Market report: Thursday close

MINERS

Rio Tinto added 25p at 1818p and BHP rose 19p to 750½p. With copper prices hitting new record levels, Chilean producer Antofagasta rose 10p to 1316p.

The FTSE 100 index was down 15.5 at 4922.1. But that came against a backdrop of weakness on Wall Street as high oil prices stoked inflation fears and concerns that interest rates will creep up despite Opec's decision to boost oil flows to world markets. Adding to the gloom was a profits warning from General Motors. US light crude futures are now close to $57 a barrel, while Brent has pushed past the $55 mark.

Also nagging at the UK stock market was Wm Morrison, which slumped 5½p to 206½p after a profit warning. Sector leader Tesco was ¼p better at 313p, while J Sainsbury was off 2¾p at 293¼p.

Insurer Prudential was down 3¼p at 482¼p following reports that it is poised to sell part of its stake in the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent to a Singapore government agency, raising an estimated £330m.

Paladin Resources, 7¾p higher at 184p, shrugged off fears about the fallout from Chancellor Gordon Brown's surprising Budget call to bring forward £1.1bn of North Sea tax. It backed the measure and said it would have little impact on the business, which produced a 29% jump in pre-tax profits to £109.7m for the year to December.

Housebuilders were mostly easier after racing up yesterday on the back of consolidation speculation in the wake of property group Heron's indication that it may make a cash bid for Crest Nicholson, up 1½p at 435½p.

Other companies tipped as mid-sized targets include Bellway, 5½p lower at 888½p, and Bovis Homes, down 3½p at 694½p. Although Heron's tentative advances were rebuffed by Crest, the sector is unlikely to have seen the last of takeover talk and that will continue to lend support, traders said.

Housebuilders also received a boost from the Budget announcement that the stamp duty threshold on house purchases will double to £120,000, which should help first-time buyers get on the property ladder.

One of Britain's largest independent Easter egg makers, Norfolk-based Kinnerton Group, is coming to market via a reverse takeover of, appropriately enough, a shell company called Zetar. Floated at 100p in January, Zetar shares soared 72½p to 305p on news of the deal, valuing Kinnerton at £32m, and the announcement of a further placing of 5.1m shares priced at 200p.

Marketing services company P&MM, which listed on Aim last year at 54p, was 4½p better at 85p after unveiling results that showed pre-tax profits in 2004 up 68% at £1,377,000.

IT and communications technology firm Calyx launched on Aim at an issue price of 55p a share, rising to 63½p, off a high of 65p. Harbinger Capital, a cash shell for investments in speciality finance, listed on Aim at a placing price of 5p, rising to 6p.