London open: Stocks rise in holiday shortened session

24th Dec 2013 07:59

- US orders for durable goods due- Tullow Oil pulls plug on North Sea well- British Land signs JV to develop BroadgateMarket MoverstechMARK 2,765.90 +0.15%FTSE 100 6,698.96 +0.30%FTSE 250 15,765.26 +0.15%The FTSE 100 opened higher in what is expected to be a quiet day ahead of Christmas. London's stock market will close at 12:30 local time and will remain closed for the following two days for the Christmas holiday.In UK economic news, net secured mortgage borrowing increased by £0.3bn in November to £781.6bn, the latest figures from the British Bankers´ Association (BBA) showed. Later on Tuesday, US orders for durable goods is expected to show an increase of 2% for the month of November.Tullow Oil, British LandIn company news, independent oil and gas exploration and production group Tullow Oil confirmed its exploration well on the Mantra prospect offshore Norway has encountered reservoir quality sands but all intervals are water wet. As a result, drilling at the well in the North Sea has been terminated and will now be logged before being plugged and abandoned.Elsewhere British Land and real estate investor GIC confirmed they have signed a joint venture agreement to develop Broadgate, a key office complex in London."This partnership provides us with the ideal platform to deliver the long-term vision for Broadgate. Our two organisations already know each other well and we look forward to working with GIC to deliver value for our respective shareholders from what is one of Central London's premier office locations," said British Land Chief Executive Officer Chris Grigg.BSkyB confirmed is has made a $350,000 equity investment in Jaunt, a technology company based in Palo Alto, California which specialises in video capture and display. "This investment will provide Sky with additional insight into developments within the field," BSkyB said.The Serious Fraud Office confirmed that it has launched a formal investigation into allegations of bribery and corruption at engine maker Rolls-Royce that could lead to criminal prosecutions.FTSE 100 - RisersSports Direct International (SPD) 731.50p +1.95%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,309.00p +1.71%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,200.00p +1.52%Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,484.00p +1.51%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 824.50p +1.48%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 351.00p +1.33%Bunzl (BNZL) 1,441.00p +1.26%Prudential (PRU) 1,343.00p +1.21%Reed Elsevier (REL) 894.50p +1.13%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 4,793.00p +1.10%FTSE 100 - FallersARM Holdings (ARM) 1,098.00p -1.08%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,314.00p -0.91%Glencore Xstrata (GLEN) 307.80p -0.73%Mondi (MNDI) 996.00p -0.70%Next (NXT) 5,410.00p -0.64%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,343.00p -0.59%Tullow Oil (TLW) 843.50p -0.53%National Grid (NG.) 785.00p -0.44%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 92.05p -0.43%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,305.50p -0.39%FTSE 250 - RisersEssar Energy (ESSR) 73.50p +4.26%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 169.90p +3.60%Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 373.80p +2.86%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 174.10p +2.84%PZ Cussons (PZC) 375.00p +2.49%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 370.60p +2.18%Henderson Group (HGG) 226.50p +2.12%Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,755.00p +2.09%Partnership Assurance Group (PA.) 299.10p +2.08%Carillion (CLLN) 325.00p +1.94%FTSE 250 - FallersDomino Printing Sciences (DNO) 751.50p -3.03%UDG Healthcare Public Limited Company (UDG) 321.20p -2.55%National Express Group (NEX) 268.10p -2.12%Rank Group (RNK) 127.00p -2.08%Dunelm Group (DNLM) 898.50p -2.02%FirstGroup (FGP) 119.60p -1.56%Ophir Energy (OPHR) 326.00p -1.42%Soco International (SIA) 390.50p -1.34%Diploma (DPLM) 700.00p -1.34%Merlin Entertainments (MERL) 357.10p -1.27%FTSE TechMARK - RisersVectura Group (VEC) 138.75p +0.54%Wolfson Microelectronics (WLF) 140.00p +0.36%FTSE TechMARK - FallersSkyepharma (SKP) 113.25p -4.03%Anite (AIE) 98.00p -1.51%Innovation Group (TIG) 34.56p -0.54%Ricardo (RCDO) 665.50p -0.52%Dialight (DIA) 840.00p -0.41%IShares Euro Gov Bond 7-10YR UCITS ETF (IEGM) € 177.85 -0.04%