London close: Markets underwhelmed by strong growth figures

25th Apr 2013 17:00

UK growth figures prompted a mixed reaction on stock markets on Thursday as stronger-than-expected activity in the first quarter quashed hopes that the Bank of England (BoE) would ramp up its quantitative easing programme in order to kick-start the economy.Nevertheless, data from the States lifted stocks higher by the close after US jobless claims fell more than expected last week. Claims for unemployment benefits for the week ended April 20th dropped by 16,000 to a six-week low of 339,000. Analysts were expecting claims to fall to 350,000.European stocks have risen strongly over the past few days after a number of disappointing economic figures from the Eurozone sparked speculation that the European Central Bank (ECB) would move to cut rates at its next meeting.However, data from the UK this morning had the opposite effect after showing that Britain had easily avoided a triple-dip recession in the first quarter, growing by 0.3%, owing to strength in the services sector. Consensus estimates were for a 0.1% expansion in gross domestic product (GDP).The pound rallied strongly after the announcement given the increased speculation that the BoE would refrain from injecting more stimulus for the time being.Market Strategist Ishaq Siddiqi from ETX Capital said: "With incoming Governor Mark Carney due in July and the BoE still leaning toward no immediate release of quantitative easing [...] it seems sure that the central bank will again at May's policy meeting sit on its hands and remain in the wait-and-see mode they have been in since 2011."FTSE 100: Miners and Vodafone lead the upsideMining stocks were performing strongly early on as metals prices advanced: Randgold, Antofagasta, Vedanta and Fresnillo were making gains.Polymetal also rose after saying that it has "significantly de-risked" the achievement of its full-year production targets after a stable first quarter. However, the company said that it has initiated a review of all discretionary capital spending including exploration projects due to the recent sharp falls in gold and silver prices. Telecoms group Vodafone was making gains on the back of a Reuters article last night that said that Verizon could make a $100bn cash-and-stock bid for Vodafone's 45% stake in Verizon Wireless.Heading the other way was consumer good group Unilever after it had to rely on robust growth from emerging markets as it grew marginally slower than expectations in the first quarter.Car insurer Admiral was lower after reporting a fall in turnover for the first quarter as tough economic conditions gripped the UK.AstraZeneca was in the red after saying that a loss of exclusivity on several of its brands was to blame for a 12% fall in first-quarter revenue at the pharmaceuticals giant.British American Tobacco impressed after saying it had made a "good start to 2013" as it managed to increase first-quarter revenues despite a slip in volumes.Speciality chemicals firm Croda was subdued despite saying that it has ramped up its first-quarter pre-tax profit and expects to report further progress in 2013.FTSE 250: Int'l Personal Finance jumps, SDL tanksHome credit business International Personal Finance surged after seeing a 49% increase in profits in the first quarter boosted by new customers and growing loan values. SDL, which provides language localisation and translation software, dropped sharply after saying its performance for the first quarter was behind management's expectations. FTSE 100 - RisersRandgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,315.00p +5.35%Antofagasta (ANTO) 953.50p +4.61%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,228.00p +4.07%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,169.00p +3.54%Polymetal International (POLY) 787.00p +3.48%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 289.00p +2.96%Standard Life (SL.) 391.90p +2.94%Carnival (CCL) 2,361.00p +2.61%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 53.17p +2.35%IMI (IMI) 1,236.00p +2.32%FTSE 100 - FallersUnilever (ULVR) 2,760.00p -2.99%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,320.00p -2.15%Diageo (DGE) 1,951.50p -2.08%AstraZeneca (AZN) 3,325.50p -1.90%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,914.00p -1.85%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 382.00p -1.27%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,615.00p -1.25%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 4,648.00p -1.17%National Grid (NG.) 800.00p -0.87%Capita (CPI) 862.50p -0.75%FTSE 250 - RisersOcado Group (OCDO) 168.10p +12.22%Petropavlovsk (POG) 157.80p +10.50%International Personal Finance (IPF) 529.50p +10.24%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 43.45p +8.90%Lonmin (LMI) 291.20p +6.36%Elementis (ELM) 261.90p +5.86%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 183.60p +5.28%Pace (PIC) 250.90p +4.98%Savills (SVS) 561.00p +4.86%UBM (UBM) 721.00p +4.49%FTSE 250 - FallersNew World Resources A Shares (NWR) 148.60p -6.48%SDL (SDL) 365.10p -5.19%Fenner (FENR) 363.40p -4.12%Rank Group (RNK) 170.00p -2.19%Carpetright (CPR) 632.50p -2.17%Redrow (RDW) 210.00p -2.05%Menzies(John) (MNZS) 704.50p -2.02%Ultra Electronics Holdings (ULE) 1,620.00p -1.70%Anite (AIE) 120.00p -1.64%Playtech Ltd. (PTEC) 613.00p -1.53%FTSE TechMARK - RisersPhytopharm (PYM) 1.10p +4.76%Torotrak (TRK) 30.50p +3.39%RM (RM.) 76.00p +2.70%Promethean World (PRW) 17.38p +2.21%Gresham Computing (GHT) 80.00p +1.27%DRS Data & Research Services (DRS) 20.75p +1.22%Innovation Group (TIG) 25.50p +0.99%Sepura (SEPU) 109.62p +0.92%Phoenix IT Group (PNX) 145.25p +0.87%E2V Technologies (E2V) 121.00p +0.83%FTSE TechMARK - FallersArk Therapeutics Group (AKT) 0.35p -5.33%Optos (OPTS) 166.00p -2.92%Kofax (KFX) 325.00p -2.91%Ricardo (RCDO) 367.00p -2.91%Vectura Group (VEC) 87.50p -1.69%XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 1,210.00p -1.63%Antisoma (ASM) 1.70p -1.45%Vislink (VLK) 30.75p -0.81%NCC Group (NCC) 114.00p -0.65%Wolfson Microelectronics (WLF) 193.50p -0.26%