Results help Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) while Standard Chartered (LSE: STAN) regains a little
The FTSE 100 (UKX) fell 32 points to 5,809 this morning as the market digested the Bank of England's inflation report.
Despite banks and miners giving it a boost, the index of leading UK shares was dragged lower by a falling AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) after the pharmaceuticals giant ceased development of what might have been a key new treatment.
But what of those companies helping to support the various FTSE indices this morning? Here are three names that look set to beat the FTSE 100 today:
Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) continued this week's modest flow of good news for miners, with its shares up 96p (3%) to 3,226p. The mining giant reported interim earnings down 34% due to lower commodity prices. But the shares rose, as the figures were ahead of City expectations.
Rio's shares have now gained 17% since their July low of 2,764p, in line with a similar 13% rise for Xstrata (LSE: XTA), which enjoyed a boost when it released interim figures yesterday. With forecasts for a Chinese recovery growing, we could well be past the bottom for miners now.
Hargreaves
Hargreaves Services (LSE: HSV) rallied 17p (3%) to 724p after telling us that Northumberland County Council had agreed to grant planning permission for the firm's Well Hill Surface Mine near Morpeth. The supplier of solid fuels expects to extract around 130,000 tonnes of high-quality coal from the mine during the next two years.
Receiving the planning permission will come as a welcome respite for Hargreaves, after serious geological problems at its main Maltby mine led to a profit warning in May and a 30% slump in the share price.
Standard Chartered
Shares in Standard Chartered (LSE: STAN) staged a minor comeback this morning, up 91p (7.4%) to 1,320p, following the disastrous 25% crash yesterday when the bank was accused by US regulators of concealing $250 billion of Iranian transactions.
Part of yesterday's reaction came from fears the bank would lose its US dollar trading license, possibly making it unable to carry out dollar-denominated transactions worldwide. However, the danger of that now appears to be receding a little.
As an aside, legendary City investor Neil Woodford owes some of his recent success to cannily avoiding bank shares prior to the sector's collapse. To find out where he has his money now, check out the Motley Fool report "8 Shares Held By Britain's Super Investor". It will only be free for a limited period, so click here to enjoy your no-obligation copy now.
If you're interested in potentially rich sectors, the new Motley Fool report, “How To Unearth Great Oil & Gas Shares” might give you some ideas -- it's a tricky business to analyze, and we need all the help we can get.
Further Motley Fool investment opportunities:
> Alan Oscroft does not own any shares mentioned in this article. The Motley Fool owns shares in Standard Chartered.
