London open: Stocks rise as Merkel backs bond-buying

17th Aug 2012 08:24

- Merkel backs Draghi's pledge to do 'whatever it takes'- Lonmin drops as violence at South African mine escalates- European banks make gainsBanking stocks were pulling the Footsie higher on Friday morning as optimism regarding the Eurozone increased with Angela Merkel backing Mario Draghi's bond-buying proposal.Merkel, the German Chancellor, has thrown her weight behind the European Central Bank (ECB) President's idea of buying sovereign debt in order to bring down bond yields in peripheral Eurozone nations. She said that Draghi's pledge to do "whatever it takes to preserve the euro" was "completely in line" with the euro-area officials.However, analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari said that it is worth showing some caution: "She may back the ECB's position, but then want to impose strict austerity measures on any country that requests it. This would make it a very unattractive option to the Spanish and Italian governments. The markets are always very quick to react to comments made by Merkel and it's regularly followed quickly by a reversal once the details of her comments emerge."Nevertheless, the Eurozone is set to enter a recession in the third quarter and not return to growth until next year, according to a monthly poll conducted by Reuters. The survey results come just after recent data showing that the region registered a 0.2% contraction in the second quarter. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.Lonmin tanks after police kill dozens of minersRiot police have shot dead dozens of miners at Lonmin's Marikana platinum project in South Africa, as a week of protests over pay have turned the FTSE 250 group's mine into a warzone. In what The Guardian is calling "one of the deadliest days of protest in South Africa since the end of apartheid", more than 30 workers who were on strike at Marikana were gunned down by authorities, according to the South African police ministry.Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds were in demand early on as banking stocks across Europe made gains on improving developments in the Eurozone.Water group Pennon was sinking after saying that trading at its waste management unit Viridor has been significantly below the high level of the first half of the previous fiscal year with recyclate prices remaining under pressure.Casino and online gaming group Rank advanced after saying that revenues in the 12 months to June 30th rose 3.4%, while pre-tax profits jumped 9.0%.Premier Oil fell after reporting that it has plugged and abandoned the Chim Sao North West appraisal well in Vietnam after failing to find indications of hydrocarbons. FTSE 100 - RisersWeir Group (WEIR) 1,784.00p +2.65%Barclays (BARC) 190.45p +2.28%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 33.64p +1.99%ARM Holdings (ARM) 586.50p +1.91%GKN (GKN) 224.40p +1.68%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,354.00p +1.51%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 280.70p +1.41%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 230.30p +1.32%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,176.00p +1.20%Standard Life (SL.) 277.00p +1.13%FTSE 100 - FallersAnglo American (AAL) 1,943.50p -1.57%Pennon Group (PNN) 738.00p -1.53%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 368.30p -1.10%Diageo (DGE) 1,688.00p -0.71%AstraZeneca (AZN) 3,005.00p -0.68%Croda International (CRDA) 2,419.00p -0.62%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,953.00p -0.61%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 667.00p -0.60%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,033.50p -0.57%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,476.00p -0.57%FTSE 250 - RisersOphir Energy (OPHR) 535.50p +4.79%Ruspetro (RPO) 150.00p +4.38%Bumi (BUMI) 367.80p +4.19%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 72.60p +3.71%Laird (LRD) 221.00p +2.65%International Personal Finance (IPF) 307.30p +2.54%Rank Group (RNK) 128.60p +2.31%Yule Catto & Co (YULC) 157.10p +2.08%Ted Baker (TED) 989.50p +2.01%Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 153.90p +1.65%FTSE 250 - FallersLonmin (LMI) 605.00p -6.64%IP Group (IPO) 126.30p -2.85%Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,044.00p -1.51%Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 479.90p -1.19%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 422.40p -1.01%COLT Group SA (COLT) 122.80p -0.97%easyJet (EZJ) 541.50p -0.91%Anite (AIE) 124.00p -0.80%Premier Oil (PMO) 387.40p -0.79%SVG Capital (SVI) 269.10p -0.74%BC