London midday: Stocks rise, US futures point up as Wall Street re-opens

29th Nov 2013 11:46

- Miners lead markets higher as metals prices rise- S&P lifts Spanish outlook, Eurozone unemployment falls- UK consumer confidence falls again- US futures up, retailers in focus on Black FridaytechMARK 2,677.17 +0.34%FTSE 100 6,670.61 +0.24%FTSE 250 15,483.33 +0.33%UK markets were registering small gains by midday on Friday ahead of the re-opening of Wall Street later on, with volumes expected to ramp up after a quiet session the day before.Despite the lull in morning trade, upside moves were being helped by a Standard & Poor's (S&P) upgrade on Spain's credit outlook from 'negative' to 'stable', along with a unexpected dip in the Eurozone unemployment rate to 12.1% in October.Meanwhile, US stock futures were pointing to a firmer start on Wall Street today with retailers hoping to benefit from Black Friday sales, as shops reopen after Thanksgiving with heavy discounted products."Black Friday should bring retailers to the fore today. Any indication that the recent drop in consumer sentiment in the US is encouraging them to avoid these sales could be seen as a sign that Christmas sales as a whole will be disappointing," said Craig Erlam, Market Analyst at Alpari. "Given the popularity of Black Friday in the past, this seems unlikely, but investors will certainly be watching this with interest throughout the day." UK markets were this morning digesting the news domestic consumer confidence registered a surprise decline in October. The Gfk index showed a fall to a seasonally adjusted -12, compared to -11 the previous month, which also revealed a fall. The figure had been expected to rise to -10. This was the first consecutive monthly decline in the index since mid-2011.In other UK news, house prices rose at the fastest pace in more than three years in November, data from Nationwide revealed. Prices jumped 6.5% year-on-year, compared to the previous month's rise of 5.8% and the consensus forecast for a 6.2% increase.Miners track metal prices higherMining stocks were leading the upside this morning as metal prices gained across the board with increases seen in gold, silver, copper and platinum. Antofagasta, Fresnillo, African Barrick Gold and Vedanta Resources were all trading higher, as comments on top metals consumer China from S&P also lifted sentiment. The agency reiterated its 'AA-' long-term and 'A-1+' short-term sovereign credit ratings on China with a 'stable' outlook, citing robust growth prospects.Even Rio Tinto was up despite the news that it plans to temporarily suspend alumina production at its Gove refinery in Australia as it is "no longer viable" in the current economic environment. The stock performed well on Thursday after the miner announced that it would ramp-up production at a lower cost at its iron ore business in Western Australia.Housebuilders were in the red again for the second day after the government announced yesterday that it would be changing its Funding for Lending Scheme to focus on small businesses, rather than mortgage lending. Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, Bellway and Barratt Developments were all extending losses this morning.Credit checking group Experian was also trading lower this morning after analysts at Goldman Sachs downgraded their rating on the stock to 'sell' and cut their target price from 1,220p to 985p.Finnish nickel miner Talvivaara Mining's share price rocketed by over 70% this morning after its application for a court-supervised restructuring to avoid bankruptcy was accepted.Speedy Hire plummeted after its Chief Executive resigned following the revelation of a £5m hole in its books.FTSE 100 - RisersBarclays (BARC) 271.45p +2.20%easyJet (EZJ) 1,435.00p +1.70%Antofagasta (ANTO) 801.50p +1.65%Aggreko (AGK) 1,597.00p +1.46%Whitbread (WTB) 3,567.00p +1.36%ITV (ITV) 191.50p +1.32%Fresnillo (FRES) 844.00p +1.02%Tullow Oil (TLW) 873.00p +0.98%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,270.00p +0.95%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,291.00p +0.92%FTSE 100 - FallersExperian (EXPN) 1,129.00p -2.59%Kingfisher (KGF) 373.20p -1.43%SSE (SSE) 1,335.00p -1.04%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 330.00p -0.87%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 343.80p -0.69%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,184.00p -0.59%Shire Plc (SHP) 2,748.00p -0.58%Anglo American (AAL) 1,368.00p -0.51%Persimmon (PSN) 1,164.00p -0.51%Mondi (MNDI) 1,010.00p -0.49%FTSE 250 - RisersEuromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,239.00p +3.68%Xaar (XAR) 1,010.00p +3.54%IP Group (IPO) 187.90p +3.24%Workspace Group (WKP) 509.00p +3.12%Rentokil Initial (RTO) 106.00p +3.11%Carpetright (CPR) 598.50p +2.66%Serco Group (SRP) 457.70p +2.51%UDG Healthcare Public Limited Company (UDG) 311.00p +2.40%Redrow (RDW) 280.00p +2.38%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 51.95p +2.26%FTSE 250 - FallersImagination Technologies Group (IMG) 243.80p -2.48%Alent (ALNT) 333.30p -2.46%Rank Group (RNK) 140.50p -2.43%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 142.30p -2.20%Enterprise Inns (ETI) 139.40p -1.76%Perform Group (PER) 439.50p -1.68%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 41.95p -1.55%Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 107.50p -1.38%Essar Energy (ESSR) 81.65p -1.33%Fidessa Group (FDSA) 2,121.00p -1.17%BC