London close: Stocks settle higher after mixed batch of data

9th May 2013 16:42

Market MoverstechMARK 2,448.55 +0.44%FTSE 100 6,592.74 +0.14%FTSE 250 14,281.62 +0.62%The FTSE settled in positive territory after a day of mixed data both at home and abroad. Earlier on in the day stocks had slipped after traders were caught somewhat off-guard by the higher-than-expected consumer price data out from China overnight. The country´s CPI gained at a 2.4% clip in April, well above the previous month´s gain of 2.1%.As had been widely anticipated, the Bank of England decided to maintain current policy settings in the wake of recent indicators which have suggested the UK economy has been moving in the right direction since the start of the year.In other economic news, industrial production output rose by 0.7% month-on-month in March, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The consensus estimate had been for a more modest gain of 0.2% on the month. Output from the manufacturing sector was up by 1.1%, outstripping consensus expectations for a 0.3% gain by an enormous margin.Meanwhile, across the Atlantic initial weekly unemployment claims fell by 4,000 last week, to reach 323,000, versus expectations for a print of 335,000. FTSE 100: Sales impress at ExperianCredit checking giant Experian topped the FTSE after reporting full-year sales growth across all its global markets, particularly in Latin and North America. In the year to end-March, the company saw revenues from continuing activities rise six per cent to $4.7bn, with earnings before interest and tax up seven per cent to $1.25bn. Engineer IMI gained after delivering a positive full-year outlook despite a slow start to the year with revenues down 3.0% in the first four months of 2013. Analysts at Jefferies International said the company remains a "good, well managed business". Lloyds Banking Group advanced as it announced plans to axe 850 jobs in a bid to lower costs. The banking giant is trying to cut expenses by £1.5bn annually. British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSkyB), on the other hand, dipped after rival BT Group announced it would offer its sports channels free to any BT broadband customer. It followed an early morning rise after BSkyB announced it would invest another $1.9m equity investment in streaming platform Roku. Eurasian Natural Resources Company retreated after the group said severe winter weather hit first quarter production at its iron ore division. Revenues fell slightly compared to the previous quarter, reflecting weaker commodity prices. Morrison Supermarket declined after posting a 1.8% fall in like-for-like sales in the first quarter, excluding fuel, as the company worked to improve its convenience store offering and promote competitive pricing. FTSE 250: Tullet Prebon soars despite declining revenueInterdealer broker Tullett Prebon led the FTSE 250 race Thursday as investors shrugged off the company's four per cent decline in revenue for the first four months of the year. Shareholders seemed to pay closer attention to the group's announcement that it had finalised the terms of a participation agreement under which a minimum of 12 leading banks will supply electronic streaming liquidity for euro interest rate derivatives through tpSWAPDEAL, the company's interest rate swap platform. Anite nipped at Tullett's heels as its shares surged after announcing it was on track for full-year profits to meet the top end of market forecasts. The software company said strong trading in the final quarter would help drive profits. On the negative end of the ladder, broadband and phone company TalkTalk Telecom Group, and manufacturer of polymer, Victrex, were the biggest fallers of the day. UK lender Provident Financial's shares also slid as analysts at Zachs upgraded the stock from 'neutral' to 'outperform'.FTSE 100 - RisersExperian (EXPN) 1,247.00p +6.40%IMI (IMI) 1,337.00p +4.62%Aggreko (AGK) 1,756.00p +3.72%Weir Group (WEIR) 2,290.00p +3.57%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 58.06p +3.53%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 293.80p +2.94%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,225.00p +2.45%Old Mutual (OML) 220.40p +2.27%Rexam (REX) 522.50p +2.15%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,377.00p +2.08%FTSE 100 - FallersBritish Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 809.00p -6.15%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 291.50p -3.92%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 288.40p -2.70%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,584.00p -2.52%BT Group (BT.A) 275.70p -2.34%SABMiller (SAB) 3,581.00p -2.04%G4S (GFS) 255.00p -1.77%Compass Group (CPG) 840.00p -1.70%Antofagasta (ANTO) 931.50p -1.01%CRH (CRH) 1,370.00p -1.01%FTSE 250 - RisersUnited Drug (UDG) 340.00p +10.35%Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 269.10p +7.04%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 315.20p +6.49%Anite (AIE) 129.20p +6.34%F&C Asset Management (FCAM) 100.80p +5.66%Morgan Advance Materials (MGAM) 271.90p +4.98%Keller Group (KLR) 890.00p +4.64%Spirent Communications (SPT) 138.00p +3.60%Smith (DS) (SMDS) 248.70p +3.58%Home Retail Group (HOME) 147.00p +3.45%FTSE 250 - FallersTalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 221.60p -12.24%Victrex (VCT) 1,574.00p -5.29%Provident Financial (PFG) 1,600.00p -4.93%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 129.50p -4.64%IP Group (IPO) 145.30p -4.41%Savills (SVS) 580.00p -3.57%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 366.70p -2.37%Galliford Try (GFRD) 949.00p -2.16%Enterprise Inns (ETI) 98.00p -2.00%Lancashire Holdings (LRE) 814.00p -1.93%FTSE TechMARK - RisersPromethean World (PRW) 18.88p +9.42%CML Microsystems (CML) 422.50p +9.03%Filtronic (FTC) 64.00p +4.07%RM (RM.) 74.00p +3.50%NCC Group (NCC) 111.75p +3.47%DRS Data & Research Services (DRS) 20.00p +2.56%Torotrak (TRK) 30.75p +2.50%Xaar (XAR) 540.00p +2.47%Kofax (KFX) 324.75p +2.44%Ark Therapeutics Group (AKT) 0.43p +2.35%FTSE TechMARK - FallersWolfson Microelectronics (WLF) 200.00p -2.44%Phytopharm (PYM) 1.32p -1.85%Emblaze Ltd. (BLZ) 54.00p -1.82%Antisoma (ASM) 1.77p -1.39%Skyepharma (SKP) 43.62p -0.85%Consort Medical (CSRT) 794.00p -0.75%Phoenix IT Group (PNX) 147.00p -0.68%Vislink (VLK) 30.00p -0.41%Optos (OPTS) 157.62p -0.24%Sepura (SEPU) 109.25p -0.23%NR