London open: Markets flat as stocks digest GDP figures

14th Feb 2013 08:37

Markets opened broadly flat on Thursday morning, pausing after hitting a fresh five-year high the day before, as investors showed caution on a busy day for economic data.Overnight, it was announced that Japanese gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, down 0.4% on an annualised basis. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expected 0.4% GDP growth.The Bank of Japan also decided today to keep monetary policy unchanged. "The decision was hardly surprising though, given that BoJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa is due to step down next month after deciding to leave his post a few weeks early," said market analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari."We can probably expect the same again at next months meeting, which will be Shiarakawa's last as Governor before Shinzo Abe replaces him with someone that is likely to be much more dovish."Eurozone fourth-quarter GDP data is due out later this morning and could surprise to the downside after French and German GDP declined at a sharper-than-expected rate (announced this morning). The consensus estimate for GDP in the whole single-currency region is for a 0.4% contraction quarter-on-quarter, worse than the 0.1% decline in the preceding three months. The European Central Bank's monthly report is also due out this morning. Elsewhere, initial jobless claims figures Stateside are scheduled for release this afternoon, with analysts expecting claims to total 360,000 last week, down from the 366,000 figure the week before.FTSE 100: AMEC drops on cautious outlookEngineering and project management group AMEC may have hiked its dividend by a fifth after beating forecasts in 2012, but shares dropped early on after warning of more modest growth this year.Power systems group Rolls-Royce was also lower after its full-year results, in which it delivered 8.0% growth in underlying revenue and a 24% increase in underlying profits. While results were in line, analysts at Jefferies said that the company's cash flow guidance "may disappoint a number of observers".Mining group Rio Tinto was higher despite swinging to its first-ever full-year loss in 2012, dragged down by impairments against its aluminium and Mozambique coal assets. The firm also named new Chief Executives for its Iron Ore and Copper divisions this morning.Asset management firm Aberdeen gained after buying sector peer Artio Global Investors for $175m.Outsourcing group Capita was subdued after buying Northgate Managed Services, a cloud-based infrastructure solutions and specialist managed services, for £65m.FTSE 250: Britvic and AG Barr fall on merger updateSoft drinks peers Britvic and AG Barr were in the red this morning after announcing late yesterday afternoon that the Office of Fair Trading has referred the tie-up to the Competition Commission.Environmental technology health and safety group Halma gained after saying that adjusted profits would be in line with expectations this year.FTSE 100 - RisersReckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 4,494.00p +1.70%Aggreko (AGK) 1,655.00p +1.53%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 422.10p +1.47%BHP Billiton (BLT) 2,221.50p +1.30%Next (NXT) 4,182.00p +1.21%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,132.00p +0.89%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,730.50p +0.87%Unilever (ULVR) 2,565.00p +0.79%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,786.50p +0.79%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,306.00p +0.77%FTSE 100 - FallersAmec (AMEC) 1,063.00p -5.43%Carnival (CCL) 2,524.00p -1.98%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 970.00p -1.47%Kingfisher (KGF) 277.10p -1.04%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,594.00p -0.99%Wolseley (WOS) 3,054.00p -0.97%Vodafone Group (VOD) 170.00p -0.96%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,250.00p -0.79%Shire Plc (SHP) 2,130.00p -0.70%Tesco (TSCO) 371.70p -0.68%FTSE 250 - RisersMan Group (EMG) 112.20p +3.31%SVG Capital (SVI) 356.00p +2.65%Carpetright (CPR) 686.00p +1.63%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 294.90p +1.62%Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 120.00p +1.27%3i Group (III) 298.30p +1.22%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 143.50p +1.20%Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 399.70p +1.11%Renishaw (RSW) 1,943.00p +1.04%Betfair Group (BET) 696.00p +0.94%FTSE 250 - FallersBritvic (BVIC) 387.90p -7.64%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 295.50p -3.05%Synergy Health (SYR) 1,058.00p -2.67%Bumi (BUMI) 433.50p -2.54%Pennon Group (PNN) 660.00p -2.37%Cairn Energy (CNE) 287.90p -1.84%Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,418.00p -1.66%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 211.30p -1.49%Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 508.00p -1.45%Telecom Plus (TEP) 982.50p -1.40%BC