London open: Central bank hopes drive gains early on

30th Jul 2012 08:26

- Leaders have 'no time to lose', says Juncker- Markets await ECB decision on Thursday- QE3 hopes drive gainsUK stocks rose in early trading on Monday on the back of hopes that the European Central Bank (ECB) will act this week to stem the Eurozone crisis.Eurogroup head Jean-Claude Juncker said in newspaper interviews this weekend that policy-makers have "no time to lose" to decide on measures to deal with escalated bond yields in peripheral Eurozone nations like Spain."The euro countries have reached a point where we have to use all means possible to show that we are determined to protect the stability of the euro zone... nobody should doubt the will of those involved, to prove our determination," Juncker said.This follows remarks from ECB President Mario Draghi on Thursday, who said that the ECB would do "whatever it takes to preserve the euro...and believe me, it will be big enough". Meanwhile, markets are also hoping that the Federal Reserve will implement more quantitative easing (QE) in the upcoming months, which has added to the increase in risk attitude. "There has been a lot of speculation that the Fed will announce QE3 in the US. Recent data has shown job creation falling, unemployment rising, manufacturing slowing and finally GDP drop to 1.5% in the second quarter," said analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari.FTSE 100: Financials provide a lift early onFinancial peers Aviva, Barclays, Schroders, RBS and Legal & General were among the best performers in the opening hour as risk appetite increased. Barclays wasn't being helped by a ratings upgrade to 'buy' by Societe Generale.Cillit Bang maker Reckitt Benckiser fell after reported revenues fell 1% in the second quarter. Nevertheless, net revenue in the first half of the year was £4,669m, up 1% year-on-year using actual exchange rates and up 4% on a constant exchange rates (CER) basis. Electricity and gas provider National Grid edged higher after saying it achieved a "solid operational and financial performance" in its first quarter and is keeping its positive outlook for the full year unchanged.Mining group Anglo American dropped after both Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse reduced their target prices on the stock.FTSE 250: Fidessa leads the fallers after disappointing first halfTrading systems developer Fidessa dropped after top line growth was below forecasts in the first half, as falling sales in Europe dampened revenues at the group level. Revenues rose 3% during the six months to June 30th from £137m to £141.3m, short of Peel Hunt's £144m estimate. Defence-focused technology firm Ultra Electronics fell despite saying that sales to UK and US nuclear submarine programmes helped boost profits in the first half. Underlying pre-tax profit rose 5% to £54.5m, pushing earnings per share up 6% to 58.1p.Specialised technical products and services provider Diploma was out of favour after saying that underlying revenue growth was just 5% against a strong prior-year comparative.FTSE 100 - RisersAmec (AMEC) 1,124.00p +2.27%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,693.00p +2.05%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 129.20p +1.65%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 329.10p +1.54%Carnival (CCL) 2,166.00p +1.50%Schroders (SDR) 1,306.00p +1.48%Aviva (AV.) 290.20p +1.33%Evraz (EVR) 231.50p +1.31%Meggitt (MGGT) 392.30p +1.29%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 153.00p +1.26%FTSE 100 - FallersPearson (PSON) 1,207.00p -1.87%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,484.00p -1.64%Anglo American (AAL) 1,865.50p -1.50%Reed Elsevier (REL) 544.50p -0.73%Tesco (TSCO) 319.85p -0.36%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,460.00p -0.32%Unilever (ULVR) 2,254.00p -0.27%CRH (CRH) 1,202.00p -0.17%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 655.00p -0.15%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,745.00p -0.09%FTSE 250 - RisersDevro (DVO) 293.20p +5.47%Stagecoach Group (SGC) 292.80p +3.50%Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 120.90p +3.33%BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 552.00p +2.60%FirstGroup (FGP) 226.20p +2.58%Rank Group (RNK) 121.40p +2.36%Cairn Energy (CNE) 280.90p +2.15%Phoenix Group Holdings (DI) (PHNX) 498.10p +2.15%Carpetright (CPR) 623.00p +2.13%Savills (SVS) 379.80p +1.88%FTSE 250 - FallersFidessa Group (FDSA) 1,390.00p -7.33%Diploma (DPLM) 432.00p -3.14%Kentz Corporation Ltd. (KENZ) 379.90p -2.59%PayPoint (PAY) 713.50p -1.99%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 39.30p -1.75%Ladbrokes (LAD) 159.80p -1.66%Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 255.80p -1.65%COLT Group SA (COLT) 115.40p -1.45%Travis Perkins (TPK) 998.00p -1.38%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 140.40p -1.13%BC