London midday: Stocks jump after Draghi comments

26th Jul 2012 11:43

- Draghi pledges to do whatever it takes- Greece still on investors' minds- Markets digest a ton of resultsAfter a pretty flat start on the back of a flurry of mixed corporate earnings in London, the Footsie rocketed in late morning after some comments from the European Central Bank (ECB) President, Mario Draghi.Draghi said that the ECB is ready to do "whatever it takes to preserve the euro...and believe me, it will be enough."Speaking in London, he said: "To the extent that the size of the sovereign premia hamper the functioning of the monetary policy transmission channels, they come within our mandate."Markets were lifted yesterday afternoon after ECB policy-maker Ewald Nowotny suggested that the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) should be given a banking licence, which could help it provide bigger loans to struggling countries.Meanwhile, speculation about a Spanish bailout was still doing the rounds and Greek exit talk seems to be gathering pace. Analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari said this morning: "There have been suggestions that Greece will have to wait until September for a further bailout after failing to make the required cuts. This could be problematic with bond payments apparently due to the ECB in August." According to analysts at Citigroup, Greece has a 90% chance of leaving the euro in the next 12-18 months.There was also talk of the UK possibly losing its cherished AAA rating after yesterday's data showed a 0.7% contraction in GDP in the second quarter. The Financial Times cited "leading investors" as saying that Moody's, which revised its outlook on the UK to 'negative' in February, was likely to downgrade its rating on sovereign. FTSE 100 risers: ITV, Intertek, Unilever.....Broadcaster ITV surged after reporting double-digit revenues and profit growth in the first half, as its 'Transformation Plan' "continues to gain momentum", according to CEO Adam Crozier. Intertek, the international provider of quality and safety services, also gained after it delivered soaring revenues and strong profit growth in the six months to the end of June.Consumer products firm Unilever jumped after turnover increased 11.5% in the first six months of the year. CEO Paul Polman said that the group is continuing to deliver volume growth ahead of its markets and gained value share across the majority of the business. Power systems group Rolls-Royce advanced after saying that underlying revenues and pre-tax profits rose 5% and 7% in the first half, respectively, and said it expects "good" growth for the full year. Publishing group Reed Elsevier was a high riser after underlying revenues grew 5% in the first half, with all five business areas showing growth. Catering firm Compass also rose after delivering a "good" performance in the third quarter, as strong growth in North America and emerging markets offset weakness in Europe. FTSE 100 fallers: Shell, CSCG, Astra...Oil major Royal Dutch Shell was leading the fallers after second-quarter earnings dropped from $8bn to $6bn in the second quarter, as profits have tracked energy prices lower. Real estate investment trust Capital Shopping Centres Group (CSCG) fell after reporting a 2.3% LFL decline in net rental income in the first half.AstraZeneca, the UK's second biggest pharma company, was down after profits fell 33% in core pre-tax profits in the second quarter as competition from generic drugs heats up.Sweeteners and ingredients group Tate & Lyle was out of favour after saying that it does not know how surging corn prices will affect the business. FTSE 100 - RisersITV (ITV) 76.90p +7.70%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 878.00p +5.85%Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,835.00p +5.35%Unilever (ULVR) 2,254.00p +5.33%Reed Elsevier (REL) 541.50p +4.84%SABMiller (SAB) 2,721.50p +3.17%Polymetal International (POLY) 836.00p +3.02%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 150.10p +2.67%Compass Group (CPG) 669.50p +2.61%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 275.10p +2.27%FTSE 100 - FallersRoyal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,189.00p -3.36%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,117.00p -3.20%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,110.00p -2.29%Capital Shopping Centres Group (CSCG) 321.70p -1.95%AstraZeneca (AZN) 2,864.50p -1.53%Pennon Group (PNN) 753.50p -1.31%Hammerson (HMSO) 463.10p -0.84%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,049.00p -0.76%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 109.10p -0.55%Evraz (EVR) 210.60p -0.43%FTSE 250 - RisersLaird (LRD) 206.00p +11.65%St James's Place (STJ) 335.80p +5.33%Man Group (EMG) 81.90p +4.00%COLT Group SA (COLT) 112.20p +3.89%Lonmin (LMI) 693.00p +3.74%Halfords Group (HFD) 195.40p +3.39%easyJet (EZJ) 560.00p +3.23%Avocet Mining (AVM) 69.25p +3.13%Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 138.00p +3.06%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 177.90p +2.83%FTSE 250 - FallersSynergy Health (SYR) 905.50p -4.63%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 168.60p -4.37%De La Rue (DLAR) 1,019.00p -4.32%Bumi (BUMI) 295.00p -3.53%Cookson Group (CKSN) 529.50p -3.46%Renishaw (RSW) 1,430.00p -3.25%PayPoint (PAY) 683.50p -2.50%Victrex (VCT) 1,182.00p -2.48%Genus (GNS) 1,257.00p -2.26%Telecom Plus (TEP) 773.00p -2.15%BC