London close: FTSE ends session higher after Chinese data provides lift

8th May 2013 16:11

Market MoverstechMARK 2,437.82 +0.82%FTSE 100 6,583.48 +0.40%FTSE 250 14,193.28 +0.65%The FTSE closed firmly higher on Wednesday, boosted by gains in the US following strong data from China. Next led the charge higher, while Standard Chartered provided a drag for much of the day. China reported a trade surplus for April, beating analyst predictions and indicating the economy could potentially be in line for growth. In the US, New York University economics professor Nouriel Roubini has warned - in his typical fashion - that US stock markets could be on their way to a big crash. Speaking at a private dinner in Las Vegas, the economist is reported to have said that a "huge rally in risk assets" over the next 24 months could see markets position themselves for a serious sell-off. Closer to home, it was revealed that in April house prices rose by the highest monthly amount since November, although the number of mortgage approvals fell. Mortgage lender Halifax reported that house prices increased by 1.1% in April to an average £166,094, following rises of 0.5% in February and 0.4% in March. Prices for house sales in the three months to April were 2.0% higher than in the same three months a year earlier, which was the highest rate of increase since September 2010 and was the fourth consecutive rise in this annual measure. Meanwhile, former Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Andrew Sentance - a well-known "hawk" - this morning "tweeted" that it is "unlikely that the MPC will follow the Governor and vote for more quantitative easing this week. In fact, there is a stronger case for a small rise in interest rates". Also quite significant were remarks from European Central Bank (ECB) governing council member Jorg Asmussen to the effect that the European Union must move quickly to create a banking union. Looking ahead to tomorrow, Morrison Supermarkets is expected to post another fall in sales when it unveils its first quarter results. The UK grocer is forecast to report a 2.0% drop in like-for-like sales, according to Jefferies International. However, it will be a step up from the 4.1% decline seen in the fourth quarter last year. FTSE 100: Next rises despite posting fall in Q1 profitNext made strong gains - despite posting an overall fall in first quarter retail sales - after its home shopping catalogue and website division Directory rose 8.9% during the three month period. Brand sales excluding VAT were up 2.2% of which 1.5% came from the opening of new space. Melrose, the industrial conglomerate which buys and sells manufacturing businesses, impressed investors on Wednesday after reporting that its recently acquired Elster business has achieved further improvements and as such performed significantly ahead of the same pre-acquisition period last year. Meanwhile, Standard Chartered was a big faller after its operating profit fell in the first quarter following an increase in loan impairment and pressure on margins. InterContinental Hotels Group fell after Numis downgraded that stock to hold with a target price of 2,100p. Irish building materials group CRH also dropped, blaming prolonged winter conditions in Europe for an expected fall in first half profits. FTSE 250: CSR leads the way after Q1 profits soarConsumer electronics company CSR climbed into the top spot on Wednesday after it saw profits soar in the first quarter bolstered by strong sales of wireless products in its auto, and voice and music divisions. Halfords Group was also on the up after JP Morgan raised its target price from 243p to 405p and upgraded the stock to overweight. Meanwhile, Dechra Pharmaceuticals was lower despite reporting increased revenues in the first quarter. The company said that in the US revenue declined 14.4% during the quarter and was broadly flat in the nine month period, reflecting supply problems from a third party manufacturer. Customer back orders exceeded $1.0m. It also said the Services segment revenues dropped 2.5% in the quarter, due to a weak performance in the UK veterinary market. Poor weather resulted in significantly reduced footfall through veterinary practices. FTSE 100 - RisersNext (NXT) 4,601.00p +4.43%ITV (ITV) 128.10p +3.31%Evraz (EVR) 171.40p +3.13%Amec (AMEC) 1,051.00p +2.84%Melrose Industries (MRO) 251.80p +2.73%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,986.00p +2.69%Anglo American (AAL) 1,666.00p +2.65%Meggitt (MGGT) 496.50p +2.65%Weir Group (WEIR) 2,211.00p +2.65%BG Group (BG.) 1,184.50p +2.38%FTSE 100 - FallersAntofagasta (ANTO) 941.00p -4.90%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,625.00p -4.41%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 381.00p -3.91%CRH (CRH) 1,384.00p -3.55%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,912.00p -2.50%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 303.40p -2.26%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 460.90p -1.52%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 285.40p -1.45%BP (BP.) 467.05p -1.39%Kingfisher (KGF) 321.30p -1.02%FTSE 250 - RisersOcado Group (OCDO) 210.00p +12.00%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 195.40p +7.96%Home Retail Group (HOME) 142.10p +6.28%Playtech Ltd. (PTEC) 663.00p +5.49%Betfair Group (BET) 892.00p +4.82%CSR (CSR) 541.50p +4.74%Halfords Group (HFD) 385.70p +4.53%Mondi (MNDI) 886.50p +3.26%888 Holdings (888) 180.50p +3.20%Spirent Communications (SPT) 133.20p +3.18%FTSE 250 - FallersHenderson Group (HGG) 173.50p -3.40%Laird (LRD) 201.50p -3.31%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 135.80p -3.00%Computacenter (CCC) 442.10p -2.79%Inmarsat (ISAT) 661.50p -2.72%Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 693.00p -2.67%Fidessa Group (FDSA) 1,823.00p -2.51%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 375.60p -2.44%NMC Health (NMC) 282.00p -2.42%Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 1,726.00p -2.15%FTSE TechMARK - RisersArk Therapeutics Group (AKT) 0.42p +10.39%Phoenix IT Group (PNX) 148.00p +3.50%Vectura Group (VEC) 92.50p +2.78%BATM Advanced Communications Ltd. (BVC) 19.00p +2.70%Wolfson Microelectronics (WLF) 205.00p +1.49%Xaar (XAR) 527.00p +1.35%XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 1,213.50p +0.96%Microgen (MCGN) 117.00p +0.86%Parity Group (PTY) 43.00p +0.58%Skyepharma (SKP) 44.00p +0.57%FTSE TechMARK - FallersDRS Data & Research Services (DRS) 19.50p -6.02%Promethean World (PRW) 17.25p -5.48%NCC Group (NCC) 108.00p -4.42%Antisoma (ASM) 1.80p -2.70%Kofax (KFX) 317.00p -2.24%Innovation Group (TIG) 26.00p -1.89%Optos (OPTS) 158.00p -1.86%RM (RM.) 71.50p -0.69%Vislink (VLK) 30.12p -0.41%Ricardo (RCDO) 385.00p -0.26%