London midday: Stocks cement gains after German ZEW data

13th Aug 2013 11:21

Decent gains in the mining sector and well-received results from FTSE 100 insurer Resolution were providing markets with a boost on Tuesday morning with the upbeat mood helped by decent data from Germany.The German ZEW survey showed that the economic sentiment index jumped from 36.3 to 42 in August, well ahead of the consensus forecast for 39.9. The current situation index and sentiment index for the wider Eurozone also improved this month.Closer to home, UK consumer prices rose at a rate of 2.8% in July compared with last year, with inflation slowing down slightly from the 2.9% pace in June. UK Economist Martin Beck from Capital Economics said that this was "likely to presage the start of a sustained drop".Stock futures Stateside were pointing to decent start on Wall Street today ahead of the all-important US retail sales data due out later on with estimates pointing to a 0.3% increase in sales in July, slightly lower than the 0.4% rise the month before."Retail sales figures are viewed by many analysts as a preferential reading of economic health for the US, due to the contribution of consumer spending to the GDP figure. Basically, if consumers don't feel secure in their jobs or are feeling the pinch financially, they tend to spend less and the economy struggles to grow," said Market Analyst Craig Erlam at Alpari.FTSE 100: Fresnillo continues to rebound, Resolution jumpsGold and silver miner Fresnillo rose strongly this morning as it continues to rebound after disappointing the market with its first-half results last Tuesday in which profits declined on falling metals prices and lower production. Since then, the stock has jumped by over a quarter.Part of the reason behind today's rise was down to UBS which initiated coverage of the stock with a 'buy' rating, saying that it is one of the world's lowest-cost primary silver producers "and we believe it will generate sustainable free cash flow even in a lower commodity price environment".Mining peers Glencore Xstrata and Rio Tinto were also performing well today.British life insurance investor Resolution gained after reporting an increase in profits for the first half after strong growth in the UK and tight cost control. Operating pre-tax profit came to £191m for the fix six months, compared to £163m the previous year, as operating earnings per share rose to 13.26p from 11.32p.Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline was higher after joint venture ViiV Healthcare won the approval of the US FDA for its new HIV treatment.Heading the other way was Anglo-South African financial services giant Old Mutual after Nomura downgraded the stock from 'buy' to 'neutral', saying it sees "better value elsewhere in the sector" after the positive reaction to last week's first-half results.FTSE 100 - RisersFresnillo (FRES) 1,156.00p +4.81%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 321.80p +3.08%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 333.40p +3.00%Wood Group (John) (WG.) 921.00p +2.91%G4S (GFS) 251.20p +2.91%BAE Systems (BA.) 449.30p +2.02%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,255.00p +1.97%Glencore Xstrata (GLEN) 307.25p +1.94%Intertek Group (ITRK) 3,220.00p +1.71%easyJet (EZJ) 1,350.00p +1.66%FTSE 100 - FallersOld Mutual (OML) 195.90p -2.68%ITV (ITV) 163.20p -1.39%Prudential (PRU) 1,223.00p -0.73%Aggreko (AGK) 1,701.00p -0.70%Standard Life (SL.) 367.70p -0.62%Barclays (BARC) 283.35p -0.58%IMI (IMI) 1,428.00p -0.56%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,605.00p -0.47%William Hill (WMH) 444.00p -0.38%United Utilities Group (UU.) 705.50p -0.35%FTSE 250 - RisersHochschild Mining (HOC) 258.00p +11.06%Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 232.50p +4.03%Polymetal International (POLY) 754.50p +3.78%Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 131.90p +3.05%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 31.00p +3.02%Dialight (DIA) 1,267.00p +3.01%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 258.10p +2.83%Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 734.00p +2.80%Ashtead Group (AHT) 689.50p +2.68%Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 344.40p +2.65%FTSE 250 - FallersAfrican Barrick Gold (ABG) 143.70p -4.64%Michael Page International (MPI) 450.20p -4.01%International Personal Finance (IPF) 613.00p -1.92%EnQuest (ENQ) 124.30p -1.89%Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 174.90p -1.85%888 Holdings (888) 161.10p -1.77%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 368.50p -1.10%Fidessa Group (FDSA) 2,109.00p -0.94%Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 341.70p -0.90%Rentokil Initial (RTO) 98.05p -0.66%BC