BHP Billiton, Hostelworld and Beowulf Mining

“The FTSE100 was in positive territory at lunchtime with banking stocks including Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds continuing to rally while the pound rebounded by 0.4% against the US dollar to $1.26,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“Mining giant BHP Billiton was near the foot of the blue-chip index in lunchtime trading after revealing output figures for the six months to the end of December. A major plus for the group was the increase in iron ore production along with a surge in iron ore prices. Total output was up 4% with record output at Western Australia Iron Ore. On a less positive note, copper output was 7% down on last time and BHP Billiton has reduced full-year guidance by 2% to 1.62m tonnes. BHP Billiton’s shares were down by more than 1.2%.

“Hostel online booking platform Hostelworld led the FTSE All-Share Index after a strong second half performance put it on track to meet its full-year forecasts. Bookings for its flagship Hostelworld brand rose by 21% in the second half resulting in 18% growth for the year as a whole. The group is making good progress in its mobile business, which now represents over 49% of Hostelworld brand bookings for the year, an eight percentage point increase on 2015. Hostelworld’s shares were up by 8.4% in lunchtime trading.

“Beowulf Mining was a double-digit riser following positive testwork results on composite samples taken from prospects in Finland. The group is now finalising plans to drill up to 2,000 metres on the most promising electromagnetic target with a start date in early March. Beowulf Mining’s shares were up by more than 25.3% in lunchtime trading.”

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