London midday: Stocks rocket on Chinese move

30th Nov 2011 12:09

With China acting to ease fears of a 'hard landing', European stock markets - and US futures - swung back into positive territory after sharp falls early on. Banks and miners roared into the lead in London, despite being the worst performers early on. The Footsie stood at 5,390 just after the midday point, some 115 points off its intraday low of 5,275 reached in the opening minutes.Early on, sentiment was dampened by last night's news that Standard & Poor's had downgraded 15 major banks, including UK-listed peers Barclays, HSBC, RBS and Lloyds.Meanwhile, European officials agreed late Tuesday on two options to bolster the fire power of the Eurozone bailout fund, according to statement from officials after the meeting. However analysts cited concern about the IMF's involvement in Europe's debt crisis and as bond yields continue to rise to unsustainable levels. The two-day meeting of European officials continues today. CHINA CUTS RESERVE REQUIREMENTSThe People's Bank of China announced that it has lowered the legal reserve requirement for Chinese banks by 50 basis points, effective from 5 December. That marks the first cut since December 2008 and has probably been undertaken as a move to support the economy and possibly to shield it from the unexpected turmoil in advanced economies. Shen Jianguang from Mizuho Securities Asia told Bloomberg before the release: "The move will help ease liquidity after previous tightening measures cooled credit growth too much and may have added to the risks of a hard landing for China."TRENDS REVERSE - BANKS & MINERS UP, DEFENSIVES DOWNBanks jumped on the news, with Lloyds, RBS and Barclays among the better performers. The mood brightened in the mining sector too, as Antofagasta, Kazakhmys and Xstrata roared towards the top of the pile.However, investors at Cairn Energy didn't seem to take notice of this reversal, as the stock still topped the fallers list, a position which it held all morning after announcing that it has plugged and abandoned two wells in Greenland.Defensive stocks, which were previously in demand this morning, suffered as investors sought riskier assets. Utilities National Grid, Severn Trent and SSE fell into the red.Accountancy software group Sage rose after underlying pre-tax profit from continuing operations rose 8% to £352.6m in the year to the end of September from £326.6m the year before. On the FTSE 250, brewer and pubs group Marston's "delivered exactly as it promised" in its full-year results, according to Evolution Securities. The firm reported underlying pre-tax profit rose 9.4%, ahead of market expectations.Shares in coal-fired power station operator Drax were being weighed down comments from Nomura on Wednesday, which downgraded the stock from neutral to reduce. BCFTSE 100 - RisersLloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 24.32p +4.92%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 20.45p +4.76%Sage Group (SGE) 286.70p +4.25%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,127.00p +3.97%Barclays (BARC) 174.95p +3.52%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 895.50p +3.11%Xstrata (XTA) 983.10p +2.94%Capital Shopping Centres Group (CSCG) 312.50p +2.63%BP (BP.) 450.05p +2.56%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,022.00p +2.46%FTSE 100 - FallersCairn Energy (CNE) 263.90p -4.04%National Grid (NG.) 621.00p -3.12%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 668.00p -2.34%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,517.00p -1.24%Capita Group (CPI) 631.50p -1.02%Amec (AMEC) 858.50p -0.92%Land Securities Group (LAND) 664.50p -0.67%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,181.00p -0.59%Rexam (REX) 339.20p -0.44%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,096.00p -0.27%FTSE 250 - RisersPremier Foods (PFD) 5.98p +13.47%Pace (PIC) 50.10p +10.99%Allied Gold Mining (ALD) 186.90p +8.98%Marston's (MARS) 99.25p +6.15%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 211.20p +5.34%Diploma (DPLM) 328.30p +4.92%Rank Group (RNK) 151.30p +4.71%JD Wetherspoon (JDW) 435.90p +4.53%Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 263.60p +4.19%Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 413.10p +3.79%FTSE 250 - FallersThomas Cook Group (TCG) 17.48p -7.51%Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 323.80p -4.57%SDL (SDL) 620.50p -2.97%Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 123.00p -2.84%RIT Capital Partners (RCP) 1,225.00p -2.78%Drax Group (DRX) 548.50p -2.40%Hansteen Holdings (HSTN) 70.85p -2.28%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 134.30p -1.97%Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI) (GEMD) 197.20p -1.94%Chemring Group (CHG) 388.80p -1.84%