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Panmure Gordon said it believes the worst of the margin pressure which prompted Cadbury to warn on guidance in October is now over and, as a result, it has increased its margin expansion forecasts for Cadbury and expects the group's cash flow to improve significantly.

But Persimmon was the top riser, 47 to the good at 1319 on a read across from mid cap peer Bellway which today said trading had picked-up in recent weeks and that it was a little more confident about the forthcoming Spring selling season, one of the most important for the building industry.

And second line housebuilders were also higher following Bellway's strong half-year trading update.

The homebuilder said its orderbook stood at a record 562 mln stg at the end of its first half after an improvement in sales rates since Christmas.

In reaction, Bridgewell Securities repeated its 'overweight' stance, saying the group had outperformed against its volume and margin forecast.

Bellway shares were up 23 at 1188, while elsewhere across the sector Redrow added 18 at 547-1/2, Taylor Woodrow gained 7-3/4 pence to 402-3/4, and Balfour Beatty moved 5-1/2 pence to 382.

Computacenter was another winner after both Deutsche Bank and Cazenove upgraded the UK IT equipment reseller to 'bu...

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