected. []
Platinum miner Lonmin <LMI.L> was another strong performer,
up 3.6 percent as Citigroup upgraded it to "buy" from "hold".
Energy stocks also gained, with BP <BP.L> up 1.1 percent,
Tullow Oil <TLW.L> ahead 0.7 percent, and Cairn Energy <CNE.L>
adding 1.0 percent, helped by a firming crude price <CLc1>
But Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> slipped back from earlier
gains, turning flat as investors booked some profits after a
better-than-feared 70 percent fall in the oil major's second
quarter net profit.
REED ELSEVIER HAMMERED
Reed Elsevier <REL.L> was the biggest blue chip faller,
dropping 13.9 percent as the Anglo-Dutch publisher ditched its
2009 earnings per share guidance and unveiled plans to issue new
shares to pay down debt. []
Multi-utility Pennon also fell back <PNN.L>, losing 4.5
percent after accompanying an in-line trading update with plans
to issue 120 million pounds in convertible bonds. []
Other utility stocks such as Severn Trent <SVT.L>, United
Utilities <UU.L>, and Scottish Southern Energy <SSE.L> fell, and
gas distributor Centrica <CNA.L> lost 2.8 percent after its
first-half results failed to excite <ID:nLU327363]
In the broader market, Travis Perkins <TPK.L> was the top
FTSE 250 <> riser, up 8.7 percent after the builders and
home improvements group beat first-half profit forecasts and
said its markets were stabilising. []
UK house prices rose for a third month running in July, the
Nationwide Building Society said on Thursday, providing further
evidence that property prices may have stabilised despite low
turnover. [] This helped plumbing supplies group
Wolseley <WOS.L> gain 7.4 percent.
(Editing by Marie Maitre)
