London open: Stocks rebound after heavy sell-off

24th May 2012 08:45

- EU leaders clash over Eurobonds- Chinese manufacturing continues to contract- Financials wanted after recent sell-offEquity markets shrugged off an underwhelming EU summit and some disappointing Chinese data on Thursday morning to rebound following a heavy sell-off yesterday.The outcome of last night's informal meeting of the European Council was widely expected, with leaders reiterating their stance that they want to keep Greece in the Eurozone as long as it meets the terms of its bailout. The 'eurobonds' issue was a contentious topic, with French and German leaders clashing over the joint debt sales. According to Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, eurobonds "didn't find much support, particularly in the German speaking area, but found a certain enthusiasm in the French speaking area.""It would appear that the Eurozone, despite token comments here and there, are actually more than happy to let Greece leave the euro, with no real efforts being made to keep them in the single currency," said analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari. He said that the next few months could be volatile for markets on the back of contagion risk in Spain. "No one know[s] the true cost of a 'Grexit', thought at the moment to be around €1 trillion ," he said.In other news, the preliminary reading of the HSBC Chinese manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell from 49.3 to 48.7 in May as the sector slipped further into contraction. "Manufacturing activities softened again in May, reflecting the deteriorating export situation. This calls for more aggressive policy easing, as inflation continues to slow," HSBC's chief China economist Hongbin Qu.FTSE 100: Financials lead the riseFinancials were among the best performers early on, rebounding after their recent falls. Old Mutual, Standard Chartered, Admiral, Schroders and HSBC were on the rise. Mining peers Randgold Resources and Fresnillo were also making gains early on as precious metals prices improved.Brewing group SABMiller was flat after mixed full-year results as strong growth in Latin America and Africa offset declines in crisis-torn Europe. Group revenue in the year to March 31st rose 11% to $31,388m.Oil titan Shell was on the up after extending the offer deadline for AIM-listed Cove Energy after its previously recommended offer was trumped by Thai firm PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) on Wednesday. United Utilities edged higher after saying that it has seen a marked improvement in customer satisfaction in the last year or so, and it is on track to meet regulatory out-performance targets. FTSE 250: C&W Comms surges after full-year resultsInternational mobile operator Cable & Wireless Communications jumped over 10% after underlying earnings came in at $901m in the year to the end of March, better than the $887m estimate. Investors didn't seem too phased that the group expects to halve its dividend in the current year.Food wholesaler Booker was also in demand after saying that increased customer numbers and higher internet sales helped revenue increase by 7.3% in the 52 weeks to March 23rd.FTSE 100 - RisersRandgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,000.00p +4.45%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,328.00p +1.26%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,384.00p +1.10%Capita (CPI) 608.50p +1.08%Schroders (SDR) 1,178.00p +1.03%Schroders (Non-Voting) (SDRC) 985.50p +0.97%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 807.50p +0.94%Old Mutual (OML) 141.80p +0.93%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 512.10p +0.91%BP (BP.) 397.40p +0.89%FTSE 100 - FallersGlencore International (GLEN) 333.20p -3.04%Xstrata (XTA) 902.90p -2.52%Evraz (EVR) 304.80p -1.87%Rexam (REX) 392.10p -1.78%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 237.80p -1.45%GKN (GKN) 181.90p -1.20%CRH (CRH) 1,114.00p -1.07%Tesco (TSCO) 301.50p -1.02%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 464.60p -1.00%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,022.00p -0.97%FTSE 250 - RisersCable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 30.90p +10.12%Booker Group (BOK) 76.50p +4.79%PayPoint (PAY) 629.00p +3.97%Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 323.60p +2.66%Investec (INVP) 322.30p +2.48%Great Portland Estates (GPOR) 401.40p +2.16%Essar Energy (ESSR) 115.20p +2.13%Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,191.00p +1.71%Soco International (SIA) 269.10p +1.66%Savills (SVS) 305.80p +1.66%FTSE 250 - FallersHome Retail Group (HOME) 75.05p -3.53%Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 124.70p -3.18%Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) 393.10p -3.11%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 72.50p -3.07%Exillon Energy (EXI) 97.15p -2.85%Bumi (BUMI) 398.50p -2.54%SIG (SHI) 88.00p -2.11%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 116.60p -2.02%Redrow (RDW) 112.60p -1.83%Victrex (VCT) 1,299.00p -1.81%BC