LONDON (ShareCast) - Stronger-than-expected Eurozone growth figures and easing concerns about Ukraine and Greece gave stocks a boost in London on Friday, with resource shares leading the advance.
The FTSE 100 was trading 0.6% higher at 6,869 by midday, as metal and oil stocks tracked commodity prices higher.
Eurozone gross domestic product (GDP) growth picked up to 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2014 from 0.2% in the third quarter, surprising analysts who had expected the rate of expansion to remain unchanged.
German GDP came in particularly strong, expanding by 0.7% in the fourth quarter from 0.1% the preceding three months, well ahead of the 0.3% growth predicted in Europe's largest economy.
The better-than-expected data will come as welcome news for the European Central Bank president Mario Draghi, who faced an uphill task in trying to steer the Eurozone out of deflation.
"Mario Draghi has bought himself a bit of time, as year-on-year figures show small signs of Eurozone growth following the significant bond buying programme he announced recently," Dennis de Jong, managing director at UFX.com.
Concerns about the Ukraine crisis have also eased after the country agreed to a ceasefire with Russia after tense negotiations in Minsk. However, there was continued fighting overnight in the rebel-held cities of eastern Ukraine, with the ceasefire not expected to kick in until Sunday.
"Investors also appear confident that a Greek disaster can also be averted on unconfirmed reports that German and Greek officials were working on a compromise in Brussels as both sides looked to soften their positions," said analyst Michael Hewson from CMC Markets. The speculation comes before the next Eurogroup meeting scheduled to begin on Monday.
Anglo leads miners higher
The share price of Anglo American advanced despite the news that it has decided to write-down the value of certain assets by $3.9bn on the back of weaker iron ore prices, pushing the company into the red for the 2014 financial year. Anglo swung to a pre-tax loss of $259m in 2014, compared with a profit of $1.7bn in 2013.
Other miners were also in positive territory, including BHP Billiton, Glencore and Rio Tinto, as metal prices improved. Even Fresnillo gained despite explaining how foreign exchange movements, depreciation and write-downs would adversely affect its 2014 results.
Oil stocks such as Tullow, BG and Premier Oil were also in demand was Brent crude continued its rebound and was trading above $60 a a barrel for the first time in 2015.
Glaxosmithkline's shares were given a boost by UBS which upgraded its rating for the pharmaceutical stock by two notches from 'sell' to 'buy', saying that the business is now at an "inflection point" after a tough few years. The bank hiked its target price for the stock from 1,250p to 1,700p,
Utilities group Severn Trent declined after saying that while it is on track to hit expectations this financial year, operating costs are expected to rise due to the impact of inflation and quasi taxes.
Rolls-Royce also fell despite the engine maker meeting forecasts with its 2014 results, as it said it expects profits to fall further this year as customers face "increased uncertainty" from weaker oil prices.
Shire edged higher after a strong jump the previous session following its fourth-quarter results. The pharma group was also in focus on speculation it is preparing to make a bid for US peer Salix Pharmaceuticals, worth $9.2bn at current market prices.
Market Movers
techMARK 3,126.19 +0.32%
FTSE 100 6,869.16 +0.60%
FTSE 250 16,894.80 +0.51%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Tullow Oil (TLW) 403.20p +4.70%
Glencore (GLEN) 288.30p +4.12%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,554.00p +3.98%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,544.50p +3.97%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,206.50p +3.52%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,139.00p +3.27%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 728.50p +3.26%
BG Group (BG.) 962.80p +3.04%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,889.00p +2.66%
Barclays (BARC) 258.75p +2.13%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
BT Group (BT.A) 440.10p -2.20%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 954.00p -1.95%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,708.00p -1.95%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,623.00p -1.58%
SSE (SSE) 1,577.00p -1.44%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 1,070.00p -1.38%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,086.00p -1.27%
National Grid (NG.) 883.50p -1.24%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,033.00p -1.17%
Sage Group (SGE) 469.70p -1.05%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Afren (AFR) 8.26p +16.17%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 523.50p +10.68%
Premier Oil (PMO) 167.70p +5.54%
RPS Group (RPS) 239.20p +5.42%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 256.80p +4.26%
Evraz (EVR) 194.30p +3.74%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 331.60p +3.46%
Atkins (WS) (ATK) 1,355.00p +3.04%
Lonmin (LMI) 161.60p +2.93%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 735.50p +2.87%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
AO World (AO.) 285.90p -6.14%
Supergroup (SGP) 1,022.00p -3.49%
Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 99.05p -3.37%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 273.40p -2.74%
Hunting (HTG) 494.10p -1.77%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 385.00p -1.53%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 985.00p -1.50%
Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 2,422.00p -1.30%
Rank Group (RNK) 184.70p -1.23%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 319.90p -1.17%
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