London open: Admiral leads market higher early on

21st Jan 2013 08:27

The FTSE 100 edged higher in early trading on Monday morning ahead of key meetings in Japan and Europe, though volumes are said to be light given a national holiday in the US."We could see some choppy markets today, with trading volumes severely reduced as US markets shut in observance of Martin Luther King Day," said market analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari."The holiday also brings a brief break from corporate earnings season, however this will pick up again on Tuesday when Google and IBM both report. Just as last week was huge for banks, similarly this week is going to be all about the tech companies with Apple and Microsoft also due to report later this week."As for today, markets are likely to focus on a two-day Bank of Japan meeting with expectations high for a bond-buying announcements. According to a Bloomberg survey, most analysts expect a 10tn-yen increase in asset purchases.Meanwhile, Eurozone finance ministers (the Eurogroup) are to meet in Brussels later today. Members are expected to elect the new head of the group, as Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker steps down from the post after having served for eight years. Holland's finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem is expected to take the helm.Finance ministers will be examining Cyprus as the results of the review for the country's bank restructuring are expected to be available today. However, doubts over Mediterranean country's debt sustainability remain and final decisions on aid will probably be delayed until after the country's presidential elections in February.FTSE 100: Insurers, IAG lead gains early onInsurance giant Admiral surged this morning, leading the Footsie higher early on, after Goldman Sachs upped its view on the shares from 'neutral' to 'buy' and hiked its price target from 1,160p to 1,500p. Admiral was followed closely by sector peer Aviva.Airline giant IAG was also performing well after Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to 'outperform'. In contrast, drinks group Diageo was lower after UBS cut its recommendation to 'neutral'."Learning company" Pearson sunk after saying that 2012 operating profits would be flat at £935m. United Utilities and Centrica were in the blue after Seymour Pierce said that despite the utility sector's outperformance in 2012, "there is still some very good value there, backed up by solid yields".Gold miner Randgold gained after saying that production has returned to norma at its Tongon mine after a fire in the mills section of plant three weeks ago.FTSE 250: Afren up after record performanceOil and gas group Afren was a high riser after saying that production levels last year hit a record-high as it labelled its exploration and appraisal campaign a "significant success". Net production in 2012 totalled 42,830 barrels of oil equivalents per day (boepd), in line with the guidance range of 42,000-46,000 boepd given at the half-year results statement in August. Transport and logistics group Stobart also rose after saying that Non-Executive Chairman Rodney Baker-Bates is to retire.FTSE 100 - RisersAdmiral Group (ADM) 1,222.00p +5.89%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,782.00p +1.83%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,395.50p +1.42%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,591.00p +1.34%National Grid (NG.) 692.50p +1.32%SSE (SSE) 1,448.00p +1.26%Centrica (CNA) 342.10p +1.03%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,925.00p +1.00%Aviva (AV.) 369.80p +0.98%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,400.00p +0.93%FTSE 100 - FallersPearson (PSON) 1,196.00p -3.39%Meggitt (MGGT) 425.70p -2.63%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,355.00p -2.24%Diageo (DGE) 1,816.00p -1.47%Aggreko (AGK) 1,805.00p -1.37%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,211.00p -0.82%Rexam (REX) 460.30p -0.78%Kingfisher (KGF) 271.10p -0.66%Land Securities Group (LAND) 811.50p -0.55%TUI Travel (TT.) 290.80p -0.55%FTSE 250 - RisersOcado Group (OCDO) 89.90p +3.33%Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 94.50p +3.28%Henderson Group (HGG) 155.40p +2.78%Afren (AFR) 138.10p +2.30%Diploma (DPLM) 551.50p +2.22%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 355.50p +2.16%Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 39.02p +1.93%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 56.50p +1.89%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 266.10p +1.53%Phoenix Group Holdings (DI) (PHNX) 577.00p +1.23%FTSE 250 - FallersSpectris (SXS) 2,129.00p -2.79%Savills (SVS) 460.80p -2.46%SDL (SDL) 488.40p -2.32%Menzies(John) (MNZS) 642.00p -2.06%easyJet (EZJ) 855.00p -1.95%St James's Place (STJ) 443.00p -1.75%Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 260.00p -1.63%Fidessa Group (FDSA) 1,575.00p -1.56%Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 73.65p -1.54%IP Group (IPO) 127.08p -1.49%BC