Pz Cussons Share News (PZC)

Equities are in sluggish mood on the first day of trading this week and the leading share index sits just below the 5,000 point level.Life insurer Aviva is the heaviest faller in the FTSE 100 after it confirmed it is to sell a minority stake in its Dutch insurance business Delta Lloyd through a float on Euronext in Amsterdam. No more details were released, but weekend reports suggested the life insurer would sell between 30-40% of Delta and value it at about £4bn.Better than expected growth in the services sector has done little to spark the market. The purchasing managers' index for the services sector for September rose to 55.3, up from 54.1 in August. It is the fifth month in a row that the index has risen and was a better performance than expected, surpassing economists' expectations for a rise to 54.5.Miners feature prominently among the top performers, helped by bullish comment from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). RBS has upgraded Antofagasta from 'sell' to 'buy' while BHP Billiton and Vedanta are both moved up to 'buy' from 'hold'. RBS reiterated its 'hold' rating for Eurasian Natural Resources but has raised its price target from 670p to 850p. Xstrata is rated a 'buy' but with a higher price target of 1200p, versus 1050p previously.Royal Bank of Scotland itself is higher despite a report it will finalise a £4bn share placing this week. The cash raised will reduce the cost of entry to the Asset Protection Scheme. Elsewhere in the banking sector Barclays is upgraded by UBS to 'neutral' from 'sell'.Elsewhere in the insurance sector, investors welcome reports that RSA has abandoned plans to raise $1bn (£614m) in a rights issue after scouring the markets for takeover targets and coming up blank.BAE Systems is higher. Reports today suggest the firm is prepared to settle the Serious Fraud Office's six-year investigation into allegations of bribery in Africa and Eastern Europe, but will not do so "at any cost".Supermarket giant Tesco is lower ahead of a trading update tomorrow, despite US broker Bernstein raising its price target for the stock from 440p to 480p. Sector peer Sainsbury, due to announce interims on Thursday is, like Tesco, expected to outperform by Bernstein; its price target has been nudged higher to 360p from 340p. Energy stocks retreat in line with the lower oil price, with BP and Royal Dutch Shell leading the way down.Chemring moves ahead after saying it will supply the US Department of Defense with a range of military decoy flares in a five-year deal worth up to $804m (£502m). Soap manufacturer PZ Cussons is going well after it said it remains 'cautiously optimistic' for the full year despite uncertain economic conditions after seeing strong trading in its main market of Nigeria and in the UK. Kopane Diamond, which mines for the gemstones in Lesotho, has entered into a 60-day exclusivity agreement with a potential investor in its Liqhobong mine. Semiconductor wafers technology specialist IQE is buying rival gallium nitride materials supplier NanoGan for up to £3.6m, dependent on performance.Scottish semiconductors group Wolfson's sales continue at a level well below last year with third quarter revenue expected to come in at $35m though it is more optimistic over 2010 as new products come on stream.FTSE 100 - RisersRSA Insurance Group (RSA) 132.50p +3.76%Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 836.00p +3.72%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 48.25p +3.45%International Power (IPR) 289.90p +3.24%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,017.00p +3.09%Antofagasta (ANTO) 738.50p +2.57%Kingfisher (KGF) 212.00p +2.51%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,566.50p +2.43%British Airways (BAY) 215.10p +2.28%Anglo American (AAL) 1,919.00p +2.26%FTSE 100 - FallersAviva (AV.) 440.00p -2.78%Unilever (ULVR) 1,752.00p -1.18%BP (BP.) 530.00p -0.99%G4S (GFS) 219.40p -0.95%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,207.00p -0.94%Tesco (TSCO) 386.50p -0.90%Friends Provident Group (FP.) 83.45p -0.89%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 84.50p -0.82%Serco Group (SRP) 487.20p -0.81%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,736.00p -0.80%FTSE 250 - RisersAG Barr (BAG) 815.00p +6.54%888 Holdings (888) 90.20p +4.88%Gem Diamonds (GEMD) 234.70p +4.45%Chemring Group (CHG) 2,496.00p +4.00%Yell Group (YELL) 57.45p +3.98%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 377.50p +3.77%Great Portland Estates (GPOR) 263.90p +3.65%Carphone Warehouse Group (CPW) 195.70p +3.38%Petropavlovsk (POG) 886.00p +3.26%PayPoint (PAY) 463.80p +3.07%FTSE 250 - FallersSports Direct International (SPD) 98.10p -2.68%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 2,593.00p -2.59%Babcock International Group (BAB) 562.00p -2.35%Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 361.70p -2.24%SVG Capital (SVI) 119.60p -1.81%Homeserve (HSV) 1,537.00p -1.73%Michael Page International (MPI) 315.90p -1.65%Domino's Pizza UK & IRL (DOM) 290.30p -1.59%Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 384.10p -1.51%CSR (CSR) 428.30p -1.49%