London midday: Markets rise with central banks in focus

1st Aug 2013 11:43

Stocks were making decent gains on Thursday morning, helped by some dovish remarks from the Federal Reserve and some stronger-than-expected data from China, with Lloyds leading the FTSE 100 higher after its first-half results.It's been a busy week on the macro-economic calendar with policy decisions from the Fed, Bank of England (BoE) and European Central Bank (ECB) giving plenty for markets to digest.As expected, the BoE kept monetary policy on hold in its statement at midday today, leaving its Bank Rate at 0.5% and the asset purchase programme unchanged at £375bn.The ECB will now be in focus with all eyes on President Mario Draghi's press conference following the bank's policy decision due this afternoon. The ECB is also predicted to leave policy unchanged.Growth in the Chinese manufacturing sector unexpectedly accelerated in July with the official purchasing managers' index (PMI) increasing from 50.1 to 50.3, beating the forecast of a fall to 49.8. The HSBC/Markit manufacturing PMI however fell from 48.2 to 47.7, as expected.Uncertainty prevails in Fed aftermathLast night's decision by the Fed to keep its asset purchase programme unchanged was widely expected. The Fed gave very little away, disappointing those who had hoped it would give an indication of when a 'tapering' of stimulus would actually begin. Instead, it said that the US economy is improving and that "downside risks" had diminished, but the overall tone was slightly dovish as it added that it would continue with quantitative easing (QE) in order to "support a stronger economic recovery".Policymakers also noted that inflation persistently below the 2.0% target "could pose risks to economic performance", which some took to suggest that QE could remain in place for some time yet.FTSE 100: Lloyds impresses with bottom-line growthLloyds jumped after reporting a huge increase in underlying profits in the first half, helped by rising income and margins as well as reductions in costs and impairments. Rising hopes for the resumption of dividends was also boosting sentiment this morning.Miners were also performing well early on with Randgold, Fresnillo, Vedanta and Anglo American making decent gains. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto meanwhile were given a lift by Espirito Santo which upgraded both stocks to 'buy'.Heading the other way was Aggreko, which supplies temporary power and temperature control, which slumped after seeing a 2.0% drop in pre-tax profits to £144m for the first six months due to poor trading its in Power Projects business. Royal Dutch Shell's earnings for the second quarter declined mainly due to impairments, causing the stock to drop this morning. The oil's giant's earnings, on a current cost of supplies basis, dropped to $2.4bn from $6.0bn for the same quarter a year earlier.BAE Systems rose after hiking its half-year dividend and saying it expected to produce double-digit earnings growth in 2013 providing it concludes its Saudi jet deal.Pharmaceuticals group AstraZeneca fell after a 4.0% fall (at constant exchange rates) in second-quarter revenue to $6.23bn partly due to the loss of exclusive on several of its key brands. FTSE 100 - RisersLloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 73.51p +7.36%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,078.00p +4.76%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 329.00p +3.59%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,928.00p +3.31%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,196.00p +2.84%Anglo American (AAL) 1,447.00p +2.77%Rexam (REX) 504.50p +2.58%Antofagasta (ANTO) 903.00p +2.38%BAE Systems (BA.) 455.60p +2.18%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 297.00p +2.03%FTSE 100 - FallersAggreko (AGK) 1,675.00p -5.90%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,125.00p -5.05%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,202.50p -5.04%Pearson (PSON) 1,327.00p -1.70%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,885.00p -1.15%AstraZeneca (AZN) 3,297.50p -1.12%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,389.00p -1.00%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 123.80p -0.96%SSE (SSE) 1,563.00p -0.76%Bunzl (BNZL) 1,399.00p -0.71%FTSE 250 - RisersJupiter Fund Management (JUP) 354.40p +9.18%Dialight (DIA) 1,189.00p +7.99%Enterprise Inns (ETI) 138.10p +6.81%Spirent Communications (SPT) 140.00p +5.98%UBM (UBM) 750.00p +5.41%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 27.80p +5.30%Henderson Group (HGG) 172.00p +4.81%Man Group (EMG) 83.85p +4.42%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 244.00p +3.79%Ashtead Group (AHT) 732.00p +3.68%FTSE 250 - FallersIntu Properties (INTU) 328.40p -2.44%Ocado Group (OCDO) 301.00p -2.11%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 117.00p -2.01%Rank Group (RNK) 157.60p -1.81%Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 501.50p -1.67%Countrywide (CWD) 601.50p -1.55%Laird (LRD) 190.00p -1.55%Carpetright (CPR) 652.00p -1.21%Menzies(John) (MNZS) 729.00p -1.15%Micro Focus International (MCRO) 787.00p -1.13%BC