This Morning in London blue chip shares were firmly higher in opening deals, lifted by a bullish blue chip mining sector. Vedanta Resources (VED) featured early on, up 56p at 2,170p, after news its majority-owned Indian unit Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd plans to participate in coal-based thermal power and other ancillary activities projects in India through its unit Sterlite Energy. The company said these power projects will aggregate to an installed capacity of up to 10,000 MW, to be commissioned over the next five years. Mining sector peers followed suit, further aided by rising metal prices. With Kazakhmys (KAZ) up 30p to 1,439p, Rio Tinto (RIO) 89p higher at 4,423p and Anglo American (AAL) adding 63p to 3,215p. At 9:20 the FTSE-100 was up 15.3 points at 6,490.2 with the FTSE-250 ahead 49.4 points at 11,384.3.
BROKER RECOMMENDATIONS
Brewin Dolphin says buy Parkwood Holdings (PKW) (upgrading its earnings estimate by 4.9%).
Cazenove has initiated coverage of Ashmore (ASHM) and RAB Capital (RAB) appending an outperform recommendation to both and to Charlemagne (CCAP) and Bluebay Asset Management (BBAY) appending in-line recommendations.
Citigroup has downgraded Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) to hold from buy.
Merrill reiterates buy Vedanta Resources (VED) and Shire (SHP).
Panmure Gordon has initiated coverage of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) appending a hold recommendation and reiterates buy LogicaCMG (LOG).
Sanford Bernstein reiterates outperform on Barclays (BARC) (740p target), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) (690p price target) and reiterates underperform on Smith & Nephew (SN.).
The broker has outperform on Vodafone (VOD).
NEWS ROUND-UP
Last Night in New York Wall Street retrieved an earlier bounce and rallied into the close, as Exxon Mobil helped lead the Dow industrials higher, with the oil giant buoyed as crude-oil prices rallied to new highs. The Dow Jones rose 117.5 points to 13,660.9. Exxon was among the bigger gainers, up 3.1%. The S&P 500 advanced 18.10 points to 1,520.27, while the Nasdaq climbed 30 points to 2,825.18.
On this day:-
1997 - Despite him being instrumental in their overnight phenomenal international success of the pop group, 'The Spice Girls' sacked their creator and manager Simon Fuller.
1990 - Mary Robinson became the first woman President of the Irish Republic.
1984 - In the American presidential elections, Republican Ronald Reagan won a second 4-year term in office.
1974 - The mysterious disappearance of Lord Lucan following the murder of his children's nanny and a serious assualt on his wife.
1967 - Great British heavyweight champion Henry Cooper beat challenger Billy Walker to becomes the only boxer to win 3 Lonsdale Belts outright.
1956 - An official ceasefire during the Suez Crisis following the Great British and French invasion of Egypt, after President Nasser had announced the nationalisation of the Suez Canal.
1935 - Australian pilot Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith was seen flying over Calcutta on a flight from England, but never seen again.
1917 - Vladimir Lenin seized power from the Czarist regime in a stunning coup d'etat. Widespread starvation and catastrophic military failure in World War I left Russia ripe for revolt. Czar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate on 15th March 1917, and an ineffectual provincial government was established in his place. Contemptuous of what the revolution had accomplished thus far, Lenin returned from exile in Switzerland to spark his Bolshevik revolutionaries, culminating in the coup of 7th November. He led the Soviet Union until his death in 1924 and was succeeded by Joseph Stalin.
1885 - Completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
1832 - In the United States, Andrew Jackson, nominated from the first Democratic Convention to be held, defeated Henry Clay in the presidential elections.
