London open: Stocks edge higher after Greece votes on austerity

8th Nov 2012 08:23

Stocks rebounded on Thursday morning, albeit only slightly, following steep falls the day before, after Greece voted in favour of its strict austerity measures.Wednesday's session started strongly after Barack Obama was re-elected as the US President, sparking speculation that easing measures would continue under his leadership. However, stocks sank in afternoon trade after the European Commission cut its forecasts for gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the Eurozone this year to 0.1% from 1% before. The FTSE 100 lost 1.58% of its value by the end of trade last night."European headline shares opened firmly this morning as opportunistic buyers exploited yesterday's sharp sell-off in equities owing to the completion of the US elections which led to investors focusing their attention back on the dire state of the global economy resulting in investor's sentiment being brought down from cloud nine," said financial trade Shavaz Dhalla from Spreadex.As for Greece, 153 policymakers last night voted in favour of the country's proposed austerity measures, just above the 151 votes needed. "The vote came at a political cost, with the vote taking place against a backdrop of tear gas and unrest in the capital and prompted 18 policymakers to abstain from voting," explains market analyst Michael Hewson from CMC Markets. Next on Athens's agenda will be the parliamentary vote on next year's budget on Sunday, which will unlock the next round of the EU bailout if passed. Investors had a flood of corporate results to digest this morning, as dozens of FTSE 350 heavy hitters updated the market. However, the focus of today's session will likely be on the Bank of England and European Central Bank policy decisions scheduled for this afternoon. FTSE 100: IAG falls on Vueling takeover speculationIAG was lower after saying that is thinking about making an offer to take over Spanish airline Vueling, buying up the remaining stake that it does not already own. ??Publishing and exhibitions firm Reed Elsevier gained after reporting that it remains on track to perform in line with full-year expectations after it posted underlying revenue growth 4% for the first nine months. ?  ?Sweeteners firm Tate & Lyle declined despite beating consensus estimates in the first half on the group level. Jefferies highlighted that Speciality Food Ingredients profits were slightly below its forecasts "but underlying trends remain robust which support a strong H2 performance".??Mining group ENRC fell after saying that revenue declined in the first nine months of 2012 due to lower selling prices for its principal commodities. Supermarket group Morrisons was off the shopping list after lower-than-anticipated sales in the third quarter, though it did say that its full-year performance will be in line with expectations. Insurance group Aviva was wanted after saying that it nearing the sale of its US life and annuities business, as it reported a slight rise in net asset value.Experian fell despite hiking its dividend and reporting strong revenue grout in the first half. The company also announced an efficiency programme designed to save the firm $75m a year. Asset manager Schroders rose after reporting a slight gain in assets under management in the third quarter to £202.8bn, up from £194.6bn at the end of June.Real estate investment trust Land Securities was lower after earnings per share fell 10.2% in the first half.FTSE 100 - RisersTesco (TSCO) 328.30p +1.86%Compass Group (CPG) 701.00p +1.67%Aviva (AV.) 333.60p +1.55%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,214.00p +1.25%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,084.00p +1.21%Schroders (SDR) 1,582.00p +1.09%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,025.00p +1.08%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,407.00p +1.00%Reed Elsevier (REL) 621.00p +0.98%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,975.50p +0.97%FTSE 100 - FallersTate & Lyle (TATE) 714.00p -2.72%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 301.10p -1.28%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 694.00p -1.21%Land Securities Group (LAND) 801.50p -1.17%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 44.26p -0.49%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 266.40p -0.41%WPP (WPP) 812.50p -0.37%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,532.00p -0.33%Sage Group (SGE) 314.00p -0.29%GKN (GKN) 210.70p -0.19%FTSE 250 - RisersRuspetro (RPO) 108.40p +8.40%Yule Catto & Co (YULC) 164.70p +6.40%BTG (BTG) 346.60p +5.80%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 497.00p +3.76%Supergroup (SGP) 680.50p +3.18%Bumi (BUMI) 286.90p +3.05%Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 36.99p +2.95%Micro Focus International (MCRO) 589.50p +2.70%Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 102.00p +1.69%Rightmove (RMV) 1,616.00p +1.64%FTSE 250 - FallersBalfour Beatty (BBY) 271.50p -11.27%Chemring Group (CHG) 240.00p -6.98%Dialight (DIA) 1,104.00p -6.60%Carillion (CLLN) 299.10p -3.52%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 263.20p -3.34%Interserve (IRV) 381.50p -2.13%Spirent Communications (SPT) 136.40p -2.01%Genus (GNS) 1,423.00p -1.86%Kier Group (KIE) 1,210.00p -1.79%ITE Group (ITE) 182.60p -1.67%BC