LONDON -- After a bearish day yesterday, the FTSE 100 (INDEX: ^FTSE) is falling further today, down 0.51% to 6,311 as of 10:40 a.m. EDT. This is the index's third straight session of losses, with the banks among the biggest fallers -- though the miners are enjoying a bit of a rebound after a tough day yesterday.
But which companies are beating the trends today? Here are three from the various FTSE indexes that are picking up.
Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto got a welcome boost from its first-quarter operations review, with shares in the diversified miner picking up 0.42% to reach 2,987.5 pence. Although a pit wall slide at Bingham Canyon will adversely affect copper production this year, the firm managed a first-quarter record for iron-ore production, turning out 61.2 million tonnes of the stuff -- although that was down on the preceding fourth-quarter.
Cost reduction measures are apparently going to plan, with chief executive Sam Walsh talking of "our pursuit of greater value for shareholders."
E2V Technologies (LSE: E2V)
Specialist electronics provider E2V Technologies has seen its shares perk up 4.6% to 119 pence after the firm issued a positive 2013 year-end update in which chief executive Keith Attwood said: "The full-year trading performance is anticipated to be in line with expectations. ... We have significantly reduced net borrowings and we have built the order book to record levels."
The company's order book stood at 195 million pounds at year-end, up 37%, with orders worth 130 million pounds scheduled for delivery over the next 12 months. Net debt was reduced during the period from 30 million pounds to just 10 million pounds. Current expectations put the shares on a price-to-earnings ratio of 11, with a dividend yield of 3.5% expected.
Porvair (PRV +2.06%)
Shares in Porvair have gained 3.2% to 228 pence this morning, taking them up about 90% over the past 12 months. The rise today owed to a couple of things. At its annual general meeting, Porvair, which specializes in filtration and environmental-control technology, told us it has made a good start to 2013, with revenue about 6% ahead so far.
There was also news of a new contract: The company has received an 11 million pound order from the U.K. government -- which comes on top of an order from India's Reliance Industries, announced in February.
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