London open: Stocks rise as Greece approves budget

12th Nov 2012 08:30

- Greece approves 2013 budget- Japanese GDP worse than expected- Miners fall but Polymetal bucks the trendUK stocks were making gains on Monday morning, rebounding after a 1.7 per cent fall the previous week, as the markets' concerns about the Greek economy eased temporarily.Greece's parliament put the rubber stamp on its budget for 2013 late Sunday night with a wide margin as 167 deputies approved the bill, 128 voted against, four voted 'present' and one member was absent. "Just four days ago, we voted the most sweeping reforms ever in Greece," said Prime Minister Antonis Samaras. "The sacrifices (in the earlier bill and the budget) will be the last. Provided, of course, we implement all we have legislated." "Greece has done what it was asked to do and now is the time for the creditors to make good on their commitments," he stressed.Passage of the budget was a requirement for Athens to get the green light on the next tranche of aid. However, the Troika is not expected to be able to give the final seal of approval necessary in time for today's meeting of Eurozone finance minsters. In other news, Japan's economy contracted at an annualised rate of 3.5% in the third quarter, only slightly worse than the 3.4% decline expected by analysts. Nevertheless, the decline in capital expenditures was considerably larger than what was forecast. Meanwhile, Indian industrial production fell by 0.4% in September, following an increase of 2.8% the year before.Over the weekend investors learned that Chinese exports grew at an 11.6% month-on-month pace in October, well ahead of the 10% that had been foreseen. Elsewhere, the macroeconomic agenda is looking pretty sparse today. Economists at Lloyd's told clients this morning: "against today's lull, the data flow over the rest of the week will provide plenty of material for markets to assess the current soft patch in global activity. [...] For the most part, we expect the data to be softer than consensus which points to further downside pressure on risk sentiment over the next week."FTSE 100: Miners under pressureMining stocks were broadly lower early on after the worse-than-expected contraction in Japan. Anglo American, Antofagasta, Xstrata and Kazakhmys were registering losses this morning.Bucking the trend was Polymetal after extending the life-of-mine projections for its Khakanja and Omolon mines in Russia by two years after releasing the first set of ore reserves estimates for its Tsokol, Ozerny, Avlayakan, and Dalniy deposits.Drugs giant AstraZeneca declined despite announcing a clutch of positive test results relating to its naloxegol product, a treatment for opioid-induced constipation (OIC).Security giant G4S was lower after Morgan Stanley downgraded its rating on the stock to 'equal weight' and cut its target price from 320p to 280p. In contrast, hotels group InterContinental gained after Exane BNP Paribas upgraded its recommendation to 'outperform' and raised its target price from 1,630p to 1,900p.FTSE 250: Cobham drops on 2013 guidanceDefence technology supplier Cobham tanked after predicting a drop in revenues in 2013 as it is hit by the fall un US defence spending. The firm also said that a change in its sales mix and new investments would mean lower operating margins next year than are expected in 2012. Support services and construction group Interserve rose after maintaining full-year guidance after an 'in-line' second half so far.FTSE 100 - RisersAdmiral Group (ADM) 1,080.00p +2.47%WPP (WPP) 825.00p +2.10%InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,581.00p +1.54%Capital Shopping Centres Group (CSCG) 338.10p +1.14%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,388.00p +0.95%SABMiller (SAB) 2,689.50p +0.92%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,228.00p +0.90%United Utilities Group (UU.) 656.00p +0.85%Schroders (SDR) 1,568.00p +0.84%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,454.00p +0.82%FTSE 100 - FallersXstrata (XTA) 958.70p -1.20%Anglo American (AAL) 1,847.50p -0.99%Croda International (CRDA) 2,250.00p -0.92%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,246.00p -0.88%BG Group (BG.) 1,048.00p -0.85%G4S (GFS) 251.50p -0.75%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 268.30p -0.67%Glencore International (GLEN) 337.35p -0.62%Barclays (BARC) 228.85p -0.56%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 872.50p -0.51%FTSE 250 - RisersCOLT Group SA (COLT) 105.60p +7.10%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 760.28p +3.44%Interserve (IRV) 377.50p +2.83%Ocado Group (OCDO) 59.95p +2.48%Raven Russia Ltd (RUS) 67.25p +1.89%Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 525.00p +1.84%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 2,877.87p +1.84%Perpetual Income & Growth Inv Trust (PLI) 282.00p +1.77%F&C Asset Management (FCAM) 103.30p +1.67%Man Group (EMG) 82.25p +1.54%FTSE 250 - FallersCobham (COB) 196.80p -6.73%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 97.50p -5.80%Perform Group (PER) 400.00p -4.81%IP Group (IPO) 107.50p -2.27%Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 263.20p -2.27%Bumi (BUMI) 271.00p -2.13%Aveva Group (AVV) 1,966.00p -1.75%Ophir Energy (OPHR) 531.00p -1.67%Redrow (RDW) 156.30p -1.45%Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 1,073.00p -1.11%BC